rew the back of his hand across them to hide their
quivering. "I know something mebbe Mr. Haley would like to hear."

"What is it, Narnay?" asked Nelson, kindly.

"I--I----I hear folks says ye stole them gold coins out of the
schoolhouse."

Nelson looked startled, but Janice almost sprang out of her seat. "Oh,
Jim Narnay!" she cried, "can you clear Mr. Haley? Do you know who did
it?"

"I see you--you and schoolmaster air fond of each other," said the man.
"I never before went back on a pal; but you've been mighty good to me
an' mine, Miss Janice, and--and I'm goin' to tell."

Nelson could not speak. Janice, however, wanted to cry aloud in her
delight. "I knew you could explain it all, Mr. Narnay, but I didn't
know that you _would_," she said.

"You knowed I could tell it?" demanded the startled Narnay.

"Ever since that five dollar gold piece rolled out of your
pocket--yes," she said, and no more to Narnay's amazement than to
Nelson's, for she had told the schoolmaster nothing about that incident.

"My mercy, Miss! Did _you_ git that five dollar coin?" demanded Narnay.

"Yes. Right here on your porch. The Sunday you were at home."

"And I thought I'd lost it. I didn't take the whiskey back to the
boys, and Jack's been sayin' all the time I double-crossed him. Says I
must ha' spent the money for booze and drunk it meself. And mebbe I
would of--if I hadn't lost the five," admitted Narnay, wagging his head.

"But I don't understand," broke in Nelson Haley.

Janice touched his arm warningly. "But you didn't lose the ten dollar
coin he gave you before that to change at Lem Parraday's, Mr. Narnay?"
she said slyly.

"I guess ye do know about it," said the man, eyeing Janice curiously.
"I can't tell you much, I guess. Only, you air wrong about me passin'
the first coin. Jack did that himself--and brought back to camp a two
gallon jug of liquor."

"_Jack Besmith!_" gasped the school teacher, the light dawning in his
mind.

"Yes," said Narnay. "Me and Trimmins has knowed it for a long time.
We wormed it out o' Jack when he was drunk. But he was putting up for
the stuff right along, so we didn't tell. He's got most of the money
hid away somewhere--we don't know where.

"He told us he saw the stuff up at Massey's the night before he stole
it. He went there to try to get his job back, and seen Massey puttin'
the trays of coin into his safe. He knowed they was goin' down to the
schoolhouse in th