e
other party is in the dining-room... and there I sees ole Mac in
his dressing-gown just coming down from the first floor. The same
moment I hear a step in the front hall.

"I see ole Mac start but he does not stop. He kom right
downstairs, and I step back behind the curtain ontil I find a
door vich I push. I dare not svitch on my light but presently I
feel the cold edge of a bath with my hands. I stay there and
vait. Oi, oi, oi, how shall you belief vot I tell?"

He broke off trembling.

"Go on, Barney," said the detective, "can't you see the gentlemen
are waiting?"

The Jew resumed, his voice sinking almost to a whisper.

"It vos quite dark behind the curtain but from the bathroom,
through the open door, I could just see ole Mac standing with his
back to me, a-holding the curtain. He must haf shlip in there to
watch the other who vos komming opstairs. Then... then... I hear
a step on the stair... a little, soft step... then ole Mac he
open the curtain and cry 'Who are you?' Bang! the... the... other
on the stairs he fire a shot. I see the red flash and I smell
the... the powder not? The other, he does not vait... he just go
on opstairs and ole Mac is lying there on his back with the blood
a-trickling out on the oil-cloth. And I, vith my bag on my back,
I creep downstair and out by the back again, and I ron and ron
and then I valks. Gott! how I haf walked! I vos so frightened!
And then, at last, I go to a policeman and gif 'myself op!"

Barney stopped. The tears burst from his eyes and laying his
grimy face on his arm, he sobbed.

The detective patted him on the back.

"Pull yourself together, man!" he said encouragingly.

"This man on the stairs," queried the Chief, "did you see him?"

"Ach was!" replied the prisoner, turning a tearstained face
towards him, "I haf seen nothing, except old Mac's back vich vos
right in vront of me, it vos so dark!"

"But couldn't you see the other person at all, not even the
outline" persisted the Chief.

The prisoner made a gesture of despair.

"It vos so dark, I say! Nothing haf I seen! I haf heard only his
step!"

"What sort of step? Was it heavy or light or what? Did this
person seem in a hurry?"

"A little light tread... so! won, two! won, two!, and qvick like
'e think 'e sneak opstairs vithout nobody seeing!"

"Did he make much noise"

"Ach was! hardly at all... the tread, 'e vos so light like a
woman's..."

"Like a woman's, eh!", repeated the Chief, as