“How do you explain it?” asked Mr. Williams.
“I can’t explain it,” answered Hal. “I know absolutely nothing about it.”
“The medal and this envelope,” went on Mr. Williams, “were found in the pawnshop which you said you had visited that night in Boston. After I saw the Chief of Police and he gave me the medal and the envelope he went with me to the pawnshop and when I got there I recognized the address which you had given me. Then we rode back to the police department to interview the pawnbroker who has been arrested for receiving stolen property, and he told me this story.
“‘About five o’clock on Thursday evening of the previous week, a young man wearing a blue cloth hat and a mixed gray suit of clothes came into my place and asked me how much I would loan him on a watch which he laid down on the show case. I picked it up and saw two good-sized diamonds in the case. I was attracted by the stones and next examined them with my magnifying glass. They were exactly alike and I saw at once they were valuable, particularly to me as I had been asked that day by a customer to find him two perfectly matched white stones.
“‘Then I examined the watch inside and out and saw that it was also very valuable, and I said, thinking to get the watch cheap, since most people who pawn things do not redeem them, “I will let you have four hundred and fifty dollars on it.” The young fellow hesitated and then asked: “How much is it worth?” and I said, “a thousand dollars,” and he said, hesitating again, “Thank you, I just wanted to find out how much it is worth,” and hurried out. I didn’t think any more of it, except to guess to myself that the watch didn’t belong to the young man. About five minutes later he came back and I said, “Well, you have decided to let me have the watch anyhow for a while haven’t you?” He looked at me rather queerly and said after hesitating as he did before, “No, I won’t pawn that.” I noticed then he had on blue eyeglasses, but couldn’t say whether he had them on the first time he called because I paid more attention to the watch than to him.
“‘Finally he pulled out the medal, a very beautiful piece, and said, “I can spare this better for a while than the watch if you can let me have as much on it.” I took it in my hand, and noticing the inscription on it, said: “Is it yours?” “Of course,” he replied, and as it might easily be so from the inscription, and as very few people would take a chance on trying to pawn that kind of a medal if it didn’t belong to them, I took it and gave him four hundred and fifty dollars and the ticket. “I may not be able to come for this myself,” he said, “and I might lose the ticket, so make a note that it is not to be delivered to anyone, even if he has the ticket unless it is accompanied by an envelope like this one with this name on it and in his handwriting.” Then he handed me the envelope which I put in the safe with the medal, and which I turned over to the police this morning.’”
Hal was dumfounded. What could he say? He thought awfully hard. Finally he was able to say, “But I was with Hagner or with Hagner and Delvin all of the time I was in Boston, excepting during the five minutes it took me to call at the pawnshop about the watch. Besides, I haven’t any blue glasses. I didn’t have any and wouldn’t have had time to buy any while there.”
“Are you sure you were only away from Hagner for five minutes? The pawnbroker said both visits took place within ten or fifteen minutes all told. The glasses might have been bought before you took the train. We are not trying to accuse you, Case, we are trying to keep from having to,” said Mr. Williams.
“I am not sure that it was exactly five minutes,” said Hal. “I am not sure of anything except that I had nothing to do with the theft of the medal. And yet I can’t blame you gentlemen very much, because it certainly does look bad, especially when I was on my way to leave the University for good.”