“Do hear that!” ejaculated the would-be thief in well-assumed surprise. “After me—when I’ve been on guard outside this last hour, and can prove it by the next guard.”
“This soldier told us you were here,” said the officer of the guard. “He wasn’t here himself.”
“He was here!” cried Henry. “I saw him sneak in, and I came after him, to see what he intended to do. Then he knocked me over and ran away.”
“False! utterly false!” roared Prent. He strode forward. “Say that again and I’ll knock you down in truth. I am an honest man.”
“I’ve told the truth,” answered Henry doggedly.
“But we found you here, while he was outside,” insisted the officer.
“He ran away, as I said, after knocking me down. If you’ll search him you’ll find his pockets full of stolen things.”
“Search me, by all means,” cried Prent, who had thrown the stolen articles into a corner when leaving the building. He pulled out several of his pockets. “I haven’t a thing that is not my own.”
“Men, make that fellow a prisoner,” cried the officer of the guard, raising his finger and pointing to Henry.
“But sir——” gasped the young soldier, with a sinking heart.