"Probably not, dear. He would assume some name, of course, so that it might be more difficult to trace him," answered Louise. "But now--mark me well, girls!--a Nemesis was on the track of this wicked sinner. After many years the man Captain Wegg had wronged, or stolen from, or something, discovered his enemy's hiding place. He promptly killed the Captain, and probably recovered the money, for it's gone. Old Thompson, Ethel's grandfather, happened to be present. The murderer also took his money, and--" "Oh, Louise! That isn't reasonable," objected Beth, who had been following the story carefully. "Why not?" "Because you are making the wronged party as wicked as the man who wronged him. When the avenger found his enemy he might force him to give up his ill-gotten gains; I agree with you there; but he wouldn't be liable to rob old Thompson, I'm sure." "Beth is right," said Patsy, stoutly. "But old Thompson lost his money at the same time, you know; at least his money could never be found afterward. And I'm sure he was dealt some blow on the head that made him crazy," answered Louise, positively. They thought that over. "I believe I can explain it, girls," said Beth, presently. "The avenger found Captain Wegg, all right--just as Louise has said--and when he found him he demanded a restitution of his money, threatening to send the criminal to jail. That would be very natural, wouldn't it? Well, Captain Wegg had spent a good deal of the money, and couldn't pay it all back; so Ethel's grandfather, being his friend, offered to makeup the balance himself rather than see his friend go to prison. That accounts for the disappearance of all the money." "If that is so," observed Patsy, "I don't see why the man, having got his money back, should murder one and knock the other on the head." It way a puzzle, they all acknowledged, and after discussing the matter from every conceivable standpoint they were no nearer an explanation. That's the way with mysteries; they're often hard to understand. "The only thing that occurs to me as being sensible," said Louise, finally, "is that after the money was paid over they got into a quarrel. Then the avenger lost his temper and committed the murders." "This talk about an avenger is all guess work," asserted Beth, calmly. "I don't believe the facts point to an avenger at all." "But the old crime--the great trouble--" "Oh, we'll allow all that," returned Beth; "and I don't say that an avenger wouldn't be the nicest person to exact retribution from the wicked captain. But avengers don't always turn up, in real life, when they ought to, girls; so we mustn't be too sure that one turned up in this case." "But now else can you account for the captain's murder?" objected Louise.