Hunt Ward spoke up.

"Well, now you can see he hasn't anyway," I said.

All the while Mr. Ellsworth waited just as if he didn't have much use
for all this business, but just the same wouldn't interfere. That's
always the way he is. So now he said, very pleasant:

"I think we're having a sort of tempest in a teapot, Roy. No one has
made any accusations. Suppose you let me say a word. It wasn't at all
necessary to perform this operation on Alfred. Let me see this key,
Alf, my boy."

Skinny handed the key to Mr. Ellsworth and he screwed up his face, sort
of funny, and looked at it. Then he said, "Hmph, it's a Yale key,
belonging to a padlock, eh? What key is it, my boy?"

Skinny could hardly speak he was so scared. Even I felt sort of shaky--
I don't know why.

Skinny just said, "I found it."

"Here in camp, you mean?" Mr. Ellsworth said, just as nice as I ever
heard him talk--awful pleasant and easy, like.

"On the boat," Skinny said, "the day I found the money. It was right on
the deck."

"That was the money he gave you," I said. I just couldn't help saying
it.

Mr. Ellsworth said, "Now, Roy, you must let me do the talking. Just be
quiet a minute."

I said, "Excuse me."

"Now, Alf," Mr. Ellsworth said, "why didn't you give me this key, eh?"

Skinny kept breathing, but could hardly speak.

Then he said, "I put it in the other pocket. I forgot. Mostly I don't
put things there."

"I see," Mr. Ellsworth said, just as if he believed every word. "You
don't know what key it is, I suppose, Alf?"

"No, sir," he said. And then he gulped and seemed terribly scared and
excited.

"All right," Mr. Ellsworth said, "just leave it with me. I expect I
shall be able to pin the cross on you in a few days, Alf. Have a little
patience."

Then, all of a sudden Skinny blurted out, "Am I a hero?"

"Yes, indeed," Mr. Ellsworth said, and he smiled at him and patted his
shoulder.

CHAPTER XXI

TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH MR. ELLSWORTH

After they were gone, Mr. Ellsworth told me that I shouldn't get so
excited about nothing. I have to admit that's the way I often do.

I said, "Do you know what that's a key to?"

He said, "It's a key to a padlock. I have an idea that perhaps it fits
the padlock on that locker in the house-boat--the one that was always
locked."

Jiminy, I never thought of that until just then when he spoke about it.
It made me feel awfully queer. Anyhow, I guessed right off that he was
right, bec