Well," he said at length, in a deliberate manner, "before I got your
note, I was convinced Gorby had got hold of the right man, but when I
heard that you wanted to see me, and knowing you are defending the
prisoner, I guessed that you must have found something in his favour
which you wanted me to look after."

"Right!" said Calton, laconically.

"As Mr. Fitzgerald said he met Whyte at the corner and hailed the
cab--" went on the detective.

"How do you know that?" interrupted Calton, sharply.

"Gorby told me."

"How the devil did he find out?" cried the lawyer, with genuine
surprise.

"Because he is always poking and prying about," said Kilsip,
forgetting, in his indignation, that such poking and prying formed part
of detective business. "But, at any rate," he went on quickly, "if Mr.
Fitzgerald did leave Mr. Whyte, the only chance he's got of proving his
innocence is that he did not come back, as the cabman alleged."

"Then, I suppose, you think that Fitzgerald will prove an ALIBI," said
Calton.

"Well, sir," answered Kilsip, modestly, "of course you know more about
the case than I do, but that is the only defence I can see he can make."

"Well, he's not going to put in such a defence."

"Then he must be guilty," said Kilsip, promptly.

"Not necessarily," returned the barrister, drily.

"But if he wants to save his neck, he'll have to prove an ALIBI,"
persisted the other.

"That's just where the point is," answered Calton. "He doesn't want to
save his neck."

Kilsip, looking rather bewildered, took a sip of whisky, and waited to
hear what Mr. Calton had to say.

"The fact is," said Calton, lighting a fresh cigar, "he has some
extraordinary idea in his head. He refuses absolutely to say where he
was on that night."

"I understand," said Kilsip, nodding his head. "Woman?"

"No, nothing of the kind," retorted Calton, hastily. "I thought so at
first, but I was wrong. He went to see a dying woman, who wished to
tell him something."

"What about?"

"That's just what I can't tell you," answered Calton quickly. "It must
have been something important, for she sent for him in great haste--and
he was by her bedside between the hours of one and two on Friday
morning."

"Then he did not return to the cab?"

"No, he did not, he went to keep his appointment, but, for some reason
or other, he won't tell where this appointment was. I went to his rooms
to-day and found this half-burnt letter, asking him to c