“Mended it yourself, didn’t you?”
“Guess I did. Why?”
“Nothing, only I guess I know why you didn’t take it to a tailor. Wanted to keep it quiet, didn’t you? A little bit of the cloth was missing, eh?”
“I don’t know,” said White.
“But I do. Jack Holden showed it to me. He found it on a nail where you’d left it one night. By itself it wasn’t much of a clue, but it fits in nicely now. Here, Wilson,” the chief added, turning to a policeman who had accompanied him, “take this man to the station and lock him up. Now for the other fellow.”
Hegan was still full of fight when brought on deck, but he quieted down as soon as he saw the game was hopelessly up.
“Well, Hegan,” the chief began, “you soon got into trouble again after being released, didn’t you? White told us all about it. You’re both going to be the guests of the Government for some little time. There’s one thing I want you to tell me, though. Was it you or your pal who used to sneak down on to the sloop nights while she was lying at the wharf?”
“If it had been me,” replied Hegan, scornfully, “you bet we wouldn’t ha’ been in this fix now. I’d have got the money and been off. Whitey’s afraid of his own shadow.”