"Sounds reasonable, Tobias." "I cal’late. And he must be one of the summer folks." "That is so, too. Whom do you suspect, Tobias?" The lightkeeper grinned. He wagged his head. "Oh, sugar!" he said, paying Arad Thompson back in his own coin. "If I am suspecting anybody, I ain’t going to tell you, Mr. Thompson. Nossir!" CHAPTER XX PUT TO THE QUESTION Tobias had more than satisfied his curiosity in coming to town. His discovery of the gold penknife was the sum of the assistance he could give Arad Thompson, the bank’s president, at this time. His interest in the burglary, however, continued to be keen; but he went back to the Twin Rocks Light soon after noon. He could take little cheer to Heppy. For just how much the depositors of the bank must suffer because of the loss of the hundred and forty thousand dollars, Tobias had no idea. Nobody with whom he talked seemed to know. All were pessimistic. "Looks like something was the trouble besides just the burglary," croaked one bird of ill-omen, perched like a buzzard on the horse rack before Silas Compton’s store. "Else Arad would have sent for some cash from somewhere and gone on with business, same as usual. This shutting the bank tight’s a drum——" "They say it’s the new bankin’ law done it," interposed somebody. "Dunno. Don’t look right. If the bank’s rotten we’d ought to have a chance to get what money we can out of it." "That’s right! ’Fore we lose it all." "Guess it’s all gone by now," groaned another. "Say!" observed Tobias, after listening to this talk for some time, "I give it as my opinion Arad Thompson is a purty slick citizen. He was smart to get that bank examiner here—no two ways about it! Otherwise there would have been a run on the bank. We’d all have been crazy to try to get our money." "Why shouldn’t we get it? It’s our’n." "Wal," Tobias said slowly. "I don’t s’pose Arad can call all his loans in on the dot. Nossir! Why should we expect him to pay us just whenever we want it—all in a lump?" The lightkeeper could study out the reason for the bank president’s attitude and logically come to the conclusion he did. Arad Thompson knew Clinkerport folk well. Suspicion would be rife in any case and the moment announcement was made of the robbery many would rail against his management of the bank’s funds. The president was taking no chances. Without a penny of cash left in the bank, the depositors would have been clamoring at the cage windows like wolves had the doors not remained barred. There were those people, too, who had "inside information." There are always these "know-it-alls" in every community. "No use trying to smooth it over, Tobias," whispered one of these to the lightkeeper. "There’s something fishy about Arad’s bank. I ain’t got a cent in it—never would put any in. I always have had my suspicions of Arad Thompson.