"Where did you get them?"
"From a friend in New York. He intrusted them to me to use if I needed. Meanwhile I was to put them in the savings bank."
"Not a very likely story," said the detective suspiciously.
"Likely or not, it is a true story. Does this man Carver claim to have lost any gold coins?"
"No."
"I thought not."
"However, we come back to the inquiry—where did you get the watch?"
"The man who slept in the room with me must have left it here to throw suspicion on me," said Fred, with sudden inspiration.
"That is possible," said the clerk, who was favorably impressed by Fred's manner.
"We must not jump at conclusions," said the detective warily. "I shall feel justified in detaining the boy after what I have found."