“How do I know? Why, he—he came here alone; came to get a glimpse of the mother whose heart was so nearly broken over his terrible misfortune. Oh, Sleuth, you can’t realize what you’ve done! You pried into our secret. There are few families so fortunate that they have no secret they wish to keep hidden from the general public.”
“I won’t argue about that,” said Piper, returning the newspaper clipping to his pocket, “for it can have no bearing on the situation. You say your brother was not concerned in the attempt to rob the Oakdale bank. I ask, how do you know? He was here, wasn’t he? He was hidden in your stable. Of course he told you that he came here to see your mother. That’s a plausible story. But how do you know he didn’t come here to take a hand in that bank cracking? While you were asleep in your bed last night, he was helping his pals cut their way into the bank and blow open the vault.”
“No—I tell you no!” contradicted Fred, his hands working convulsively, as if he longed to choke the other boy. “Clarence never did a dishonorable or criminal thing in his life. After his escape from prison he fled to the West, and, while this man called Gentleman Jim has been making himself notorious as a crook, Clarence has been in Alaska and Australia. He has but lately returned to this part of the country.”
“How do you know?” persisted Sleuth, unshaken in his position. “Of course that’s the story he told you. Naturally, he’d lie to you.”
Fred’s chest rose and fell; his teeth were set and his nostrils dilated; his appearance was so ominous that Piper shrank away.
“’Twon’t do you any good to jump on me,” spluttered Sleuth. “If your brother wasn’t one of that gang, how did it happen that the wound of the other chap who was captured was bound up in your stable? How did it happen that you led him into the woods, in order that he might have a chance to get away?”
“I’ll tell you,” answered Fred, after exhaling a long breath that seemed to relieve in a degree the tension of his nerves. “My brother knew that man in prison. The man’s name is Riley. When Riley sought shelter in our stable my brother saw him sitting there on a box and trying weakly to staunch the flow of blood. Clarence came out and gave a hand to bind up Riley’s wound. About that time some men searching for the robbers passed our house, and we learned what had happened. I went into the stable and came upon Clarence and Riley. Of course it was necessary for them to tell me how matters stood. In a moment I realized the danger to my brother—the terrible danger of having Riley traced there and captured on the premises. I knew what I was doing when I guided the man into the woods, but I did so for my brother’s sake.”
Sleuth shook his head. “Too bad—too bad you had to do that, for it makes you sort of an accomplice. However, Sage, even though you thought me your bitter enemy and I knew just what you now own that you did, I haven’t breathed a word that would bring suspicion of this matter upon you. I’ve pledged Hooker to keep still. He’s your friend, and that fact ought to help keep his mouth buttoned up.”
“As long as you’ve done this much, why won’t you do something more? It’s doubtful if the people here know anything of my brother’s history, and so, if it’s shown that he was not connected with last night’s affair, he may be released. They are still searching for the robbers who have not yet been taken. Now if those men are captured and one of them proves to be Gentleman Jim, you’ll see what a blunder you’ve made. It can do you no good to expose my brother and send him back to Sing Sing. Before telling what you know about him, won’t you wait to see if one of these other burglars may not be Gentleman Jim? If you refuse to do that, I’ll know that your behavior toward me was prompted by pure animosity, and nothing else.”
“You’re hanging on to a false hope, Sage,” said Sleuth, after a moment or two of consideration; “but, seeing it’s you, I’ll agree to keep mum for a while. That won’t hurt me, for your brother is safe in custody and can’t get away. When the robbers are captured and you’re satisfied that your brother is the only one of the bunch who could possibly be Gentleman Jim, I shall tell the authorities everything. You can’t ask me to do otherwise under those circumstances.”