answering truthfully, and replied:

"Yes, sir."

Realizing that the turn of affairs was making them appear ridiculous,
the officer who had suggested that Bob be allowed to plead guilty, and
receive a light sentence, if he would divulge the name of the two
swindlers, hurriedly exclaimed:

"But the boy has a bad record, your honor."

"That is not so, your honor," retorted Foster hotly. "When I found that
the sergeant was determined to hold the boy, I went to the man for whom
he works--his name is Len Dardus--and made inquiries about him. Mr.
Dardus is his guardian, and though it was evident that he had no love
for the boy, the worst he could say about him was that he took a half
hour to deliver an order that should have been delivered in twenty
minutes. As to his associating with bad companions, that is not so, for
his guardian said he was never out at night, always preferring to read."

"If the boy is such a paragon of virtue, why didn't his guardian come to
court himself and try to help the boy, instead of leaving it to a
reporter?" sneered the officer who was trying so hard to make a case
against Bob.

"I tried to get him to come," exclaimed Foster, "but he refused on the
ground that he could not leave his store."

"You reporters are certainly good ones at putting up a plausible story,"
retorted the officer contemptuously.