Robert Coverdale was shocked to hear his friend so abused and he said boldly: “Mrs. Scott, I don’t know who murdered my poor uncle, but I know the hermit did not. He has been a good friend to me, and he is no murderer.” “Go home and go to bed, boy!” said Mrs. Scott violently. “You take that man’s part against your poor uncle.” Robert was provoked and answered with energy: “I would sooner suspect you than him. I never heard the hermit say a word against my uncle, while only yesterday you called him a drunken vagabond.” This so turned the tables on Mrs. Scott that she was unable to return to the attack. “Well, if I ever!” she ejaculated. “Tom Scott, are you goin’ to see your wife sassed by a boy?” “It seems to me, wife, that the boy is in the right in this instance,” answered Tom, who had a sense of justice. “So you turn against your lawful wife, do you?” exclaimed Mrs. Scott violently. “I’ll come up with you yet. See if I don’t.” Tom Scott shrugged his shoulders with resignation. “I’ve no doubt you will,” he answered with a half smile. “My friends,” said the hermit with calm dignity, “as it appears that some of you suspect me of this dastardly deed, I am quite willing to submit to any restraint you may desire till the groundlessness of the charge appears. You may leave a guard here in the cave or I will accompany you to any of your own houses. I certainly have no desire to escape while such suspicions are entertained.” Robert indignantly protested against such a step, but the hermit stayed his words. “Robert,” he said, “it is better. It will do me no harm, and, under the circumstances, while the matter is involved in mystery, I admit that it is perfectly justifiable and proper. My friends, I am in your hands. What will you do with me?” Mrs. Scott expressed her opinion that he should be strung up immediately, but no one seconded her. It was decided that two of the fishermen should remain at the cave that night to prevent any attempt at escape on the part of the hermit. The body of the murdered fisherman was carried to his own cabin and properly cared for till the coroner, who must be brought from a neighboring town, should make his appearance. CHAPTER XX MR. JONES MAKES A CALL When morning dawned a new face was put upon the matter. Steps were discovered leading from the scene of the murder along the beach and up the cliff. There were also discovered signs of a struggle in the cave, and it became clear that there had been a conflict and that one of the two concerned had escaped. Of course it could not have been the hermit, for he was now in custody. Moreover, a fisherman who had been out in his boat in the evening remembered meeting the hermit rowing at about the time the murder must have been committed. These discoveries cleared the hermit, but the question arose: