“You can come with me quietly and without any fuss. I am an officer, and have a warrant for your arrest on the charge of robbing a safe in the office of the A. & B. Railroad Company at Mountain Junction.”
“I—charged with robbing a safe!” repeated Myles, slowly, and with a face so colorless that he looked as though about to faint. “Who dares bring such a charge against me?”
“The charge is made, I believe, by Mr. Ben Watkins, assistant division superintendent at Mountain Junction. My instructions and the warrant for your arrest were forwarded by his uncle, the division superintendent at that place,” answered the detective.
“Where do you want me to go with you?” asked Myles, with a wild look in his eyes and his face still deathly pale.
“To the office of the president of the road first,” answered the officer, evasively. He thought it as well not to say just yet that he was instructed to deliver his prisoner to the authorities at Mountain Junction, where he would probably be locked up to await trial.
“May I speak to the city editor for a moment?” asked poor Myles, whose brain was in such a whirl at this terrible accusation that he hardly knew what to say or do.
“Certainly you may. I’m never hard on my prisoners so long as they act decently and behave themselves.”
This conversation had been carried on in such low tones that none of the other reporters had caught a word of it. They saw, however, by Myles’ face that something very serious had happened to him, and they watched him curiously as he almost staggered toward the city editor’s desk.
“Mr. Haxall,” he said abruptly, “that man over there is a detective, and has a warrant for my arrest on the charge of robbing a safe. What shall I do?”