s in
Mrs. Turner's bed, between the quilt and the mattress. Go find them."

"Not until Miss Turner comes home," said Philo firmly. "It's her
house."

"Why, you long-legged stork you!" said Slippery, "she knows I'm here
for that beer. She sent me."

"I thought you said Snooks sent you for his clothes," said Philo.

"Never you mind who sent me for what!" said Slippery, angrily. "You're
a dandy detective, ain't you? Sittin' on top of a ladder, and not
lettin' a friend of Snooks help him out. Say, listen, Gubby!
Everybody's goin' to get into worse trouble if I don't get away with
that beer. Understand? Come on! Let me take it away!"

"When Miss Turner comes back!" said Philo Gubb.

A new knock on the door interrupted them, and Slippery glided to the
cellar door, through which Snooks had so recently fled. The kitchen
door opened to admit Attorney Smith. He was a thin man, but
intelligent-looking, as thin men quite frequently are.

"Don't get down, Mr. Gubb, don't get down!" he said. "I came in the
back way, hoping to find Miss Turner. She is not here?"

"She's out," said Philo.

"Too bad!" said Attorney Smith. "I wanted to see her about her nephew.
You have heard he is in jail?"

"Why, yes," said Philo, crossing one leg over the other. "He hired me
to do some deteckating. I'm sort of in charge of that case. I'm just
going to start in looking it up."

Attorney Smith took a turn to the end of the room and back. He was
known in Riverbank as the unsuccessful competitor against Attorney
Mullen for the City Attorneyship, and was supposed to be the counselor
of the liquor interests.

"You have done nothing yet?" he asked suddenly, stopping below Philo
Gubb's elevated seat.

"No, I'm just about beginning to commence," said Philo.

"Then you know nothing regarding the--the articles young Turner is
charged with stealing?"

"Well, maybe I do know something about that," said Philo. "If you mean
seven bottles of beer and a beer-opener, I do."

"Where are they?" asked Attorney Smith in the sharp tone he used in
addressing a witness for the other side when he was trying a case.

"I guess I've told about all I'm going to tell about them," said Philo
thoughtfully. "I don't want to be disobliging, Mister Smith, but I
look on them bottles of beer as a clue, and that beer-opener as a
clue, and they're about the only clue I've got. I got to save up my
clues."

"Are they in this house?" asked Mr. Smith sharply.

"If they