“What is your name and address, please?” And the man prepared to write it down.
Oliver told him.
“And you are sure your father gave you this pin for Christmas?”
“Certainly I am,” replied the boy, flushing. “I hope you don’t think I—”
“I have nothing to say, excepting that a gold watch and a diamond pin were stolen from a boarding-house in Twenty-fourth Street last evening.”
“And you think—” began Oliver, his heart rising in his throat.
“Never mind what I think, young man. Of course you may be innocent. But we must always be on our guard. I have sent my clerk around to the police precinct close by. You will please remain here until he returns.”
CHAPTER VI.
AT THE STEAMSHIP OFFICE.
Oliver was astonished and dismayed by the pawnbroker’s statement. What if the police should think he was the thief? It would cause him no end of trouble, and might prove the means of compelling him to return home.