“Gosh, you may be right, at that!” exclaimed Perry. “I was just telling your father that I saw a strange man lurking about the grounds of Tower Mansion two days before the robbery. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and in the shock of Dad’s arrest I forgot about it.”

“Did you get a good look at him? Could you describe him?” asked the detective.

“I’m afraid I couldn’t. It was in the evening, and I was sitting by the window, studying. I happened to look up and I saw this fellow moving about under the trees near the wall. Later on I heard one of the dogs barking in another part of the grounds, and shortly afterward I saw someone running across the lawn. But I thought it was probably just a tramp.”

“Did he wear a hat or a cap?”

“As near as I can remember, it was a cap. His clothes were dark.”

“And you couldn’t see his face?”