三个“小侦探”找到了五金商鲍勃·韦斯特，她们借 着买锅的名义自然地将话题引到了维格船长身上。鲍勃也很直率，他讲了些关于维格船长的事。在返回的路上，三个“小侦探”又展开了一番推理。露易丝又发现了一个关键人物，那就是维格船长的儿子乔。
A few steps down the little street brought the girls to the hardware store，quite the most imposing building in town.They crossed the broad platform on which stood samples of heavy farm machinery and entered a well—stocked room where many articles of hardware and house furnishings were neatly and systematically arranged.
The place seemed deserted，for at that time of day no country people were at Millville；but on passing down the aisle the visitor approached a little office built at the rear of the store.Behind the desk Bob West sat upon his high stool，gravely regarding his unusual customers over the rims of his spectacles.
"Good morning，"said Louise，taking the lead."Haveyou a stew pan？"The merchant left the of？ce and silently walked behind the counter.
"Large or small，miss？"he then asked.
The girls became interested in stew pans，which they were scarcely able to recognize by their of？cial name.Mr.West offered no comment as they made their selection.
"Can you send this to the Wegg farm？"asked Louise，opening her purse to make payment.
West smiled.
"I have no means of delivering goods，"said he；"but if you can wait a day or two I may catch some farmer going that way who will consent to take it.""Oh.Didn't Captain Wegg purchase his supplies in the village？"asked the girl.
"Some of them.But it is our custom here to take goods that we purchase home with us.As yet Millville is scarcely large enough to require a delivery wagon."The nieces laughed pleasantly，and Beth said：
"Are you an old inhabitant，Mr.West？""I have been here thirty—？ve years.""Then you knew Captain Wegg？"Louise ventured.
"Very well."
The answer was so frank and free from embarrassment that his questioner hesitated.Here was a man distinctly superior to the others they had interviewed，a man of keen intellect and worldly knowledge，who would be instantly on his guard if he suspected they were cross—examininga him.So Louise，with her usual tact，decided to speak plainly.
"We have been much interested in the history of the Wegg family，"she remarked，easily；"and perhaps it is natural for us to speculate concerning the characters of our predecessors.It was so odd that Captain Wegg should build so good a house on such a poor farm.""Yes.""And he was a sea captain，who retired far from the sea，which he must have loved.""To be sure.""It made him dissatis？ed，they say，as well as surly and unsociable；but he stuck it out even after his poor wife died，and until the day of the murder.""Murder？"in a tone of mild surprise.
"Was it not murder？"she asked，quickly.He gave his shoulders a quiet shrug.
"The physician pronounced it heart disease，I believe.""What physician？""Eh？Why，one who was fishing in the neighborhood for trout，and staying at the hotel.Old Dr.Jackson was in Huntington at the time，I remember."The girls exchanged signi？cant glances，and West noted them and smiled again.
"That murder theory is a new one to me，"he said；"butI see now why it originated.The employment of a strolling physician would give color toa the suspicion.""What do you think，sir？"asked Patsy，who had beenwatching the man's expression closely.
"I？What do I think？Why，that Captain Wegg died from heart disease，as he had often told me he was sure to do in time.""Then what made old Mr.Thompson go mad？"inquiredBeth.