"How do you know?"
"I know Tom Tyler."
"Then how did it happen?"
Cap'n Mike rose and clicked his jackknife shut. He tossed away the elm twig. "You got a car?"
"Yes."
"Let's take a ride. You'll want to see the wreck, and I do, too. We can talk on the way."
The boys accepted with alacrity. Rick and Scotty sat in the back seat; the captain rode up front with Jerry. At the old man's direction, Jerry drove to the water front and then turned left.
"I'll start at the beginning," Cap'n Mike said. "I've had experience with reporters in my day. Best to tell 'em everything, otherwise they start leaping at conclusions and get everything backwards. Can't credit a reporter with too many brains."
"You're right there," Jerry said amiably.
Rick grinned. He had seen Jerry in operation before. The young reporter didn't mind any kind of insult if there were a story in the offing. Rick guessed the newspaper trade wasn't a place for thin skins.