"We'll do that, and mighty quick," Captain Allerson answered, forceful if not grammatical.
The four men gathered around, and in such a way that they were between Henryson and the door, so that he could not possibly make his escape.
"It was this here way," the police force began ponderously, all the time glowering at the discovered trickster, who refused to meet the gaze of any of the others. "I didn't know how much you suspected concernin' this mean meddler, but I had 'im marked from the very beginning as the original messenger of misery. Consequent thereto, I nachurally had an eye peeled fer him ever since that little fracas with the snowshoes when he showed up his sweet disposition.
"I ain't 'zactly pinned that fire to him yet, but I guess this is what them lawyer fellers calls circumstantial evidence of a convictin' nature.
"I sees him headin' this way a while ago, an' all the time actin' zif he didn't want to invite the general public to whatever festivities it was he was about to attend. So I thought I'd just nachurally trail along, sufficient in the rear an' out of sight so he wouldn't know what an interestin' cuss he'd become. I didn't want to arouse his suspicions, ner flatter his vanity neither.
"Well, just as I expected, he took a roundabout way, but his general direction was toward this place, and finally he reached it. Once he was inside, I wasn't long gettin' here either. I peeked in, and sure 'nough, there he was a-monkeyin' around, with no good in his twisted mind, I'll bet.
"I tiptoed in just as he was about to do somethin' to one o' them there wires. I sneaked around the side o' the plane, and was jest about to ast him sudden like what he was doin' in this here hangar, when I put my hand on somethin' thet seemed to run hot and cold both at the same time, an' be full o' needles, too; and I give a surprised little remark which causes him to jump, and touch his tender hand to thet wire, which seemed to be loaded the same way.
"The resultin' general conversation directed toward effectin' our release, I believe you heard."
"Just as I thought," said Big Jack, turning furiously toward Henryson. "Now, you pup, what were you doing here?"