"Ask him if he can explain where he has been the past two hours. I came straight up here from th' Tree, an' he was sartinly not on th' road. P'raps he has a cross road by which he carries th' mail. I s'pose thet would give him more chance to look over th' letters; but is thet the way Uncle Sam expects him to carry it?" "Mr. Warfield," said Little Snap, knowing it was not best for him to speak too freely before the rest, "I would like to see you alone for a few minutes. I think I can explain this matter in a satisfactory manner." "Don't be afraid to speak right up before these gentlemen," said Mr. Warfield. "They are all my friends, and my friends are yours." But Little Snap was too crafty to divulge his secret to Dan Shag, whom he did not dare to trust. "I cannot speak here where I am liable to be heard by some one even you would not care to have hear. If you will come into my house, Mr. Warfield, I will say what I wish you to know." "Don't ye risk yer life in his hands," said Shag. "He is armed an' a desprit chap." "Hadn't I better arrest him now, and then give him his chance to talk?" asked the sheriff. "Arrest my boy?" cried Mrs. Lewis. "You do—you cannot mean it." "Be calm, mother. You have nothing to fear. They can arrest me if they wish, but I am innocent of any charge they can bring against me. On what complaint did you think you could arrest me, Mr. Brady?" "I don't believe I would harm him yet, Jim," Mr. Warfield hastened to say. "If you have anything you wish to say to me alone, Dix, I am ready to listen." "Come into the house, please, Mr. Warfield. I won't detain you very long." "We'll see he don't git away," said Shag. Without noticing Dan Shag's speech, Mr. Warfield followed Little Snap into the house in silence. As soon as they had entered the humble sitting-room, and Mr. Warfield had sunk into the proffered chair, the postboy said to his guest: "What I am going to tell you, Mr. Warfield, is not so much in my defense as it is to show up a startling discovery I have made. If you will allow me, I will begin with an adventure I had on Eagle's Tracks, and tell you just how I came in late to-night." "Go ahead, only make your story as short as you can." Then Little Snap gave a succinct account of all that had befallen him after leaving Uncle Solitaire until he had effected his escape from the cave, often interrupted by his listener with startling exclamations and puzzling questions. "You are romancing, boy! I cannot realize half you say. Why, from your talk I should say you had unearthed a band of plotters against the government." "I do not know just what they meant, but I do know they are a gang of evil men, who would hesitate at no means to carry their ends." "While I am surprised at what you have said, your statements are lacking in the elements that would make them valuable as evidence. You say you did not get the real drift of the talk between the four men, and that you recognized none of them."