The second intruder entered the grounds in much more open
fashion. He was a man in the late twenties; well-set up, neatly,
even sprucely, dressed; and he walked with a slight swagger. He
looked very much at home and very certain of his welcome.
A casual student of human nature would have guessed him to be a
traveling salesman, finely equipped with nerve and with
confidence in his own goods. The average servant would have been
vastly impressed with his air of self assurance; and would have
admitted him to the house, without question. (The long-memoried
warden of Auburn Prison would have recognized him as Alf Dugan,
one of the cleverest automobile thieves in the East.)
Mr. Dugan was an industrious young man; as well as ingenious. And
he had a streak of quick-witted audacity which made him an
ornament to his chosen profession. His method of work was simple.
Coming to a rural neighborhood, he would stop at some local
hotel, and, armed with clever patter and a sheaf of automobile
insurance documents, would make the rounds of the region's
better-class homes.
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