en Chief Wambold agreed on that point."

"Yes, and it was cleverly settled, I must say, Thad. But how about
Nick's alibi; would the Chief accept his mother's word, knowing that
the chances were Nick had slipped out of the house by a window when
she supposed him to be sound asleep in his bed?"

"Oh! Nick had much better proof than that, Hugh. He demanded that
Chief Wambold call up old Deacon Joel Winslow, who, you know, is a
man much respected around Scranton, and keeps the blacksmith shop out
on the road to Allandale where it crosses the one leading to Keyport.
Yes, sir, and when the officer did so from Headquarters the
blacksmith weather prophet plainly told him Nick had been working
alongside himself from seven until a quarter-after-eleven the night
before!"

Hugh laughed. It really seemed as though a load had been suddenly
taken off his chest. He had begun to fear lest his experiment might
have already met with its Waterloo.

"I'm pleased to hear you say that, Thad, I certainly am," he
remarked, "And did our wonderful Chief conclude to hold Nick after
that?"

"He wanted to, Hugh,--I could see that plain enough; but Nick
demanded that he be set at liberty. Say, you know I'm not much of an
admirer of Nick Lang, but he did bluff the tall Chief of Police good
and hard. He actually told him he'd sue him for damage to his
reputation if he dared to hold him when there wasn't a particle of
evidence connecting him with the robbery, except that once upon a
time he used to go with Leon Disney, as lots of other fellows did,
too."

"Then he was let go free, I take it, from what you say, Thad?"

"Oh! well, the police head said he knew very well Nick was in the
racket, even if he had covered his footsteps so cunningly; and even
fooled Deacon Winslow. He told Nick he'd parole him temporarily, but
that he might still consider himself as under arrest."

"That must be a joke," chuckled Hugh. "It was silly on the part of
Chief Wambold. But then, of course, Nick has made him a whole lot of
trouble in the past. So only one fellow has been taken, and he
refuses to tell on his pal, does he?"

"Absolutely, though the Chief says he means to put Leon through the
third degree, and force a confession from him. What does he mean by
that, Hugh? I've seen it mentioned in the papers lots of times."

"I believe in cities like New York some of the detectives act roughly
with a suspected prisoner, and scare them into saying th