“Fellows,” cried Merriwell, “see that scar under his ear! I have made a big catch this morning, for this is the gentleman Ben Bowers, the sheriff, wants to see. This is Joe Tweed, who robbed and nearly killed Peter Small!”
Frank’s words gave the others a shock, but they saw that, with his disguise removed, the man answered the description Bowers had given of the robber.
Of course the captive denied that he was Tweed, but that made no difference with Frank.
“Mr. Bowers will decide that point,” he said. “I shall take you over to see him to-day.”
The prisoner resorted to threats, pleading and attempted bribery. Everything was unavailing. Frank was determined, and that very day, before noon, the man stood before the sheriff and was identified as Joe Tweed.
“Young man,” said Bowers, “you done a big job when you caught him! The reward is your’n, and I’ll see that you git it. I was afraid the blamed critter had got clean away.”
“And so I would,” said Tweed, sullenly, “if I had not been a fool. I might have skipped yesterday, but I stayed to get a crack at Frank Merriwell, and he has landed me here. I made my mistake in not letting him rip, even if he was responsible for my ducking in the lake. But I never robbed old Small, and I defy you to prove that I did.”
This did not prove so hard, however, for Jim Welch turned out to be Tweed’s accomplice, and he gave the whole thing away when he was accused. Almost every dollar of the stolen money was recovered, and both Welch and Tweed were indicted and held for trial.
Merriwell actually received the reward that had been offered for the capture of the robber.
“Fellows,” he said, “that was a great catch, for this money will go a long distance toward defraying the expenses of our trip. We are having lots of sport, and it is not costing us much.”