“Who says so?” Pat returned, instantly on the defensive.
“You know plenty about what happened.”
“Only what I heard,” Pat replied. His bluster had faded away.
Dan was elated to note that his sharp question had worried the other. He would have pursued the matter further, but Pat and his friend moved off.
“You scored that time, Dan,” Brad said when they were alone again. “All the same, go easy in talking to him. If we’re to learn anything, we mustn’t give away what we suspect.”
“I’ll be more careful,” Dan promised. “Did you notice how he acted when I suggested that he’d been around the church Saturday?”
“I did, Dan. Tomorrow night I’m going out there again, and canvass the neighborhood. It may be that we can dig up someone who saw the damage being done. In that case, the Cubs could be cleared.”
“Pat and his gang were responsible, I’ll bet on that.”
“I think so myself,” Brad agreed. “But don’t forget, we must prove any charges we make.”
Though the Webster City newspapers carried only brief stories on the damage which had been done at the Christian Church, word of it spread very rapidly.