rs lower, until now they almost pointed to the ground. He was
impressive and devilish correct, but somehow the whole dashed thing
seemed lost on O'Keefe.

He even asked Jenkins for a match--but of course received no attention.
"Gone off in a trance!" he said to me, with a vulgar jerk of his fat
thumb. And then he touched Jenkins with his stick--fact; touched
him!--and winked!

"But it _woulder_ tickled you," he resumed, using one of the vestas I
extended and puffing the cigar until it almost flamed, "if you coulder
seen the grand-stand play this guy put up before the sergeant! But the
old man just let him blow it all off; just sat there calm behind the
desk, chewing away and jabbing a pen through the blotter, while this
stiff fumed and spouted--oh, something scandalous--bringing in the names
of mighty near all the important people in New York; his _friends_, he
said! Oh, yes, he mentioned _you_ in particular, sir!"--and his face
expanded in a relishing grin.

"Dashed impudence!" I murmured feebly.

"_Oh_, yes," carelessly, "but the sarge quieted him--just purty near
soothed him to sleep before he got _through_, you know--it's one of his
ways!"--his glance lifted solemnly.

"Fine, you know!" I murmured admiringly. I reflected approvingly upon
what a dashed good thing it was to have a man in that position--whatever
it was--who was of such a devilish mild and gentle temperament: the
quiet word--the soft answer--the kindly remonstrance--all that sort of
thing, you know.

"We're a leetle crowded now," the big cop pursued, reflectively gouging
into the mortar with the long blade of his knife, "and we had to put him
in the cell with a gorilla what's always wandering back to the jungle
for too much strong-arm work--maybe you read about him? He scragged a
whole family th' other night and threw 'em down the fire-escape."

"Oh!" I said uneasily. "But isn't he--er--rather dangerous?"

"_Naw!_" A careless but vigorous head shake. "_Only_ in his sleep, you
know--it's his dreams leads him off--_or_ unless some one touches or
crowds him; then he gets peevish and--oh, well he _might_, of course--"
Mr. O'Keefe's expressive shrug finished out the idea. But I wouldn't
have heard it anyhow, I was in such a yawn.

By Jove, I was sure the housekeeper would have chucked it by now, or
else worked herself up into a swoon! Why, _my_ jolly foot was asleep! It
was safe to let him go. I looked at my watch and coughed, and Jenkins
came to