"Burglary!" said the constable.
"By the powers of mud, stand back!" shouted the indignant Bragg.
"Come along, my lad!" said the constable. And Bragg, struggling with the officers and uttering volleys of oaths, was dragged from the car and had handcuffs put on his wrists.
"I knew that fellow was a thief," said the man who had lost his bundle.
A daring burglary had been committed in the neighborhood of Bella Vista. At about twelve o'clock on the preceding night the store-room which adjoined the dwelling-house of a country merchant had been broken open. The merchant was aroused and entered the store-room, but was knocked down and gagged by the burglars, and his goods carried off before his eyes. He had described the leader of the gang as a tall, raw-boned man, with a Roman nose. The appearance of Captain Bragg corresponded to the description, and hence he was arrested by the vigilant constables.
Great was the astonishment of Toney and his two friends when the train stopped, and they beheld Bragg led from the cars by the officers, with handcuffs on his wrists.
"Good heavens!" said Toney, "Bragg has encountered Botts and murdered him, and has been arrested for the crime."
"That is just what has happened!" exclaimed Seddon, with a look of horror.
"It is shocking to think of!" said Toney.
"Murder a man on account of a monkey!" said Seddon.