he real thief very quickly!"
"So do I. But I see nothing being done toward that. The committee
seems satisfied to accuse Nelson--and let it go at that."
"It is too, too bad!"
"They are following the line of least resistance. The real thief is,
of course, well away--out of Polktown, and probably in some big city
where the coins can be disposed of to the best advantage."
"Do you really believe so?" cried the girl.
"I do. The thief was some tramp or traveling character who got into
the schoolhouse by stealth. That is the only sensible explanation of
the mystery."
"Do you really believe so?" repeated Janice.
"Yes. Think of it yourself. The committee and Benny Thread are not
guilty. Nelson is not guilty. Only two keys to the building and those
both accounted for.
"Some time--perhaps on Friday afternoon or early evening--this tramp I
speak of crept into the cellar when the basement door of the
schoolhouse was open, with the intention of sleeping beside the
furnace. In the morning he slips upstairs and hides from the janitor
and keeps in hiding when the four committeemen appear.
"He sees the trays of coins," continued Frank Bowman, waxing
enthusiastic with his own story, "and while the committeemen are
downstairs, and before Nelson comes in, he takes the coins."
"Why _before_ Nelson entered?" asked Janice sharply.
"Because Nelson tells me that he did not see the trays on the table in
the committee room when he looked in there. The thief had removed
them, and then put the trays back. Had Nelson seen them he would have
stopped to examine the coins, at least. You see, they were brought
over from Middletown and delivered to Massey, who kept them in his safe
all night. Nelson never laid eyes on them."
"I see! I see!" murmured Janice.
"So this fellow stole the coins and slipped out of the building with
them. They may even be melted down and sold for old gold by this time;
although that would scarcely be possible. At any rate, the committee
will have to satisfy the owner of the collection. That is sure."
"And that is going to make them all just as mad as they can be,"
declared the girl. "They want to blame somebody----"
"And they have blamed Nelson. It remains that he must prove himself
innocent--before public opinion, not before a court. There they have
to prove guilt. He is guilty already in the eyes of half of Polktown.
No chance of waiting to be proved guilty before he is con
|