"Give him the paper, Grogan; I'll be responsible
for its safety," returned the captain, who
seemed to be drawn more and more toward a
belief in Jack's innocence; for there was
something in the clear gray eyes that met his gaze to
convince him that this lad could never be a
desperate criminal.

So Jack turned the local sheet inside out.

"There it is, Captain; please read it, and see
if you can believe what I told you to be the
truth," and Jack thrust the paper into the
other's grasp.

"What's this?" exclaimed the burly officer,
as he read, "an account of a race to the
Crescent City, in which six young fellows, well
known to most of the readers of this paper,
have entered, the prize to be a magnificent
silver cup donated by Mr. Stormways, the father
of the skipper of the _Tramp_!"

Grogan uttered a disgusted grunt, as if
keenly disappointed because apparently he had
made a dismal failure in trying to fasten the
robbery upon these two lads. Doubtless he had
been figuring on what he would do with his
share of the prize money, and hated to see his
rosy visions fade away so soon.

"And this is that same little _Tramp_, sir,"
continued Jack, pleasantly; "as you can see for
yourself if you take a look at the stern, where
the name is painted in gold letters. We are
unfortunate enough in having a boat that seems
to resemble the one supposed to have been used
in their flight down the river by the robbers.
But if you care to wait long enough for me to
get out some letters I have, I am sure you will
be convinced of our entire innocence."

"Say no more, Jack," declared the captain,
heartily. "I'm satisfied right now that we've
been misinformed when told that a boat
answering the description of the one in which
those two yeggmen fled, was seen to enter here
this afternoon; and that two young men were
aboard her."

"What time in the afternoon, Captain?"
asked Jack, quietly, though with a purpose in
the question.

"The man who talked to me over the phone,
said he had arrived in the suburb where he
lived at four o'clock. He had been out in his
motor, and was crossing a bridge here when the
boat passed under, going up. He could not be
sure to the minute, but reckoned that was
somewhere around two p. m."

Jack turned to Jimmie. His face shone with
eagerness, for a faint suspicion that had been
creeping into his head was now rapidly
becoming a certainty.

"Tell the captain, Jimmie, when we came in
this