Page:Dave Porter on Cave Island.djvu/139

Rh "I guess I did!" cried Buster. "Say, I think Nat Poole is about as mean as they make 'em!" he burst out. "And he hasn't a grain of good, hard common-sense!"

"What did he say?" demanded Phil.

"Oh, he said a lot of things, about the robbery, and about the Wadsworths and the Porters. First he said he didn't believe the jewels were nearly as valuable as Mr. Wadsworth represented them to be, and the manufacturer was kicking up a big fuss just as a sort of advertisement. Then he said there was a report that Dave had been seen in front of the works just a few minutes before the explosion, and that that looked mighty suspicious to him."

"The mean fellow!" muttered Roger.

"I told him that you and Roger were going to the Wadsworth house at the time, and were home when the watchman telephoned, but he only tossed his head as if he didn't believe a word of it, and said he guessed Dave could tell something if he was of a mind to talk."

"If that isn't Poole to a T!" cried Phil.

"If I were you, Dave, I'd punch his head for him," was Shadow's advice.

"That wouldn't do any good," said Ben. "You can't stop Nat from talking any more than you can stop water from running out of a sieve."