"Sit down," thundered the lieutenant. "Another break of that
kind will lead to handcuffs."
Don Miguel obeyed, throwing himself on the ground as far as
possible from his accuser. With a smile Nestor moved closer
to him and went on.
"You did not get the letters. They are now safe in the vaults
of the War department. Why you did not secure them I cannot
say, for they were later found on the desk. One strong point
in your favor, when the accusation is weighed, is that you did
not take the letters. Had you left Mr. Cameron unconscious,
you certainly would have secured them."
The harassed man lifted his eyes as if about to comment on the
spoken words, but finally decided to remain silent.
"Mr. Cameron was attacked that night by some person having murder
in his heart, and an innocent boy is accused of the crime. As I
stated a moment ago, the fact that the incriminating letters were
not taken speaks in your defense, still, you might have been
frightened away after striking the blow."
Jim Scoby and Felix, who had been listening intently to the
conversation, now whispered together for a moment, glancing
malevolently toward Don Miguel as they did so. The latter saw
the looks of hate and said a few words in Spanish which Nestor
could not understand.
It seemed to the boy that the three men were endeavoring to arrive
at some mutual defensive understanding with each other, so he asked
Lieutenant Gordon to separate them. He did not propose to have
any secret compact made there before his eyes.
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