"Have you heard anything more of that young Endicott?" he asked Tobias, merely nodding to the young woman.
"Wal, nothing that ye might call authoritative," the old man said slowly. "There's rumors——"
"Yes. We've run some of them down. He was mixed up in that break at the bank as sure as guns," the detective interposed with much assurance.
"Oh!" gasped Lorna, sitting down suddenly.
The man flashed a glance at her that seemed questioning; but he continued to address Tobias.
"We have learned that he is a pretty shrewd fellow—up to a certain point. All these crooks fall down at some place or another."
Again Lorna spoke. "How dare you?" she demanded, but under her breath.
The man gave her another swift glance but made her no reply. He went on coolly to Tobias:
"He planned his alibi with some smartness. Shipped his trunk to a New Bedford wharf where a fishing schooner called the Nelly G. was tied up. Sent it on his ticket. But he slipped off the train and came back to Clinkerport in the evening. This was the night of the robbery, you understand."
"How do you know all this?" demanded the young woman, with strong emotion.