"THE TRUTH IN A NUTSHELL."
"This explains why he did not wish to come up to your house with his
hoss, squire," said Dan Shag, nodding his head toward the recovered
package. "I thought it was best to git here as soon as possible."
The sheriff was examining the package more closely, while Mr. Warfield
looked from him to the postboy with a peculiar expression upon his face.
"What does all this mean?" asked Mrs. Lewis, in an anxious voice. "My
boy has done nothing wrong; I am sure of that."
"Do not be alarmed, mother," said Little Snap, gently. "Please go into
the house, and I will explain it to these men."
"So you confess to the theft?" inquired Mr. Warfield, quickly, without
giving Mrs. Lewis time to speak.
"No, sir. In fact, I do not know as there has been any theft."
"Don't get excited, my boy," said Mr. Warfield, in a more kindly tone
than he had previously used. "We are all your friends, and are not here
to injure you. Mr. Shag came up to tell me about the missing package,
and I thought it was best for us to see you before it had been noised
all over town. Own up to the truth and we will not be hard with you."
"I am not going to tell you anything but the truth, Mr. Warfield. How
that package of mail came in my saddle pocket is more than I can
explain. I certainly did not put it there, nor did I know it was there."
"Ask him if he can explain where he has been the past two hours. I came
straight up here from th' Tree, an' he was sartinly not on th' road.
P'raps he has a cross road by which he carries th' mail. I s'pose thet
would give him more chance to look over th' letters; but is thet the way
Uncle Sam expects him to carry it?"
"Mr. Warfield," said Little Snap, knowing it was not best for him to
speak too freely before the rest, "I would like to see you alone for a
few minutes. I think I can explain this matter in a satisfactory
manner."
"Don't be afraid to speak right up before these gentlemen," said Mr.
Warfield. "They are all my friends, and my friends are yours."
But Little Snap was too crafty to divulge his secret to Dan Shag, whom
he did not dare to trust.
"I cannot speak here where I am liable to be heard by some one even you
would not care to have hear. If you will come into my house, Mr.
Warfield, I will say what I wish you to know."
"Don't ye risk yer life in his hands," said Shag. "He is armed an' a
desprit chap."
"Hadn't I better arrest him now, and then give him his chance to talk?"
asked the sheriff.
"Arrest my boy?" cried Mrs. Lewis. "You do—you cannot mean it."
"Be calm, mother. You have nothing to fear. They can arrest me if they
wish, but I am innocent of any charge they can bring against me. On what
complaint did you think you could arrest me, Mr. Brady?"
"I don't believe I would harm him yet, Jim," Mr. Warfield hastened to
say. "If you have anything you wish to say to me alone, Dix, I am ready
to listen."
"Come into the house, please, Mr. Warfield. I won't detain you very
long."
"We'll see he don't git away," said Shag.
Without noticing Dan Shag's speech, Mr. Warfield followed Little Snap
into the house in silence.
As soon as they had entered the humble sitting-room, and Mr. Warfield
had sunk into the proffered chair, the postboy said to his guest:
"What I am going to tell you, Mr. Warfield, is not so much in my defense
as it is to show up a startling discovery I have made. If you will allow
me, I will begin with an adventure I had on Eagle's Tracks, and tell you
just how I came in late to-night."
"Go ahead, only make your story as short as you can."
Then Little Snap gave a succinct account of all that had befallen him
after leaving Uncle Solitaire until he had effected his escape from the
cave, often interrupted by his listener with startling exclamations and
puzzling questions.
"You are romancing, boy! I cannot realize half you say. Why, from your
talk I should say you had unearthed a band of plotters against the
government."
"I do not know just what they meant, but I do know they are a gang of
evil men, who would hesitate at no means to carry their ends."
"While I am surprised at what you have said, your statements are lacking
in the elements that would make them valuable as evidence. You say you
did not get the real drift of the talk between the four men, and that
you recognized none of them."
"I do not think I ever saw them before, though the voice of one sounded
very familiar."
"Will you describe the party?"
Little Snap did so, Mr. Warfield listening intently, to say, at his
conclusion:
"I do not believe we should attribute any harmful meaning to what they
said. The very fact that they were strangers to both of us, and I know
nearly every one in Monroe County, would seem to warrant us in believing
so. By the way, do you realize the error you made in neglecting your
duty to run after those worthless Raggles—I think that was the name you
called those vagabonds?"
"I am aware, sir, it was a mistake. I——"
"Mistake? It was criminal neglect of duty, young man. The rules and
regulations laid down by Uncle Sam are very strict. You are to keep all
the mail intrusted to your hands in sight at all times, and here you
went off for an hour and, according to your own story, left the mail
pouch entirely unprotected. Why, that very act was enough to cost you
your situation. Remember I am not upbraiding you, but speaking to you as
a father would to his son."
"I know I did wrong, Mr. Warfield, but the circumstances were such that
I could scarcely do different. Mrs. Raggles——"
"Don't mention their names again. From your own words, the worthless
vagabonds could not have been in trouble. It seems they were safe enough
when you got clear of your troubles."
"I do not understand it, Mr. Warfield. I have carried the Kanawha mail
for two years without failing to do my duty, and I hope you have
confidence in me to think I can fulfill my term."
"I did at the outset, or I should never have obtained the place for you.
But I must feel that you are attending to your duties. My political
prospects are such that I am expecting piles of mail matter, and I want
to know that it is coming to me safely. My very election to Congress may
depend upon it."
Mr. Warfield had been a seeker after the nomination as member for
Congress from that district almost as long as our hero could remember,
and he well knew that he was still in the field—"in the hands of his
friends," as he expressed it.
"Mr. Warfield," said the postboy, in his quiet, determined way, "I am
not going to make any new promise, but I repeat those I have made, and
when you have found me faithless to my duty I will willingly make room
for Mr. Shag or any other man."
The mention of the name of the postmaster of Hollow Tree made the
politician wince.
"Bah! he isn't half so competent to carry the mail as your horse, Jack."
"Still he is making all of this trouble, simply because he is mad with
me for getting the route when he wanted it. There you have the truth in
a nutshell."