"That's true, I did run away. Can you blame me? They half starved me and beat me, and wanted me to go up on the trapeze after I had had a spell of sickness."
"We saw you on a freight train leaving Rallings."
"Oh, did you? Yes, I left town on a freight. It was the easiest way to go—-and the cheapest." And the boy smiled quietly.
"Now give us the truth about our boat," said Shep sternly. "You ran off with it last night, didn't you?"
"No, sir!" And the boy looked the doctor's son squarely in the eyes.
"I never took any property that didn't belong to me in my life."
"And where did you find the boat?"
"About half a mile from here, along the shore. I made up my mind it had broken loose somehow, and I thought if I found the owner he might—-er—-that is——-"
"Give you a reward?" suggested Snap. Something about the lad's manner pleased him.
"Well, he might give me something to eat."
"Hungry?"