He said, “No, of course I don’t. Such a thought is absurd. That is not the way of scouts.”
Then he said, “Westy’s father called me up this morning, Roy, and told me about this fire. He said that Mr. Slausen had just called on him with another man who claimed to have seen you and Westy climbing out through a side window of the garage after dark last night.”
“Westy wasn’t home this morning,” my father said; “and that’s why his father called me up. He seemed to be very much concerned, but I told him, of course, that it was all nonsense, that you hadn’t done any such thing. I told him that if you had climbed out through a window you could doubtless explain it, but that he needn’t worry, because you hadn’t done any such thing. I’m afraid Mr. Slausen has lost his sense of reason——”
“I should think not,” my mother put in, “Climbing out through the side window after the place had been closed! Who ever heard of such nonsense? The man is crazy.”
I just sat there and I didn’t say a word.
My father said, “Well, I believe Mr. Slausen is coming up here with this stranger this morning. I understand he has appealed to the police.”
“Why doesn’t he call out the army?” my sister wanted to know.
I said, “You mean I have to be arrested?” My father just laughed and said, “Why, certainly not. I’m very glad they’re coming——”
“I hope Duke bites them,” Marjorie said. Duke is our Airedale.
“I don’t see that that would do any good,” my father said, kind of smiling. “All Roy will have to do is to deny this, and I’ll do the rest. I just want you to say, Roy, that you didn’t climb out of any window of Mr. Slausen’s shop after dark or at any other time. I want you to face these gentlemen——”
“They’re not gentlemen,” my sister said; “they’re hyenas!”
My father just went on and said, “I want you to tell Mr. Slausen and anybody else who comes here with him that you didn’t do that and that you weren’t near his place. There’s nothing to be afraid of if you tell the truth.”
My sister said, “I hope you’re not going to let those men come in the parlor. Ugh!”
I just sat there, kind of saying _parlor, parlor, parlor_ to myself. I didn’t know _what_ to say. My father looked at me kind of funny.
Then I said, “I don’t see what it’s got to do with us, anyway, because the fire didn’t happen till two or three hours after——”