bargain in-----?"

"No," replied Thompson curtly. "Straight goods, Bill Terrill. And
it won't be a bargain for---a burglar, unless I'm mistaken. So long!
I've got to hustle or I may miss my guess and my man."

So saying, he nodded to Tom to follow him and strode away, leaving
Bill Terrill on the threshold of discovery.




CHAPTER VIII

THE SURVEYING SQUAD


Terrill's words about "no foolin' with that kid," coupled with his
startled look when he beheld the fragments of clothing, had started
a train of reasoning in the constable's mind. All he said to Tom,
however, was: "Come with me, boy. I'm not hankering for Bill's
company just now, though I may be keen to see him later. Come along."

Turning another corner, he led Tom across a vacant lot to a small,
unkempt, dingy old house at the end of the path. In the yard of
this dwelling a woman was hanging clothes on a line and a number
of mongrel hens were taking dust baths under some lilac bushes.
The breeze wafted the fragrance of these blossoms to Tom's nostrils
as he and Thompson approached them.