"I hope you haven't been doing anything wrong."
"They say I have, but I have not. I am as innocent as you are, sir. I thought I would come up and tell you about it, as I was here. Mother did not send me."
"She did not?"
"No, sir; she was rather opposed to my saying anything to you about the scrape."
"Sit down, Captain Bobtail, and tell me all about it," said the colonel, in kindly tones, though there was an anxious expression on his face.
Little Bobtail told the whole story about the letter and the five hundred dollar bill.
"And your mother paid this same bill to Mr. Gilfilian?" asked Colonel Montague, very much troubled.
"Yes, sir. The squire wanted to know where she got the bill, and she won't tell," added Bobtail.
"She won't tell!" echoed the colonel; and there was an expression of relief in his face.
"She won't give even the slightest hint; and because she wouldn't explain it, Squire Gilfilian caused her to be arrested. They said that both of us will be sent to the state prison for stealing this money."