“No; on the contrary, I say it is false, every word of it. Did you say this happened last Wednesday?”
“I did.”
“Both Roger Morr and I were at the school all day Wednesday. During the day I attended all my classes, and after school I went to my room, along with Polly Vane, Luke Watson, and Sam Day, and the three of us wrote on the essays we had to hand in Thursday. After supper we went down to the gym for about half an hour, and then went back to our dormitory. And, come to think of it, you saw us there,” added Dave suddenly.
“I saw you?”
“You certainly did. You came to the door and asked Luke Watson for a Latin book; don’t you remember? Luke got it out of his bureau. We were all at the big table. Sam Day flipped a button at you and it hit you in the chin.”
At these unexpected words the face of the money-lender’s son fell.
“Was that—er—was that Wednesday?” he faltered.
“It certainly was, for we had to hand the essays in Thursday and we were all working like beavers on them.”
“Nat, what Dave says is absolutely true—I know he wasn’t near Leesburgh last week, for I was with him every day and every evening,” said Ben.
“But I got the word from some fellows in Leesburgh. They followed you from the hotel to the show and talked to you afterwards, and they said you told them your name was Porter, and the other chap said his name was Morr. They said you gave the names of Poole and Plum just to keep your real identity hidden.”