akes me sweat blood whenever I think of the trick
Moxlow served me,--it ain't as if I had no one but myself! I got a
family, see? _I_ can't afford to go to jail,--it ain't as if I was
single!"

"Get back to your starting-point, Joe!" said Gilmore.

"Who do you think killed old man McBride, boss?"

"How should I know?"

"You ain't got any ideas about that?" asked Montgomery.

Gilmore shot him a swift glance.

"I don't know whether I have or not," he replied.

"I have, boss."

"You?" His tone betrayed neither eagerness nor interest.

"That's what fetches me here, boss!" Joe replied, sinking his voice to a
whisper. "I got a damn good notion who killed old McBride; I could go
out on the street and put my hand on the man who done it!"

"You mustn't come here with these pipe dreams of yours, Joe; you have
been drunk and all this talk about the McBride murder's gone to your
head!" retorted Gilmore contemptuously.

"I hope I may die if I ain't as sober as you this minute, boss!"
returned the handy-man impressively.

"Well, what do you know--or think you know?" asked Gilmore with affected
indifference.

"Boss, did I ever lie to you?" demanded Montgomery.

"If you did I never found you out."

"And why? You never had no chance to find me out; for the reason that I
always tell you the almighty everlastin' truth!"

"Well?" prompted Mr. Gilmore.

"Boss," and again Montgomery dropped his voice to a confidential
whisper, "boss, I seen a man climb over old man McBride's shed yesterday
just before six. I seen him come up on top of the shed from the inside,
look all around, slide down to the eaves and drop into the alley, and
then streak off as if all hell was after him!"

Gilmore's features were under such admirable control that they betrayed
nothing of what was passing in his mind.

"Stuff!" he ejaculated at last, disdainfully.

"You think I lie, boss?" cried Montgomery, in an intense whisper.

"You know best about that," said Gilmore quietly.

"He come so close to me I could feel his breath in my face! Boss, he was
puffin' and pantin' and his breath burnt,--yes, sir, it burnt; and I
heard him say, 'Oh, my God!' like that, 'Oh, my God!'"

"And where were you when this happened?" demanded Gilmore with sudden
sternness.

Montgomery hesitated.

"What's that got to do with it, boss?"

"A whole lot; come, out with it. Where were you to see and hear all
this?"

"I was in White's woodshed," said Montgomery r