Barney turned red.
“Do you mean to say?——”
“No, I did not suspect you, I only wanted to get away and see what happened, and who did it.”
“These young men have cleared most of us,” stated Mr. Parsons. “They have done more! They know how the good parts are taken and cheap ones are substituted.” He explained about the trucks.
“But we can’t solve the mystery of why you brought books here and then said the company books were all at the plant,” argued Al.
“I found a small set of duplicate books—that is, what we would call ‘fake’ books—private books in the cabinet,” began Mr. Parsons.
Barney bent forward.
“Where did you find those? I had them in my own desk!”
“That’s where I took them from. You see, Barney, as long as we all suspected each other it was wisest for me to check them. Not that I accuse you, because they were in your desk. You were checking up, also, of course.”
“I’m not finished either,” declared Barney. “But—as long as Arthur wanted a look at them, it’s all right with me.”