o must have been waiting across the
street, came in. He closed the door and locked it.

"I saw old Three-Finger come out of this building," he said. "What did
he want?"

"He came upon confidential business which can't be mentioned," said
Mr. Gubb.

"Just so!" said Mr. Smith. "He wanted you to find Henry, the Educated
Pig. Now, listen to me. I skipped out with that pig to do
Three-Finger a favor and save part of his show for him, and that's the
truth, but he don't believe it--not him! He called me a thief and
worse, he did. He had the nerve to say I wanted that pig myself, to
start in business with, and that's a lie. No man can insult me like
that, Mr. Gubb. Look at this--"

He took from his pocket a couple of feet of whipcord and handed it to
Philo Gubb.

"What is this?" asked Mr. Gubb.

"That's all that's left of Henry," said Greasy Gus. "That's his total
remains up to date. That's the rope I led Henry with after I quit the
wagon of a farmer that rode us out of Derlingport. That cord was tied
to Henry's left hind foot. Look at the end without the knot--was that
cut or wasn't it?"

"I most generally reserve my opinion until later than right at first,"
said Philo Gubb.

"All right, reserve it!" said Greasy Gus. "Looks to me like it was
cut. No matter. The main thing I want is for you to find Henry. How's
that?"

"Under them certain specifications," said Philo Gubb, "I can take up
the case and get right to work onto it."

"All right, then," said Greasy Gus. "Now, here's what I know about it.
I got out of Derlingport with Henry, and when the farmer dumped us
from his wagon I hitched this whipcord to Henry's leg and drove him
along the road. After while I hit this town of Riverbank. I thought
maybe the police would be looking for Henry. So I took to an alley
instead of a regular street, and along we came. We came down the
alley, and of a sudden I began to wonder what I'd do with Henry now
I'd got him into town. It would look kind of suspicious for me and
Henry to go to a hotel. 'I know what I'll do,' I says to myself: 'What
I want to do is to go alone and rent a barn and say I'm thinking of
buying a pig if I can get a place to keep him.' So that's what I did."

"You left the pig alone in the alley by itself?" asked Philo Gubb.

"Yes, sir!" said Mr. Smith. "I found an alley fence that had a staple
in it, and I tied one end of the whipcord to the staple and went down
the alley to find a barn I could put Henry