"I'm going to speak the truth right straight through, and I don't care who hears me."
"You are not obliged to say anything to commit yourself, Bobtail. I want you to understand that," said Mr. Brooks, kindly.
"I shall not say anything to commit myself, you had better believe, for I didn't take the letter."
"The less you say about it, the better," added the officer.
"Does my mother know anything about this business?" asked Bobtail.
"I reckon she knows more about it than anybody else except yourself," answered Captain Chinks.
"I have talked with your mother about it," said Mr. Brooks. "She feels very bad, of course; and she says she can't explain the matter at all."
"She don't know anything about it," replied Bobtail.
"I will send for her when we get on shore," added the deputy sheriff.
Captain Chinks pulled to one of the wharves up the harbor, where the party landed, and then proceeded to the office of Squire Gilfilian. The lawyer was there, and so was the ill-visaged man who took care of the case of the bank robbers. Mr. Brooks had sent a boy for Mrs. Taylor as soon as they landed, and she and her husband arrived at the office almost as soon as Bobtail.