The Twin Detectives; or, The Robbers of the Tomb — page 29: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

20 THE TWIN DETECTIVES. Mclean sat the picture of discomfiture, which Prescot seemed to maliciously enjoy. ‘“Well ?” he said, after he had his laugh out. ‘Well, [am laughing when I ought to be crying, for Brierly may know just where itis!” I would be willing to bet he does.” | McLean’s pale face grew still more ghastly. He was nat- urally of an ash-gray complexion, with the short-cropped hair and clean-shaved face so much affected by the upper- class of servants in Great Britain. Prescot scanned him closely. His keen black eyes had a half-suspicious look, and a sneer curled his lip. ‘“Yes, [ would not be surprised if the whole of Scotland Yard was thoroughly posted now. What has this ‘‘ raw boy” been doing since you engaged him ?” ‘‘ Nothing but the ordinary work of a gamekeeper. You are mistaken, Prescot———” ‘“No, Iam not. I have kept a lookout. Am I in the habit of making mistakes?” No,” replied McLean, reluctantly. «© Well, I knew the earl would summon the detectives. I found out—how it does not matter—that Brierly, their big ecard, was on the case. I can doa little detective business myself sometimes, and I tried my hand. He went down to Skene and did not return. I sent a man down there, and found out your hopeful son was flush of money, and that you had a new inmate in your Swiss cottage the late la- mented dotard built for you. I inquired a little about this innocent youth you had engaged, and found— Bob Brierly !” McLean tried to wet his white lips with his dry tongue. ‘Have you nothing to say?” asked Prescot, impatiently. ‘What can I say? I never suspected that Hayden was anything but what he represented himself.” ** You ‘never.suspected.’ Didn’t you know that the pop- Gomicbooks (E(0) mn =