"Well—no matter: please give me his name, and tell me all about him. What is he doing here?"
"Teaching music, principally; teaches most anything—the languages, especially French; says he has lived in France a while; but 'tain't he—and—if 'twas, I don't know but I should forgive him, if I knew it, as far as I am concerned, and let him go, or send him off; for he's engaged to a beautiful niece of mine, and first made her acquaintance here at my house. They had but just left when you called last night, and were full of sympathy for me. He is very active in devising plans to catch the villains, and has been out frequently with others, keeping night watch."
"Were there any robberies on the nights of such watching?" I asked.
"No; but I never suspected there would be, when so many were watching."
"Yet," said I, "from what I learn, the robberies have been very bold at times—early in the evening, when people were abroad."
"True," he replied. "I didn't think of that before. I wish I could have got at the scoundrels' faces that night; but their caps were securely tied on, and their faces blackened."
"They were white men, you are sure, then?"
"Yes; no doubt of that."
Finally, I persuaded Mr. Perkins to give me the man's name, as he knew, of course, I could now find it out by inquiring of somebody else, if I thought prudent to inquire.
We talked over the matter still further: and Mr. Perkins agreed to keep to his bed for two or three days. I was to reconnoitre, and report to him what I found out, and we were to consult together, and I left. I avoided making the acquaintance of the young man in question, although I had twenty occasions for so doing for a day or two; but on the night of the third day after my arrival another burglary took place, of considerable amount, and there was evidence, too, of an attempt at arson. In listening to the investigation of the burglary, I thought I saw that the young music teacher was as likely as anybody to have had a hand in it; and was confirmed in my suspicions by his manner, when I heard him talk it over next day with some friends at the hotel.