Part 52 (1/2)

”Well, I presume I will have to make a clean breast of it. Toglet is more or less insane. His folks do not care to place him in an asylum, and so I offered to take care of him for a while. It was his sudden fit of insanity that caused all of the trouble.”

”What made you point your gun at me in the woods?” asked Ralph, who could not help but doubt Martin's story.

”I wanted you to stop so that I might have a chance to explain. I was afraid you would return home and have us arrested.”

”After you pushed me over the cliff why didn't you try to find out whether I was dead or alive?”

”Please don't say I pushed you over. It was Toglet, and directly after you disappeared he turned on me and I had all I could do to keep him at bay.”

”You don't look as if you had a very tough time with him,” remarked Ralph, bluntly.

”Luckily, I am a strong man, and I soon overpowered him. But he then got a strange fit, and I knew I must get him to a doctor at once. So I took the boat and left the island. If I had thought that you were still alive you may rest a.s.sured I would not have left you behind.”

Ralph hardly knew what to say. He did not believe that Martin was telling the truth, plausible as the villain tried to make his story appear.

”You took him to a doctor's?” he asked.

”I did. Then he got away and disappeared in the woods. I had just found him when I saw you. That is the whole story. Why, my young friend, what reason would I have for pus.h.i.+ng you over the cliff?”

”I don't know,” returned Ralph. ”That is something I have been trying to find out.”

”I had none in the world. I never saw nor heard of you previous to hiring your boat, and I might have hired anybody in Glen Arbor for that matter.”

”How is it you are in New York now?” questioned Ralph, suddenly.

”I brought Toglet home to his folks.”

”Does he belong here?”

”Yes. He lives but a few blocks from here. I will tell you what we had better do. We had better go to his home, and you can interview his folks and make sure that I have told you the truth about him. Perhaps he will even confess, if he is in a proper state of mind to do so.”

Ralph hesitated. Martin spoke with so much apparent candor that he was half inclined to believe the man's story concerning Toglet's mental condition.

Besides, as Martin had said, what reason could there have been for such an attack if it was not that of a madman?

”Come on, if only to please me,” urged Martin. ”You will find Toglet's mother a very nice old lady, and you will certainly believe her, even if you will not believe me.”

”You say it is but a few blocks?”

”Not more than four. Come, I will show you the way.”

Martin linked his arm in that of Ralph, and together they proceeded down the street.

Presently they came in sight of a large tenement house, although Ralph, being a country boy, did not recognize it as such.

”Here we are,” said Martin. ”Mrs. Toglet lives on the upper floor.”

He led the way into the hallway and up the somewhat narrow and dirty stairs.