"I haven't done anything."
"You can tell that to the police, after you are locked up. Come up."
Slowly and with downcast face Bill Dangler crawled from the small cellar and pulled himself up to the floor of the cabin. He gazed reproachfully at the old man, who was again trembling.
"I'll fix you for going back on me," he muttered.
"They say you are a thief," answered the old man. "If you are, I want nothing more to do with you. I am poor, but I am honest—everybody who knows me knows that."
"He shall not harm you," put in Tom. "He'll soon be behind the bars."
A glance at the party of four, with their shotguns, convinced the freight thief that escape was out of the question.
"I suppose I'll have to give up," he growled. "But I ain't as guilty as you may think I am."
"You are guilty enough," said Sam.
"I didn't plan those freight robberies."