"Do you mean to say I took your wallet?" asked Paul, thunderstruck.
"It cannot be otherwise. Did I not find it in thy pocket? Is there an officer present? This boy should be arrested."
"I am a detective," said a man near by, showing his badge.
"Then it is thy duty to arrest the boy. He is a thief!"
Poor Paul! Brave as he was, his heart sank as he saw the passengers regarding him with suspicion.
"I am innocent," he said. "I never stole in my life."
"So young and so hardened!" said the old man, sorrowfully; and Paul saw that his denial was not credited.