“I’m right down sorry I played the dirty on yer,” he declared.
“That’s all right,” replied Mr. Grant. “We’ll call the account square. But why did you?”
“It’s like this ’ere,” explained Blueskin. “I war fair upset when I found you’d bought that there boat. I wanted ’er, and seein’ as I didn’t get ’er, I sort o’ made up my mind no one else shouldn’t. I oughtn’t tu ’ave tried to set she afire, but I reckoned as you’d get out afore any ’arm was done yer.”
“Neither was there, fortunately,” added the Scoutmaster. “But we didn’t know you were the fellow. We thought you might be, so we kept watch on your house all night.”
“I knows you did,” agreed Blueskin. “You were outside my house when I got ’ome.”
“And how did you manage that?” asked Peter.
Blueskin gave the suspicion of a wink.
“That’s tellin’,” he answered oracularly. “But I’m a-goin’ straight arter this, I am,” he declared.
“Good!” exclaimed Craddock. “We hope you will. But I think you can answer my question: isn’t there an underground passage between old Dick Marner’s shed and your cottage?”
For a moment Blueskin looked thunderstruck.