“The money’s gone, I tell you, and so is Hal. I know _that_!”
“Yes, an’ I know Master Hal, too!” asseverated Ezra, manfully standing by his guns, not through any fear of Hal’s vengeance, but only for the honor of the house and of the boy he worshipped. “Ef you mean to accuse him of bein’ a _thief_, well then, me an’ you has nothin’ more to say. We’re docked, an’ crew an’ cargo is discharged right now. All done!”
“Hold on, Ezra!” commanded Filhiol. “I’m not making any direct accusation. All I’m saying is that the money and Hal are both gone.”
“How d’ _you_ know the money’s gone? How come _you_ to be at the cap’n’s safe an’ money-drawer?”
“I—why—” stammered Filhiol, taken aback. “Why, the captain had me open it, to put in some receipts, and he told me how much he thought was there. I saw he was mistaken, by more than five hundred.”
“Oh, you counted the cap’n’s money, did ye?” Ezra demanded boldly. “Well, that’s some nerve! In case it comes to a showdown, where would _you_ fit? Looks like _your_ fingers might git burned, don’t it?”
“Well, you was there, wa’n’t ye? An’ Master Hal wa’n’t, that’s all!” Swiftly Ezra was thinking. The loss, he knew, could not be kept from Captain Briggs. And Hal must be protected. Sudden inspiration dawned on him.
“How much d’ you say is gone?” demanded he.
“Yes, that’s right,” said the old man, nodding. “Them’s the correct figgers, all right enough.”
“How do _you_ know?” exclaimed the doctor, staring.
“Why hadn’t I ought to, when I took that there money myself?”
“Me, sir! I’m the one as stole it, an’ what’s more, I got it now, up-stairs in my trunk!”
Silence a moment while the doctor peered at him with wrinkled brow.
“That’s not true, Ezra,” said he at last, meeting the old man’s defiant look. “You’re lying now to shield that boy!”
“Lyin’, am I?” And Ezra reddened dully. “Dr. Filhiol, sir, ef you wa’n’t an old man, an’ hobblin’ on a cane, them ain’t the words you’d use to me, an’ go clear!”
“I—I beg your pardon, Ezra,” stammered the doctor. “I’m not saying it in a derogatory sense.”
“Rogatory or hogatory, don’t make a damn’s odds! You called me a liar!”
“A noble liar. That kind of a lie is noble, Ezra, but very foolish. I understand you, all right. When I say you’re trying to shield Hal, I’ve hit the mark.”