, with keen
interest. "Let us hear about it."

"Well, you will remember Hill said he was at home on the night of the
murder," pursued Inspector Seldon. "I looked up his depositions before I
came away and what he said was this: 'I took my daughter to the Zoo in
the afternoon. We left the Zoo at half past five and went home and had
tea. My wife then took the child to the picture-palace and I remained at
home. I did not go out that night. They returned about half-past ten, and
after supper we all went to bed.' But Evans tells me he saw Hill in his
bar at three o'clock on the morning of the 19th of August. He has an
early license for the accommodation of the Covent Garden traffic. He can
swear to Hill. A man who goes to bed at half-past ten has no right to be
wandering about Covent Garden at 3 a. m. And besides, Hill told us
nothing about this. So I brought Evans along to see what you make of it."

Inspector Chippenfield had taken up a pencil and was making a few notes.

"Very interesting indeed," he said. Then he turned to Evans and asked,
"Are you sure you saw Hill in your bar at three a. m.? There is no
possibility of a mistake?"

"He is the man who was knocked down outside by a porter running into
him," said Mr. Evans, mopping his eyes. "I could bring half a dozen
witnesses who will swear to him."

"You see, it's this way," interpolated Inspector Seldon, taking up the
landlord's narrative. His police-court training had taught him to bring
out the salient points of a story, and he was naturally of the opinion
that he could tell another man's story better than the man could tell it
himself. "Hill was staring about him--it was probably the first time he
had been to Covent Garden in the early morning--and got knocked over. He
was stunned, and some porters took him in to the bar, sat him on a form,
and poured some rum into him. Some of the porters were for ringing up the
ambulance; others were for carrying Hill off to the hospital, but he soon
recovered. However, he sat there for about twenty minutes, and after
having several drinks at his own expense he went away. Evans served him
with the drinks."

"Good," said Inspector Chippenfield, who liked the circumstantial details
of the story. "And you can get half a dozen porters to identify him?"

"Bill Cribb, Harry Winch, Charlie Brown, a fellow they call 'Green
Violets'--I don't know his real name--"

Mr. Evans was calling on his memory for further names but was stopped