“Oh, you know who. It’s just exactly like you to bother carrying that little—” “Waif,” said Whalen. “—Away up from below,” concluded Tom. “What are you going to do with it anyway?” “Bring it up in the way it should go,” said Whalen. “You can’t tame a robin,” Tom said. “He’ll fly away when he gets ready,” said Whalen; “he’ll beat it for the woods and join the bunch. He knows the duties of citizenship, don’t you, Chippy?” And he poked the tiny, delicate bill ever so gently with his finger. “You’re a boy scout,” he said to Tom. “Do you know how to make mush?” “For him to eat, you mean?” “Eh huh.” That was the end of Tom’s fine resolve to tell Whalen what he knew, to hear the welcome declaration of innocence, and to swear loyalty. The poor little robin had spoiled the whole thing. And the murderer was not just then approachable on any other subject. CHAPTER XXVIII IN CONFIDENCE The next resolve Tom made, he carried out. He took Audry Ferris into his confidence. From the first he had known that he would do this. He had hesitated and put it off because he knew that once done he could not undo it. He did it because he was under the spell of her superior intelligence, or what he flatteringly thought to be her superior intelligence. Also he was under the spell of her charm and he felt that to establish a sort of confidence with her would give him the right to think himself a little nearer to her. He was that sort of young fellow who tries to ingratiate himself with a girl by acknowledging her superiority. At all events he was ready enough to acknowledge Audry’s. And she was ready enough to show him the light. “I don’t suppose you’d care to walk a little way out on the ledge trail,” he said one evening. “If you would there’s something cut on a rock along there that I’d like to show you. Then we could sit on the rock and I’ll tell you something; there’s something I want to tell you and talk over with you. Maybe you can give me your advice, because there’s something that’s worrying me. There are names of girls carved out there, I saw them, so it shows girls can get out there all right.” “Just because others have done foolish things is no reason I should,” Audry said. “I’ll go but not past the first crevice. It makes me feel creepy to think of jumping one of those caverns.” Tom would not admit to himself that he was a trifle disappointed at her not being more venturesome. He even adopted her view of the matter and said, “Maybe those bones down at the bottom of one of the crevices are all that’s left of one of those girls, for all we know.” “_Ugh_, what a ghastly thought!” said Audry. “I’m sure I don’t want my bones bleaching at the bottom of a canyon, thank you.” “I’ve been thinking about a girl named Esther,” said Tom; “Esther B—” “You never told me about her. What’s her last name?” “B,” said Tom.