“All this time I wrongfully was blaming Jack,” Mrs. Jones said. “And the boy never once spoke up to set me right!”
“After using the dress, I suppose you hid it in the hollow log in the woods,” Mr. Hatfield commented.
“That’s right,” the tramp agreed. “For a while I slept in an unoccupied house near here. After the contractor drove me away, I had to throw up that shack in the woods. It was pretty cold at night.”
“What about the money?” Trooper Peterson reminded him.
“There’s not much more to tell. I made up my mind to return it to Merrimac like I said.”
“But you never did?”
“I tried. Once I got into the house, but before I could put the box where I’d found it, someone rang the doorbell. I had to get out fast!”
“You could have left the money,” the trooper pointed out.
“I guess so,” the tramp admitted. “I was sort of rattled. I just crawled out the back window and beat it as fast as I could.”
“After that, you didn’t make another attempt to return the money?”