"Good-morning, Mr. Crow. What are you doing away out here in the
country? Jimmy"--to a small boy--"please close the door." Anderson had
left it open, and it was a raw January wind which followed him into the
room.
"'Scuse me," he murmured. "Seems I ain't got sense enough to shet a door
even. My wife says--but you don't keer to hear about that, do you? Oh, I
jest dropped in," finally answering her question. He took a bench near
the big stove and spread his hands before the sheet-iron warmth.
"Lookin' up a little affair, that's all. Powerful chilly, ain't it?"
"Very." She stood on the opposite side of the stove, puzzled by this
unexpected visit, looking at him with undisguised curiosity.
"Ever been to Chicago?" asked Anderson suddenly, hoping to catch her
unawares.
"Oh, yes. I have lived there," she answered readily. He shifted his legs
twice and took a hasty pull at his whiskers.
"That's what I thought. Why don't you go back there?"
"Because I'm teaching school here, Mr. Crow."
"Well, I reckon that's a good excuse. I thought mebby you had a
different one."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I dunno. I jest asked."
"You are a detective, are you not?" asked Miss Banks, smiling brightly
and with understanding.
"Oh, off an' on I do a little detectin'. See my badge?"
"Am I suspected of a heinous crime?" she asked so abruptly that he
gasped.
Pages:
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103