“I may be able to get one yet. If he is sure he is going to die he may admit everything. I intend to make an effort to see him in the hospital and ask him about the Tower robbery, anyway.”

“Is he far away?”

Mr. Hardy named a small city not far distant from Bayport.

“I explained my mission to the doctor in charge and he promised to telephone me as soon as it was possible for Jackley to see anyone. I’m convinced that the fellow had something to do with the Tower affair. It’s a certainty that he stole the automobile⁠—the wig proves that. By the same token it’s certain that he was the man who tried to hold up the ticket office. Having failed in that attempt, it seems more than likely that an old-time criminal like Jackley would look around for something else to do before he left Bayport.”

“You say he used to work near here?” asked Joe.