Mr. John Stumpy had evidently been watching my proceedings closely, for when I turned to him he was quite startled. However, it did not take him long to recover, and then, bracing up, he hurried away without a word.
He was now neatly dressed and had had his face shaved. I conjectured that Mr. Woodward had advised this change in order to more fully carry out the deception in relation to the tramp's real character.
"There's that Stumpy," I whispered to Captain Enos, as I pointed my finger at the man. "He has been watching us."
"How do you know?" asked my uncle.
"Because he was just looking over my shoulder," I replied. "Shall I speak to him? I'd like to know what he intends to do next."
"It won't do any good. It ain't likely he'd tell you anything, and if he did, it wouldn't be the truth."
"Maybe it might."
"Well, do as you think best, Roger, only don't be too long—the widow and Kate are waiting, you know."
Pushing through the crowd, I tapped Stumpy on the shoulder. He looked around in assumed surprise.
"Hullo!" he exclaimed sharply. "What do you want?"