Clay put the diamonds in the box and laid it away. Then more coffee was made, and rolls and sausages brought out, and all four fell to with keen appetites, Alex explaining that the previous meal that night had not been satisfying because of the absence of Jule, and because of the excitement of the policeman’s visit and the arrest of the stranger.
There was no doubt in the minds of the three now that the boy who had been arrested had been the one Jule had seen by the warehouse, the one who had been seen to enter the cabin, the one who had taken the money!
The one thing in opposition to this theory was the fact that the boy had returned to the vicinity of the boat after taking the money—if, indeed, he had not remained about the warehouse during all the time which had intervened between the taking of the money and the arrival of the officer. Then, too, he had voluntarily entered the cabin, to escape from the officer. That did not look like the act of a guilty person.
“Who do you think this strange boy is?” asked Jule, at the conclusion of the story. “I like the way he spoke up to the policeman and said he had lied about belonging here. It is a sure thing he’s honest, and never stole the diamonds. What do you think?” he demanded, turning to his chums.
“He may be honest,” Clay answered.
“He’s a thief!” Case thundered.
“He’s all right!” insisted Alex.
“Anyway,” Jule continued, with a grin at the diverse opinions of the stranger so expressed, “it is certain he saw Clay pick up the brown leather bag, and the chances are that he knew where the stones were when the policeman took him away. You say someone looked in at the window. Well, that was this lad, and he saw the diamonds on the table, and saw you put them in the coffee-pot. If he’s honest he’ll wait until he finds the owner of the diamonds, and then tell him where they are. If he is a crook he’ll tell the police about seeing them here and get us all into trouble.”
“They were here when he was arrested,” Alex urged, “and he never said a word about them. If he knew about them, he would have told the officer, wouldn’t he? I don’t believe he knows anything about the diamonds or the mo——”
Clay gave the boy’s leg a pinch under the table.