"Don't punish your son, Mrs. Case,"
he said to the woman. "I believe he has discovered a
great deal that will help us in locating the man we want.
Of course I am interested principally in finding Miss
Prim--her father has engaged me for that purpose; but
I think the arrest of the perpetrators of any of last
night's crimes will put us well along on the trail of the
missing young lady, as it is almost a foregone conclusion
that there is a connection between her disappearance
and some of the occurrences which have so excited
Oakdale. I do not mean that she was a party to any
criminal act; but it is more than possible that she was ab-
ducted by the same men who later committed the other
crimes."
The Cases hung open-mouthed upon his words, while
his companions wondered at the loquaciousness of this
ordinarily close-mouthed man, who, as a matter of fact,
was but attempting to win the confidence of the boy
on the chance that even now he had not told all that
he knew; but Willie had told all.
Finding, after a few minutes further conversation,
that he could glean no additional information the de-
tective returned to his car and drove west toward Mills-
ville on the assumption that the fugitives would seek
escape by the railway running through that village.
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