"Yes; I took it out of my pocket when I paid for a ticket."
"I think your pocket must have been picked."
Sitting next to the woman was a man who seemed absorbed in reading a morning newspaper; even the woman's complaint did not appear to excite his attention.
This led Andy to move his head to get a nearer view of him. He started in surprise. It was the adventurer, whom he had already met twice that morning. He had little doubt that he was the thief.
It was perhaps somewhat rash to hazard a charge without proof, but he felt indignant and could not resist the impulse.
"I think that man has your purse," he said, pointing to the individual behind the newspaper.
"This is an outrage!" exclaimed the latter, with assumed anger. "I am a Boston merchant."
He was respectably dressed, and the charge did not seem very plausible.
"My boy, you should be careful how you make such charges," said his next neighbor, reprovingly.
But Andy was not abashed.