xity, stood filling his pipe, when the bolt was
turned, and a gentleman holding a whip and wearing a long overcoat
entered the room.

"Good evening, Bedney. Are you and Dyce holding a camp meeting all by
yourselves? I hallooed at the gate till your dog threatened to devour
me, and I had to scare him off with my buggy whip."

"Why, how'dy, Mars Alfred? I am mighty glad to see you! Seems like old
times, to shake hands with you in my cabin. Lem'me take off your
overcoat, sir, and gim'me your hat, and make yourself comfortable, here
by the jam of the chimbly."

"No, Bedney, I can't spare the time, and I only want a little business
matter settled before I get back to town to my office. Thank you, Dyce,
this is an old-time rocker sure enough. It is a regular 'Sleepy
Hollow.'"

Mr. Churchill pushed back his hat, and held his gloved hand toward the
fire.

"Bedney, I want to see that handkerchief you found in your master's
room, the day after he was murdered."

"What hankchuf, Marse Alfred? I done tole everything I know, to the
Crowner's inquess."

"I dare say you did; but something was found afterward. I want to see
it."

"Who has been villifying of me? You have knowed me ever since you was
knee-high to a duck, and I--."

"Nobody has vilified you, but Miss Dobbs saw you examining something,
which she says you pushed up your coat sleeve. She thinks it was a
handkerchief, but it may have been valuables. Now it is my duty, as
District Solicitor, to discover and prosecute the person who killed
your master, and you ought to render me every possible assistance. Any
unwillingness to give your testimony, or surrender the articles found,
will cast suspicion on you, and I should be sorry to have you arrested."

"Fore Gord, Marse Alfred, I--"

"Own up, husband. You did find a hankchef. You see, Marse Alfred, we
helped to raise that poor young gal's mother; and Bedney and me was
'votedly attached to our young Mistiss, Miss Ellie, and we thought ole
Marster was too hard on her, when she run off with the furrin fiddler;
so when this awful 'fliction fell upon us and everybody was cusing Miss
Ellie's child of killing her own grandpa, we couldn't believe no such
onlikely yarn, and Bedney and me has done swore our vow, we will stand
by that poor young creetur, for her ma's sake; for our young mistiss
was good to us, and our heart strings was 'rapped round her. We does
not intend, if we can help it, to lend a hand in jailing Miss E