It was an open and shut game against a dead
man! Even his previous good record would smash on the rock of a presumed
double life. The fact that Klanner had voluntarily been in a place like
Baldy Jack's was damning in itself!
Jimmie Dale, approaching the garishly lighted exterior of the dance hall
now, lit a cigarette. The plan, if successful, placed the guilt without
question or cavil upon Klanner, but that was not all--strong as that
motive might be, Clarke had had still another in view, and one that
perhaps took precedence over the first. Hunchback Joe had defined it
clearly enough. The documents would have been valueless to Clarke,
either to sell, or to put to any use himself, if the plans and
arrangements they contained were subsequently altered or changed. But it
was obvious that a man in Klanner's station could have no _personal_
interest in them; it was obvious, as evidenced by the money, that he was
working for some one else, and therefore the documents appearing in his
trunk would logically appear to have been recovered _before_ he had been
able to hand them over to his principal, and _before_ any vital harm had
been done that would necessitate any change in the details they
contained.
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