Tom exchanged glances with the officer, who called a police stenographer to note down what Trebar was about to say. When a young man with pad and pencil arrived, Trebar said:
“I’m a stunt man at a circus. I sit on flagpoles. But I don’t like to climb flagpoles. So Mr. Dansitt flies me over the flagpoles and I drop down on top of “em.”
With that he blew out a cloud of smoke and laughed raucously.
The sergeant flushed with anger. “Cut out the cracks. Tell us the story straight!” he warned. “Is Dansitt a friend of yours?”
The prisoner looked insolently from Tom to the THE MYSTERIOUS PRISONER 91
sergeant. “Of course he’s a friend of mine. And he’ll get me out of this jam, too. A guy can have friends, can’t he?”
Tom took up his questioning again. “Where did you get that dog’s-head coin the cook saw?”
“That chowderhead needs glasses,” the man replied. “I don’t have a peso.”
“I didn’t say it was a peso,” Tom said, as Trebar purpled at his own blunder.
“Where is it?”
The man reluctantly pulled it from his pocket.
“Where did you get it, from Dansitt? Is it the insigne of your gang?”
“I found it!” Trebar shouted. “There’s no law against finding things! I keep it for a souvenir!”
The officer whispered to Tom that he thought further interrogation was useless at this time. As he did, the prisoner stormed: “You can’t hold me!”
“You’ll be fined for assaulting Chow,” the sergeant reminded him.
“Okay, I’ll pay the fine, but let me out of here!”
Tom took the officer aside, and after a conversation in low tones, the police sergeant turned to the prisoner.
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