"Shall I question him," asked the officer, "or will you?"

"I will. Berry, you deposited five hundred dollars at the bank
yesterday?"

"Well, suh, Mistah Oakley," was the grinning reply, "ef you ain't de
beatenes' man to fin' out things I evah seen."

The employer half rose from his chair. His face was livid with anger.
But at a sign from the detective he strove to calm himself.

"You had better let me talk to Berry, Mr. Oakley," said the officer.

Oakley nodded. Berry was looking distressed and excited. He seemed not
to understand it at all.

"Berry," the officer pursued, "you admit having deposited five hundred
dollars in the bank yesterday?"

"Sut'ny. Dey ain't no reason why I should n't admit it, 'ceptin'
erroun' ermong dese jealous niggahs."

"Uh huh! well, now, where did you get this money?"

"Why, I wo'ked fu' it, o' co'se, whaih you s'pose I got it? 'T ain't
drappin' off trees, I reckon, not roun' dis pa't of de country."

"You worked for it? You must have done a pretty big job to have got so
much money all in a lump?"

"But I did n't git it in a lump. Why, man, I 've been savin' dat money
fu mo'n fo' yeahs."

"More than four years? Why did n't you put it in the bank as you got
it?"

"Why, mos'ly it was too small, an' so I des' kep' it in a ol' sock. I
tol' Fannie dat some day ef de bank did n't bus' wid all de res' I had,
I 'd put it in too. She was allus sayin' it was too much to have layin'
'roun' de house. But I des' tol' huh dat no robber was n't goin' to
bothah de po' niggah down in de ya'd wid de rich white man up at de
house. But fin'lly I listened to huh an' sposited it yistiddy."

"You 're a liar! you 're a liar, you black thief!" Oakley broke in
impetuously. "You have learned your lesson well, but you can't cheat me.
I know where that money came from."

"Calm yourself, Mr. Oakley, calm yourself."

"I will not calm myself. Take him away. He shall not stand here and lie
to me."

Berry had suddenly turned ashen.

"You say you know whaih dat money come f'om? Whaih?"

"You stole it, you thief, from my brother Frank's room."

"Stole it! My Gawd, Mistah Oakley, you believed a thing lak dat aftah
all de yeahs I been wid you?"

"You 've been stealing all along."

"Why, what shell I do?" said the servant helplessly. "I tell you, Mistah
Oakley, ask Fannie. She 'll know how long I been a-savin' dis money."

"I 'll ask no one."

"I think it would be better to call his wife, Oakley."