At recess that morning they met Jerry, Phil, Tony and Chet Morton, and told them the news. All the boys were highly concerned over this sudden turn in events.
“This will be tough on Perry,” said Phil.
“It’ll be tough on the whole family,” Chet declared. “They’ve had enough trouble over this dirty affair as it is.”
The boys discussed the situation from all angles and racked their brains for some way whereby they could help the Robinsons, but they were reluctantly forced to admit that only by actual discovery of the hidden loot could Mr. Robinson be cleared of suspicion in connection with the robbery.
“Even if he were tried and acquitted, it would be a stain on his reputation for the rest of his life, as long as the treasure isn’t recovered,” Frank summed up.
“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” Joe said. “We’ve done all we could, and it hasn’t been enough.”
“And Dad has done the same. I’m sorry, on his account. He was so sure he had cleared the whole thing up when he got the confession from Jackley. But there was something lacking.”
“Well, we all helped too,” remarked Jerry. “We kept Collig and Smuff from catching that train. Jackley wouldn’t have talked at all if they had seen him.”
So, reluctantly enough, the boys were forced to admit that they were facing a stone wall. This also was the conclusion of Fenton Hardy, when they talked to him at lunch that day.
“There’s nothing to be done,” said the detective. “Robinson has been arrested, and while he might be cleared by a skilful lawyer, he hasn’t any