ing the discovery of the body. The darkness, the
presence of death, were surroundings to which Alfred was not accustomed.

The body lay about twenty yards from the road under a big tree. As they
climbed the fence and faced towards the spot, a stench met their
nostrils. They looked at each other. Jake was the first to recover his
speech: "Phew! If dot's Bolmur, he iss spiled werry queek."

Alfred reclimbed the fence. Jake looked over the dead man and remarked:
"It don'dt look more like Bolmur as you do." Mounting their horses they
were soon back at the tavern. The wife gazed appealingly at them as they
entered, and, in a trembling voice, asked: "No news?"

"No, it vasn't him, he iss been dedt a veek or two." Jake spoke as if
disappointed that the dead man was not Palmer.

Later, Alfred was lying on the bed laughing, Jake, looking at him with a
smile which spoke inquisitiveness more plainly than he could have
articulated the word, inquired: "Vot you laffin at? You laff like a tam
fool. It makes me feel like a tam fool, too; I kan't tell but vot you
iss laffin at my back."

This only brought more laughter. Finally, Jake began laughing also. "I
see, you iss laffin becos I toldt Mrs Bolmur dot de dedt man vos
spildt."

"Why, Jake, the manner in which you gave the news to her sounded as if
we were disappointed that the dead man was not Palmer."

Jake arose, walked over to Alfred, his face assuming a serious aspect:
"It's a werry great bitty for der poor heart-broken-down woman dot it
was not Bolmur."

Gideon telegraphed from Cumberland that Palmer was there; that he would
arrive on the next train. Jake and Alfred had the panorama all set.
Night came on and neither Gideon nor Palmer had arrived. No train was
scheduled to arrive until midnight. Mrs. Palmer was too nervous, too ill
to give any advice or to even offer a suggestion.

"Could she play the music as usual if they went on with the exhibition?"
"Yes, she would get a cup of tea and be ready for her part of the work."

Alfred arranged with the son of one of the church members to take charge
of the financial end. Jake said he could do the part of Christian and he
was sure that he would not make any mistakes.

The church was crowded. Alfred had assured himself a thousand times that
he could go through the whole dialogue. He was correct but there was
quite a difference in the delivery of the impassioned speeches; the weak
voice of an amateurish schoolboy could no