e; "but I'm doing
no more than my duty in holding you. I never saw that boy before. I
don't know what he knows of the matter."

"You're looking for Regy Thorne, aren't you?" said Andy, who had
confined himself to listening and thinking until now.

"What if we are?" replied the non-committal detective.

"So am I, that's all," answered Andy, giving his enemy a bold glance of
defiance in return for the black looks cast upon him.

They had reached the wharf office by this time, and were readily
admitted by the wharfinger and given a place at the back end.

"Oho!" said the detective, "so you are after him, too, are you? How do
you come to know anything about it?"

"I live in Lakeville, and I left there last night on purpose to come
here and look for Regy. I was after the reward."

"Do you know this gentleman?"

And he pointed to the man Andy had such good cause to know.

"He knows me," struck in Mr. Roberts, with a sneer, "and bears me no
good will for having exposed him in the village where he lives. I
protest against being held on his evidence. If I am to undergo this
humiliation, send for a carriage immediately and have me taken to
headquarters, so that I may send for this child's parents and for some
of my friends. The charge against me I do not understand yet, excepting
that it has something absurd to do with this little boy."

If Andy had been allowed to speak at once in answer to the question of
the detective, he would have betrayed a great deal of the knowledge he
had of the man, and would have given out a sudden light that had come
to him as he stood there looking at him and listening. But with
consideration came wisdom, or, at the least, caution, and he replied,
briefly:

"I saw him in Lakeville yesterday. He did what he could to injure me,
but I did not know that he had anything to do with this matter."

"You know the boy we are looking for?" asked the detective.

"Yes, sir."

"And you are sure this is not the one?"

Andy looked carefully at the child, who had stood in a sort of wonder at
the attention he was receiving.

"I am sure," said Andy, finally, "that this is not Regy Thorne; but he
is dressed exactly as Regy was yesterday, or the day before. I did not
see him yesterday."

"Dressed the same!" said the detective, exchanging meaning glances with
his fellow-officer. "How do you explain that?" he inquired of Andy's
enemy.

"I don't explain it," was the cool answer. "I suppose, however, t