Under His Thumb — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

106 UNDER HIS THUMB. > ‘‘And you dropped that slip of. paper for a definite purpose?’’ ‘“T told you why.”’ “No, you have not. Now, see if I cannot tell you just why you did that thing.’’ Spider, as the strange being called himself, looked a trifle anxious. But he responded, ina defiant tone: ‘“Go ahead, if you know.’’ ~ YOU dropped that message, or whatever you may call it, simply to divert my attention from the work Thadin hand. You thought I was pursuing some one, and you wished the person to have a chance to escape.”’ That the detective’s conjecture was correct was confirmed by the expression on the dwarf’s coun- tenance. Croly added: ; ‘“Now, what have you to say about 1t?”’ ‘‘Nothing,’’ was the laconic response. ‘Whom did you think I was pursuing?’’ ‘‘I suppose you know, without my telling you.’’ ‘Did you think it was Bill Leary, the tough?”’ ‘I don’t know any such man.”’ ‘Carl Brandon, then?’’ ‘That’s the one.’’ ‘‘And you wished him to escape?’’ Vea’? ‘‘He did me a good turn once. Iwas sick, and keeping shady from the cops, and he brought me things to eat, and led the cops on the wrong scent.’’ Spider stated the case glibly enough, but Croly in- stinctively knew that every word Me dwarf had ut- tered was false. The detective had been informed of Carl Brandon’ S \ ee comicbooks.cor ms ~~ h ‘ iE, ¥ : ~ ‘ = ie , y) v.