"Yes; he showed it to me at recess."
"Where did he say he got it?" asked Squire Bates, with a disturbed look.
"He wouldn't tell me. I asked him, but he said he wouldn't tell any one but you; and, though I told him I knew it was yours, he wouldn't give it to me."
"The boy did right," said Squire Bates, recovering his self-possession. "Perhaps it isn't mine."
"But I know it is yours, papa!" persisted Brandon.
"Very well! You may ask Dean Dunham to bring it to me. I can soon decide that point."
"This is awkward!" said the squire to himself, as he paced the room after Brandon had left his presence. "I can guess where the boy found the button. I must put him off the track by as plausible an explanation as I can devise."