"Come along!" said the officer.
"Is there no one here who will speak for me?" asked Robert, looking about him on the suspicious and distrustful faces that surrounded him.
"Yes, I will do so," said a voice, and a tall, dignified looking gentleman with white hair pressed forward toward him.
All eyes were turned upon the gentleman.
"The boy is not a thief!" he said.
"Then perhaps," said the floor-walker sarcastically, "you can tell who is?"
"I can," returned the other calmly. "There is the thief!"
He pointed to a flashily attired young man who started to go out--protesting that it was all a mistake.
"That won't go down," said the floor-walker. "Who are you, sir, that try to screen the boy at the expense of an innocent man?"
"I am the Rev. Dr. Blank; I am pretty well known in Chicago, I believe."