"I'm flabbergasted," was the reply. "How do you think you're goin' to get back up the hill?"Nestor pointed to a point of flame a little lower down.
"It is only a short ways now," he said.
Frank grunted and arose to his feet.
"They ought to put in elevators," he grumbled.
The boys walked for perhaps half an hour longer and then drew up near to the point of fire which Nestor had pointed out.
"Now what?" demanded Frank.
"I want to see who they are. I'm expecting friends here," was the laughing reply. "Remain here while I investigate.""If I stand up," grumbled Shaw, "I'll fall down; and if I sit down I'll go to sleep. I never was so sleepy in all me blameless life. You needn't hurry back."Frank was as good as his word, although he had spoken in jest. No sooner was his companion out of sight than he dropped to the ground, and in spite of his efforts to keep his eyes open, was soon fast asleep. When he awoke an hour later, Nestor was pulling at his arm.
"Don't pull it off," he said. "I may want to use it again. What's doing below?""Were you ever in the Cameron building in New York?" Nestor asked, irrelevantly.
"Did you wake me out of me sweet dreams to ask that?" grinned the boy. "Why don't you go on and tell me what's coming off down there in that camp?""I've got the New York end of the Cameron case on my mind to-night," was the reply. "Tell me what you know about the Cameron building and the people who work there during the night--cleaning up, and that sort of thing.""I don't think I was ever in the building, and Fremont never talked with me about the workers. You can ask Jimmie about that.""Yes, Jimmie worked there. I've heard him talk about the night watchman and predict his future home. The boy came running into my room on the night of the tragedy and almost pulled me out of bed, saying that a member of the Black Bear Patrol was in trouble.""What do you want to know about the building?""I was wondering if Jim Scoby, the night watchman, was permitted to carry a key to the Cameron suite. Jimmie does not know whether he was or not, and Ithought you might have heard Fremont talking about matters there.""I presume Fremont can tell you all about that. Suppose Scoby did have a key?
What of it? Fremont says Mr. Cameron locked himself in that night, or was to do so, and that shows that the man who did the job did not need a key. He must have been admitted by Mr. Cameron.""There were strange doings in that suite that night," Nestor said, almost as if talking to himself. "I can't quite get the hang of it," he added, taking a flat steel key from his pocket, and holding it up for the inspection of the other.
Shaw took the key and held it up in the moonlight, examining every detail of it.
"That is a key to the suite," he said. "Fremont has one like it. Where did you get it? It looks new.""It is new," Nestor went on. "It looks as if it had been made to order recently.
Now, whoever made it did not get it exactly right at first, and was obliged to file it down. I have known night watchmen to make keys.""An old trick," admitted Frank. "Well, let us take it for granted that Scoby was not permitted to carry a key and that he had one made, for some purpose of his own.
