With a sudden thought she sprang from her bed and took her watch from the dresser.  It was an old watch, given her by Mamma Bee on the girl’s twelfth birthday, while she was living with the Conants, and her mother had bidden her to treasure it because it had belonged to her when she was a girl of Mary Louise’s age.  The watch was stem-winding and had a closed case, the back lid of which had seldom been opened because it fitted very tightly.  But now Mary Louise pried it open with a hatpin and carried it to the light.  On the inside of the gold case the following words were engraved: 

“Beatrice Hathaway, from her loving Father.”

Mary Louise stared at this inscription for a long while.  For the first time, ugly doubts began to creep into her heart.  The officer was right when he said that James Hathaway was masquerading under the false name of Colonel Weatherby.  Gran’pa Jim had never told even Mary Louise that his real name was Hathaway; Mamma Bee had never told her, either.  With a deep sigh she snapped the case of the watch in place and then began to dress.

It was still too early for breakfast when she had finished her toilet, so she sat by the open window of her room, looking down into the street, and tried to solve the mystery of Gran’pa Jim.  Better thoughts came to her, inspiring her with new courage.  Her grandfather had changed his name to enable him the more easily to escape observation, for it was James Hathaway who was accused, not Colonel James Weatherby.  It was difficult, however, for the girl to familiarize herself with the idea that Gran’pa Jim was really James Hathaway; still, if her mother’s name before her marriage was indeed Beatrice Hathaway, as the watch proved, then there was no question but her grandfather’s name was also Hathaway.  He had changed it for a purpose and she must not question the honesty of that purpose, however black the case looked against her beloved Gran’pa Jim.

This discovery, nevertheless, only added to the mystery of the whole affair, which she realized her inability to cope with.  Grouping the facts with which she was familiar into regular order, her information was limited as follows: 

Once Gran’pa Jim was rich and prosperous and was named Hathaway.  He had many friends and lived in a handsome city house.  Suddenly he left everything and ran away, changing his name to that of Weatherby.  He was afraid, for some unknown reason, of being arrested, and whenever discovery threatened his retreat he would run away again.  In this manner he had maintained his liberty for nine years, yet to-day the officers of the law seemed as anxious to find him as at first.  To sum up, Gran’pa Jim was accused of a crime so important that it could not be condoned and only his cleverness in evading arrest had saved him from prison.