“What are you driving at?” asked Dick. “I hope you didn’t fire that shot from the island, Cole.”
“No, I didn’t!” cried the Maplewood boy quickly. “I’m going to tell you the truth about that. It was Fernald who done it. He had a pistol. It wasn’t no gun he used. I didn’t know why he wanted to land on the island when he saw you coming over that way, but we landed and he watched until you was close. Fust thing I knew I see him pull out a pistol and cock it. Even then I didn’t s’pose he was goin’ ter shoot at nobody, but in a minute he lifted it, and I came near spitting my heart right out, for I saw he was pointing it at one of you fellers in the canoe. Jest as he shot I gave his arm a poke and that spoiled his aim. He was mad, too, I tell yer. When I asked him what he was trying ter do he said he could tell anybody it was an accident—that we was jest firing at a mark on the island. I was all-fired skat, and I wanted to git away. We hustled into our canoe, and you know the rest. I don’t think he tried to shoot at you. It seemed to me that he was firing at the other feller. Mebbe the bullet went nearer you because I poked his arm.”
“Look here, Cole,” said Dick earnestly, “are you ready to swear to this in court?”
The Maplewood boy betrayed evident alarm.
“No, no!” he exclaimed. “I won’t do that! Why, Fernald would lay it up agin’ me, and I’d git soaked for it sometime.”
“But if you were compelled to tell the story in court you wouldn’t perjure yourself?”
“I don’t know for sure that he really tried to shoot at either one of you,” said Cole, a crafty look coming into his eyes. “If I had to tell anything in court I’d say I didn’t know jest what he was tryin’ to shoot at; but I saw you out there and knew the bullet was going to come pretty near you, and so I poked his arm. If he said he was firing at a mark or a bird I couldn’t deny it.”
Dick saw at once that any attempt to use Cole as a witness against Fernald would fail.
“I ain’t going to be your enemy no more,” declared Jack. “I decided on that while I was walking round the shore. If I can help you somehow I’ll do it, too; but I won’t go into court and git into no trouble that way.”
“I suppose you know that the trolley car that was bringing us to Maplewood this afternoon jumped the track, and that the rails had been loosened and spread by some one?” questioned Dick.