CHAPTER IV.
ROWE SHELLY, THE RUNAWAY.
"JUST one more word, Mr. Officer," continued Joe Wayring, when he had seen his discomfited friend Arthur vanish in the crowd, "and then I will cease troubling you."
"Be in a hurry, then," was the gruff rejoinder. "Don't say anything to confirm the suspicion I have that you are trying to make game of me, for if you do you will spend the rest of the night ruder lock and key, sure pop."
"I assure you that my only desire is to gain some reliable information regarding my missing friend," answered Joe, choking back his wrath. "What precinct does this man Babcock belong to?"
"He doesn't belong to any. He is a private detective, and works wherever he is called."
"What agency does he belong to?"
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