Mr. Hardy was sympathetic, but, as he said, he was facing a stone wall.

“I’ve done all I can, my boy,” he explained to the grief-stricken lad. “If there was anything more I could do, I would do it. But there are no more clues. If Red Jackley’s confession couldn’t clear up the affair, then nothing else could. I’m afraid⁠—”

He left the sentence unfinished.

“Do you mean my father will go to jail?”

“I wouldn’t say that. But you must be prepared to face the worst.”

“He didn’t do it,” said Perry doggedly.

“I know you have confidence in him. But the law looks only at the facts. Many an innocent man has been convicted on less evidence.”

“It will kill my mother.”