"I'm certain!" she whispered, breathlessly. "When I told Jim first, he wasn't glad at all, until I managed to let him know his father wasn't arrested. O Fred, that boy's a little trump!"
Meanwhile, in Mrs. Calkins's sitting-room, father and son faced each other, and it would be hard to say which of the two was the more embarrassed.
But certain questions burned on Mr. Edwards's lips.
"Jim," he said, with anxious emotion, "did you think that I shot Lamoury?"
"Yes, sir," said Jim.
"But why, my boy, why should I want to shoot him?"
"Lamoury had been telling," said Jim, highly embarrassed.
"Telling?" said his father, in perplexity.
"Yes, sir," said Jim, "you know—about your being a—a smuggler."
Much astonished, Mr. Edwards pushed his questions, and soon came to know the depth and breadth of his boy's misconception.