In the hallway, the boys listened in growing excitement. The case had taken an abrupt and tragic turn. Both the Hardy boys were sorry for their chum Slim, who looked as though he might collapse under the strain. "He's innocent," muttered the boy, over and over again. "I _know_ he's innocent. They can't arrest him. My dad never stole a dollar in his life!" Frank patted him on the shoulder. "Brace up, old chap," he advised. "It looks pretty bad just now, but your father will be able to clear himself, never fear." "I--I'll have to tell mother--," stammered Slim. "This will break her heart. And my sisters--" Frank and Joe led him down through the hallway and along a corridor that led to a wing of the mansion, where the Robinson family had rooms. There, in a neat, but sparsely furnished apartment, they found Mrs. Robinson, a gentle, kindly-faced woman, somewhat lame, who was sitting anxiously in a chair by the window. Her two daughters, Paula and Tessie, twins, were by her side, and all looked up in expectation as the lads came in. "What news, son?" asked Mrs. Robinson bravely, after she had greeted the Hardy boys. "Bad, mother." "They're not--they're not--arresting him?" cried Paula, springing forward. Perry nodded, dumbly. "But they can't!" cried Tessie protestingly. "He's innocent! He _couldn't_ do anything like that! It's wrong--" Mrs. Robinson began to cry, quite silently. Perry went over to his mother and awkwardly patted her shoulder, his face white and stern. The twins gazed at one another with desperate eyes. Frank and Joe, their hearts too full for utterance, withdrew softly from the room. CHAPTER IX RED HAIR The arrest of Henry Robinson caused a sensation in Bayport, for the caretaker of Tower Mansion was one of the last men in the city whom one would have suspected of dishonesty. There was a great deal of public sympathy for the family, but little for the accused, as most people seemed to take it for granted that he would not have been arrested if he had not had something to do with the crime. But the Hardy boys were not satisfied. "I'm positive Henry Robinson is innocent," said Frank to his brother the next morning. "There's a great deal about this case that hasn't come to the surface yet. I have a sort of sneaking idea that the man who stole Chet Morton's car had something to do with this." "He was a criminal--that much is certain," agreed Joe. "He stole an automobile and he tried to hold up the ticket office." "I'd like to go back to the place where we saw the wrecked car. You never know what evidence we might find. There might be something there that would identify the chap." "I'm with you. Let's go this morning." So within the hour the boys were on their motorcycles, speeding along the shore road toward the place where the speed fiend's car had been wrecked in the bushes.