He said, “So there it is. My father knows I need money. A tall chance I’d have of getting any from him; you’d have to chloroform him before he’d give up a postage stamp. That’s him. You know what an old grouch he is. Once I shouted some crazy nonsense about burning the place down; I was just mad, that’s all. But you see how it is.” It seemed funny to me, because at my house we never had any fights or anything, and I saw how my mother and sister were right because those Slausens were different kind of people from us. He said, “All you kids have to do to cook my goose for me is to shout out that you left me here last night. If they don’t send me to jail I’ll have to beat it out west. You kept your mouths shut so far, and I’ve got to hand it to you, because you’re a couple of A-1 little scouts. But the question is, can you stand the strain? We’re the only three that know anything. Are you game? Will you stick? Or do I have to beat it to-night? It all hangs on you. If you say I was here when you left—you won’t tell them that, will you? You won’t let anybody force it out of you? Judge, lawyers, scoutleaders——” “You mean scoutmaster,” Westy said. “You won’t tell _anybody_—in the court or anywhere?” Gee, I felt sorry for him, because I could see he was terribly worried. I knew nobody had any use for him, and I thought that maybe already Mr. Ellsworth had some suspicions about him. “Give me your promise,” he said, “both of you. Nobody can force you to talk if you don’t want to—can they? All you fellows came here to-day to help clear up. That shows you’ve got the right stuff in you. Won’t you help a friend out? I’m not asking you to do anything but just keep your mouths shut. You’re not afraid of O’Day and that bunch, are you? Now’s the time to show if you’re really _scouts_.” I said, “A scout is supposed to help people in trouble, I don’t deny that. But we don’t know anything about the law. If the judge says we have to tell, I suppose we’ll have to tell. But, anyway, there’s one thing I want to ask you. I know you got caught doing some things—you know what I mean. And I know a lot of people think—but, anyway, I want to ask you this, and I’ll promise not to tell your answer. Did you set fire to the shop or didn’t you?” He just looked straight at me and he said, “As sure as I’m sitting here in this old car _I didn’t_. Do you want me to swear? I took your flashlight——” “I’m not thinking about that,” I told him. “That won’t keep me from believing you. I’m just asking you to tell me honest and true if you did or not.” “As sure as I’m sitting here, I didn’t,” he said, good and loud. “Then how do you think it started?” Westy asked him. “Do you think _somebody_ did it?” “Sure somebody did it,” he said. “Didn’t they find some match ends near the cotton waste that burned up?” he said. “I didn’t know that,” I told him. “But what good does that do me?” he wanted to know. I said, “Well, we’ll help you out.”