travel books: Delbury did. He saw through the little game in about five seconds. The proofs were obvious. All the delicate little instruments in the racks were old and rusted. They were corroded at the joints and had not been used for years. The pieces set out with such scrupulous care under the inverted glasses were all odd. They did not fit-did not even belong to the same make of watch. The watch actually laid out for repairs lacked three-quarters of its vitals. To have set it going again would have cost roughly five times its original worth. Tansy, all too obviously, had been playing his little pretence with that watch for months. He picked the watch up and wrapped it carefully away in his handkerchief. The finger-print clues would be highly esteemed by a certain gentleman at the Yard, who, armed with a powder and an enlarging camera, would have pleasure in trotting out Tansy's complete criminal record in something under fifteen minutes. In a small drawer under the bench were a few bundles of dusty bills. Every one was from a local rival, a real watch-repairing jeweller, and concerned the repair of various watches. The evidence confirmed Delbury's presumptions. The place was nothing more than a legitimately disguised meeting-place for cracksmen. There was a communicating door leading to the apartments at the back, but it was heavily locked and bolted. Delbury was twenty minutes gaining books

Books > Old Books > The Man They Couldn't Arrest (1927)

Page 141

THE MAN THEY COULDN'T ARREST

Delbury did. He saw through the little game in about five seconds. The proofs were obvious. All the delicate little instruments in the racks were old and rusted. They were corroded at the joints and had not been used for years. The pieces set out with such scrupulous care under the inverted glasses were all odd. They did not fit-did not even belong to the same make of watch. The watch actually laid out for repairs lacked three-quarters of its vitals. To have set it going again would have cost roughly five times its original worth. Tansy, all too obviously, had been playing his little pretence with that watch for months.
He picked the watch up and wrapped it carefully away in his handkerchief. The finger-print clues would be highly esteemed by a certain gentleman at the Yard, who, armed with a powder and an enlarging camera, would have pleasure in trotting out Tansy's complete criminal record in something under fifteen minutes.
In a small drawer under the bench were a few bundles of dusty bills. Every one was from a local rival, a real watch-repairing jeweller, and concerned the repair of various watches.
The evidence confirmed Delbury's presumptions. The place was nothing more than a legitimately disguised meeting-place for cracksmen.
There was a communicating door leading to the apartments at the back, but it was heavily locked and bolted. Delbury was twenty minutes gaining