and of course Mike Ayers. I'll take the roadster and drive out to Pike County for a little duck hunting, and when you get caught up with your reading just wire me care of Cleve Sturgis and I'll mosey back and we'll tackle this murder case. And take it easy, take your time; if you eat the apple after it is too ripe you'll get ptomaine poisoning or erysipelas or something, at least I hope to God you will.' I was glaring at him, with no result except to make me feel like a sap, because he merely shut his eyes so as not to see me. I got up from my chair and glared anyhow. 'Damn it, all I'm asking for is just a little halfway co-operation! One little lousy cablegram to that Roman wop!
I ask you, should I have to work myself into turmoil – now what the hell do you want?'
The last was for Fritz. He had appeared 1' the door. He was frowning, because he 'ever liked to hear me yell at Wolfe, and I I frowned back at him. Then I saw someone standing behind him and I let the frown go and said:
'Come on in, Orrie. What's the loot?'
I turned to Wolfe and smoothed my voice out and opened up the respect: 'He phoned a while ago and said he had got hold of something he wanted to show us. I told you, but you were engrossed in your book.'
Orrie Gather had a bundle about the size of a small suitcase, wrapped in brown paper and tied with heavy string.
I said, 'I hope it's books.'
He shook his head..'It's not heavy enough for books.' He set it down on the desk and looked around, and I shoved up a chair for him.
'What is it?'
'Search me. I brought it here to open it. It may be just a lot of nothing at all, but I had a hunch.'
I got out my pocketknife, but Wolfe shook his head. He said to Orrie, 'Go on.'
Orrie grinned. 'Well, as I say, it may be a lot of nothing at all, but I'd got so fed up after a day and a half finding out nothing whatever about that cripple except.1 where he buys his groceries and how often he gets his shoes shined, that when something came along that looked like it might be a little break I guess I got excited. I've just been following your instructions -ff ^Yes. Let us arrive at the package.' ^Right. This morning I dropped in at the Greenwich Bookshop. I got talking with the guy, and I said I supposed he had Paul Chapin's books in his circulating library, and he said sure, and I said I might like to get one, and he handed me one and I looked it over -' ^ I couldn't help it; I snorted and stopped him. Orrie looked surprised, and Wolfe moved his eyes at me. I sat down.
'Then I said Chapin must be an interesting guy and had he ever seen him, and he said sure, Chapin lived in that neighborhood and bought books there and came in pretty often. He showed me a Photograph of Chapin, autographed, on the wall with some others. A woman with black hair was sitting at a desk in the back of the shop, and she called out to the guy that that reminded her, Mr. Chapin never had come for the package he had left there a couple of weeks ago, and with Christmas stuff coming in the package was in the way, and hadn't he better phone Mr. Chapin to send for it. The guy said maybe he would a little later, it was too early for Chapin to be up. I deposited my dollar and got my book and went down the street to a lunch counter and sat down with a cup of coffee to think.'
Wolfe nodded sympathetically. Orrie looked at him suspiciously and went on: ‹I figured it this way. Two weeks ago was about the time the cops were warming up on Chapin. What if he got hep they would pull a search on him, and he had something in his place he didn't want them to see? There were a lot of things he might do, and one of them was to wrap it | up and take it to his friends at the bookshop and ask them to keep it for j him. It would be about as safe there as anywhere. Anyhow, I decided I liked Chapin well enough to do him the favor of taking a look at his package for him. I got an envelope and a piece of paper from a stationery store and went to a real J estate office and bummed the use of a typewriter. I wrote a nice note to the bookshop. I had used my eyes on Chapin's signature on the autographed photograph and got it pretty good. But then I was afraid to send it, so soon after Fd been there and heard the package mentioned. I decided to wait until afternoon. So a while ago I got a boy and sent him to the bookshop with the note, and I'm telling you it worked and they gave it to him.' Orrie nodded his head at the desk. 'That's it.'
I got up and got out my knife again.
Wolfe said, 'No. Untie it.' I started to work at the knot, which was a lulu. Orrie wiped his hand across his forehead and said, 'By God, if it's just fishing tackle or electric light bulbs or something, you'll have to give me a drink. This is the only break I've had.'
I said, 'Among other things, there's
Just a chance we might find a set of typewriter type-bars. Or love-letters from Mrs. Loring A. Burton, huh? – There's I nothing doing on this knot. He didn't want me to untie it, or anybody else. Even if I do get it, I could never tie it back again the same.' I picked up my knife again, and looked at Wolfe. He nodded, and I slashed the string.
I took off the paper, several thicknesses.
It wasn't a suitcase, but it was leather, and not imitation. It was an oblong box made out of light tan calfskin, a special job, beautifully made, with fine lines of tooling around the edges. It was a swell number. Orrie grunted:
'Jesus, I may be in for grand larceny.'
Wolfe said, 'Go on,' but he didn't get up so he could see.» . 'I can't. It's locked.' 'Well.' I went to the safe and got a couple of my bunches of keys, and went back and started trying. The lock was nothing remarkable; in a few minutes I had it. I laid the keys down and lifted the lid. Orrie stood up and looked in with me. We didn't say anything for a second, then we looked at each other. I never saw him look so disgusted. J Wolfe said, 'Empty?'
'No, sir. We'll have to give Orrie a ;^ drink. It's not his, it's hers. I mean Dora Chapin's. It's her hand-and-foot box.
Gloves and stockings and maybe other dainties.'
'Indeed.' To my surprise Wolfe 1 showed interest. His lips pushed out and in. He was even going to
