Page:November Joe.pdf/99

 November's shanty and asked for the explanations which had been promised me.

"The moment I heard Thompson's story," began November, "it started me thinking a bit. You remember how plain they saw the tracks of the robber, the size, the patch, the exact number of nails. It sort of seemed that a road agent who went around in a pair of boots like that was maybe a fool, or maybe laying a false trail."

"I see," said I.

"As soon as I saw the tracks, I knew I was n't far out as to the false trail. The chap wanted the tracks seen; he walked more 'n once on the soft ground a purpose."

"Then he was n't a heavy man, anyway," I put in. "You thought—"

"How did I know he was a light man? Well, you saw those stones I showed you? He put them in a pack or something, and carried 'em to make them heavy tracks. I guessed from the set-out one of them six had done it."

"But how?"

"See, here's the way of it. I suspicioned some one in C from Dan Michaels's case. And look