"
"And then he went down the back stairs?"
"He either went down the stairs or else into one of the back
rooms. I walked back after a minute or two, but I didn't see
anything more of him, although I heard a door close and heard a
key turn in a lock."
"Was this before I came up or after?"
"Before, sir. We went to sleep right after you came up."
"Who was present at the feast?" And now Captain Putnam prepared to
write down the names.
"Oh, sir; I hope you won't -- won't --"
"I'll have to ask you for the names, Samuel. I want to know who
was on foot last night as well as who was robbed."
"Surely you don't think any of us was guilty?" cried Sam in sudden
horror.
"I don't know what to think. The names, please."
"I -- I think I'll have to refuse to give them, Captain Putnam."
"Of course all the boys who sleep in your dormitory were present?"
"I said I would take this all on my own shoulders, Captain Putnam.
Of course, you know I wouldn't have confessed at all; but I don't
wish to give that thief any advantage."
"Perhaps the person wasn't a thief at all, only some other cadet
spying upon you."
"We thought of that."
"You may as well give me the names. I shall find them out
anyway."
Hardly knowing whether or not he was doing right, Sam mentioned
all of the cadets who had taken part in the feast. This list
Captain Putnam compared with another containing the names of those
who had been robbed.
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