These people were not familiar enough with law and with banking affairs to understand why the Clinkerport Bank should be closed if the institution itself—and Arad Thompson—had not "gone broke" through the robbery that was reported. "What d’ye think of it? What d’ye think, Tobias?" demanded Ezra Crouch of the lightkeeper when the latter approached the scene. "Ain’t it a shame—a rascally shame? That Arad Thompson——" "I hadn’t heard tell that Arad burgled his own bank. Did he, Ez?" "Wal, no. I dunno as he did," admitted the much-wrought-upon Mr. Crouch, who had never deposited a dollar in the bank in all his shiftless career and probably never would. "But Arad’s responserble, ain’t he?" "I cal’late," agreed Tobias mildly. "Guess we better give him a chance to straighten things out——" "I guess you ain’t heard much about it, Tobias," interrupted the busy-tongued Ezra. "Something mighty funny about this robbery. Arad called in all the money he could an’ seemed to get his cash-drawer crammed with it, jest so’s ’twould make a good haul for these burglars. A hundred and forty thousand dollars! My!" "Does seem a whole lot o’ money to take chances with," admitted Tobias. "Huh! And why does Arad, fust-off, telegraph to some feller they call a ’bank examiner’ and get him down here on the airly train? And why does he shut the bank up as tight as a herrin’ can and put a sign on the door? That’s what _I_ want to know." "Time’ll tell. I wouldn’t get excited if I was you, Ez," advised the lightkeeper soothingly. "Wal, that Arad Thompson——" "I know. We got to watch him—and that wheel chair. Where is he?" "Inside. In his office," snorted Ezra Crouch. "Smokin’ twenty-five cent _see_-gars an’ takin’ it easy." "Looks suspicious," agreed Tobias, his eyes twinkling. "These times it does seem as though a feller _must_ have come by his money dishonest if he smokes quarter cigars. Hullo, Mr. Compton!" Compton kept one of the general stores. He was a bald-headed, keen-eyed man. His smile was rather grim as he acknowledged the lightkeeper’s greeting. "Good-day, Tobias. What you and Ezra doing? Going to get a rope and pick out a good tree for a necktie party? To hear some of these folks talk you’d think Arad had robbed his own self." "How was it done?" asked Tobias. "Plain to be seen. Back window forced from the outside. They must have worked a long time on those window-bars, to saw ’em through. But they opened the safe by learning the combination." "Get out!" "Fact. Didn’t hurt the lock none. Either they knew the combination ’fore they started in, or they was smart enough to puzzle it out." "They knowed the combination because they knowed it," snorted Ezra Crouch cryptically. "But where was the watchman?" Tobias asked.