Rose sat by the boy's bed and smoothed his hair away from his face. As she bent over him, her tears fell upon his forehead. The boy stirred and smiled in his sleep.
"This poor child couldn't have been the pupil of robbers!" exclaimed Mrs. Maylie.
Dr. Losberne sighed. "It's possible."
"But at so early an age?" Rose protested.
The doctor mournfully shook his head. "Crime, like death, is not confined to the old."
"But even if he has been wicked, he may never have known a mother's love or the comfort of a home," said Rose. "Hunger may have driven him to live with evil men who turned him to crime." Then she turned to Mrs. Maylie. "Dear aunt, think what might have become of me if you hadn't taken me in. Oh, have pity on him!"
Mrs. Maylie hugged Rose. "Do you think I would harm him? What can I do to save him, Dr. Losberne?"
"The boy will soon wake," said the doctor. "I propose that I question him in front of you. If he's truly bad, he shall be left to his fate. But if he's good, I'll intervene for him."
Oliver was very ill and weak from loss of blood. Yet he managed to tell the sad story of his life, and everyone was moved by it. Rose's gentle hands smoothed Oliver's pillow. He felt calm and happy as he fell back to sleep.
Dr. Losberne went down to the kitchen. He found Mr. Giles and Brittles entertaining the servants and the policeman again with the story of the robbery.
"How is the patient, sir?" asked Mr. Giles.
"So-so," replied the doctor. "Can you and Brittles swear that the boy upstairs is the boy who was put through the window last night? Come on, out with it!"
The doctor, who was normally quite kind and patient, made this demand in a dreadful tone of anger. Giles and Brittles stared at each other.
"Pay great attention to their reply," Dr. Losberne said sharply to the policeman. "It's a simple question of identity."
"That's what it is indeed, sir," replied the policeman.
"A house is broken into," said Dr. Losberne. "A couple of men catch a glimpse of a boy in the darkness. The next morning a boy comes to the house. And because he has his arm bandaged, they grab him and swear he is the thief."
The policeman nodded wisely.
"I ask you again," thundered the doctor. "Are you, on your solemn oaths, able to identify that boy?"
Brittles looked doubtfully at Mr. Giles, and Mr. Giles looked doubtfully at Brittles. The policeman put his hand behind his ear the better to hear the reply. The two female servants leaned forward . . .
And just then there was a knock at the front door.
"It's the detectives from London!" cried Brittles, appearing much relieved.
"The what?" exclaimed the doctor.
"The London detectives, sir," said Brittles. "We sent for them this morning."
Brittles went upstairs and opened the door. Two men stood there. One was stout with black hair, and the other was thin with red hair. Brittles led them into the parlor.
"Tell your master that Blathers and Duff are here," said the stout man, laying a pair of handcuffs on a table. "Oh! Good evening, master. Can I have a word with you in private?"
Blathers addressed this remark to the doctor, who had entered the parlor with the two ladies. Dr. Losberne dismissed Brittles.
"This is the lady of the house," said Dr. Losberne, motioning toward Mrs. Maylie. Then he proceeded to tell the story of the attempted robbery.
"I can't say for certain until I've examined the evidence," said Blathers, "but I don't think this was done by local people."
"Certainly not," said Duff.
"Who is this boy that the servants are talking about?" asked Blathers.
"One of the frightened servants took it into his head that the boy had something to do with the robbery. But it's nonsense, sheer absurdity," said Dr. Losberne.
"Where did this boy come from? He didn't drop out of the clouds, did he?" asked Blathers.
"Of course not," replied the doctor with a nervous glance at the two ladies. "I know his whole history, but first wouldn't you like to see where the thieves made their attempt?"
"Certainly," replied Blathers. "We should inspect the premises first and examine the servants afterward. That's the usual way of doing business."
So everyone went off to examine the little window, where the thieves had gained entry to the house. Then while the detectives interviewed the servants in the kitchen, the doctor paced the parlor in an uneasy state. Mrs. Maylie and Rose looked on with anxious faces.
"I hardly know what to do," said Dr. Losberne.
"Surely the poor child's story will be enough to show he's innocent," said Rose.
"I doubt it, my dear," said Dr. Losberne. "He admits that he has been the companion of thieves for quite some time. He was arrested on a pickpocket charge. Violent men brought him here to rob the house . . ."
"Oh, why did the servants send for the detectives?" cried Rose.
"We cannot let these men know the boy's real story," Dr. Losberne said firmly.
The detectives soon returned. Blathers announced that the robbers were probably two men from the city, who used a boy to climb through the window. He insisted on seeing Oliver.
Holding a candle, Mr. Giles led the detectives upstairs to Oliver's bedside. Dr. Losberne followed with Rose and Mrs. Maylie.
"This lad was wounded by a trap meant for poachers." Dr. Losberne helped Oliver to sit up in bed. "He was trespassing near here and came to the house for help this morning. Mr. Giles immediately grabbed him and put the boy's life in danger. Do you deny that, Giles?"
"It was all done for the best, sir." Mr. Giles was bewildered. "I thought it was the robbers' boy."
"Well, do you think so now?" asked Blathers.
"I don't know. I really don't know." Mr. Giles shook his head. "I couldn't swear it's him."
"You're a muddle-headed chap," said Duff.
Dr. Losberne suggested they ask the same question of Brittles. But Brittles was no more certain of the boy's identity than Mr. Giles had been.
"It could be the same boy," said Brittles. "But it might not be. I only thought it was the same boy because Mr. Giles said it was."
At last Blathers shook his head in disgust. "There is no robber here," he pronounced.