Froelich perceived that he had probably been mistaken, and being relatively honest—­and being also about to get his money—­and not wishing to bear false witness, particularly if he might later be sued for false imprisonment, he decided to duck and pass the buck to Delany, who was definitely committed.  He was shrewd enough, however, not to give his real reason to the policeman, but put it on the ground of being so confused that he couldn’t remember.  This left Delany responsible for everything.

“But you said that that was the feller!” argued the cop, who had gone to urge Froelich to assume the onus of the charge.  “And now you want to leave me holdin’ the bag!”

“Vell, you said yourself you seen him, didn’t you?” replied the German.  “An’ you svore to it.  I didn’t svear to noddings.”

“Aw, you!” roared the enraged cop, and hastened to interview Mr. Asche.

Aping a broad humanitarianism he suggested to Asche that if Mrs. Mathusek would pay for the window they could afford to let up on the boy.  He did it so ingeniously that he got Asche to go round there, only to find that she had no money, all given to Simpkins.  Gee, what a mix-up!

It is quite possible that even under these circumstances Delany might still have availed himself of what in law is called a locus poenitentiae had it not been that the mix-up was rendered still more mixed by the surreptitious appearance in the case of Mr. Michael McGurk, the father of the actual brick artist, who had learned that the cop was getting wabbly and was entertaining the preposterous possibility of withdrawing the charge against the innocent Mathusek, to the imminent danger of his own offspring.  In no uncertain terms the saloon keeper intimated to the now embarrassed guardian of the public peace that if he pulled anything like that he would have him thrown off the force, to say nothing of other and darker possibilities connected with the morgue.  All of which gave Delany decided pause.

Hogan, for his own reasons, had meanwhile reached an independent conclusion as to how he could circumvent Delany’s contemplated treachery.  If, he decided, the cop should go back on his identification of the criminal he foresaw Tony’s discharge in the magistrate’s court, and no more money.  The only sure way, therefore, to prevent Tony’s escape would be by not giving Delany the chance to change his testimony; and by waiving examination before the magistrate and consenting voluntarily to having his client held for the action of the grand jury, in which event Tony would be sent to the Tombs and there would be plenty of time for Simpkins to get an assignment of Mrs. Mathusek’s insurance money before the grand jury kicked out the case.  This also had the additional advantage of preventing any funny business on the part of Judge Harrison.

Delany was still undecided what he was going to do when the case was called at two o’clock.  It is conceivable that he might still have tried to rectify his error by telling something near the truth, in spite of Hogan, Asche and McGurk, but the opportunity was denied him.