“I don’t believe I’ll wait for Fred after all,” said Sleuth. “I think I’ll go home. Tell him when he comes that I was looking for a good book, but I don’t believe he has anything of the kind that would suit me.”
It was verging on twilight when Sleuth departed, and something like half an hour later Fred reached home. On being told by his mother of Piper’s visit, the boy betrayed some surprise and a singular amount of annoyance.
“Confound that fellow!” he exclaimed. “I’d like to know what he means. Did he try to pump you, mother?”
“Didn’t ask you a whole lot of foolish questions, did he?”
“I don’t think he asked me any questions at all.”
“Well, what did he do while he was here?”
“Entertained himself by looking at some magazines in the sitting-room.”
“He didn’t go prowling around over the house?”
“He said that he came for a book. He wanted something to read.”
“Bluff. He knows the stories I read wouldn’t interest him at all. Furthermore, he knew when he came that I wasn’t here. He got excused from practice to-night by saying that he had a cracking headache and felt ill.”
“He didn’t mention anything of the sort to me, and I’m sure he did not appear ill. I’m afraid there’s something wrong with that boy, Fred. You admitted yourself that some people thought him queer.”
“I’ll queer him, if he doesn’t behave,” muttered Fred.
On Wednesday morning Piper was not waiting for Sage on the way to school, but Fred found him with some other fellows at the academy. Straightway Sleuth was called aside by the vexed youth.
“Look here, Piper,” said Fred grimly, “I want to know why you showed up at my house last night and asked for me, when you knew I was at practice on the field?”
“Why, didn’t your mother tell you I wanted to borrow a book?” asked Sleuth innocently.
“Now don’t try any of that on me,” advised the other boy. “You knew I wouldn’t have anything you’d care to read. Besides that, you pretended that you expected to find me home.”
“But _I_ don’t misunderstand you, and I’ll tell you now to keep away from me and my home in future. I mean it, too. This business of playing the detective may be amusing and interesting to you, but it’s infernally annoying to anyone you happen to pester. I’ve had enough of it, and I won’t stand any more. Get that?”