"Course, there may be nothing to it. But who else could have lost that knife there without making talk about it—advertised the loss, as ye might say?"
"True," agreed Thompson.
"Probably it belongs to somebody who is kind of a fancy dresser. No ordinary longshore clam digger would own such a thing. I give it as my opinion that it might have been lost by some feller—whoever he was—that has been hangin' around the port long enough this summer to l'arn all them burglars wanted to know about the bank, and the watchman, and all. Heh?"
"Sounds reasonable, Tobias."
"I cal'late. And he must be one of the summer folks."
"That is so, too. Whom do you suspect, Tobias?"
The lightkeeper grinned. He wagged his head.
"Oh, sugar!" he said, paying Arad Thompson back in his own coin. "If I am suspecting anybody, I ain't going to tell you, Mr. Thompson. Nossir!"
CHAPTER XX
PUT TO THE QUESTION