“Was his ’pearance ’spicious?”

“No, yer Honor, more’n yer own.  No offince to yez.”

“That’ll do, Mr. O’Dougherty.  Next witness.”

“If you please, your Honor,” said the smooth Overtop, rising, “you have accidentally omitted to ask one very important question.  The prisoner stated, on his preliminary examination, you remember, that, when he stopped to light a cigar from the pipe of a policeman, he heard the sound of a fire bell commencing to strike.  Miss Minford testifies, that when she was roused from sleep by the noise of her father falling to the floor, she heard the alarm for the Seventh District.  McKibbin’s store, at the corner of Washington and ——­ streets, is more than half a mile from here.  In view of these facts, I will, with your Honor’s permission, ask Mr. O’Dougherty if he heard the fire alarm that night; and, if so, whether the prisoner was in sight at the time?”

“Shure, an’ I heerd it,” answered the O’Dougherty.  “It was fur the Seventh District.  An’ wasn’t this gin’leman here at the ind o’ me poipe, jist when it begun to bang away?”

Overtop cast one triumphant glance at the jury, which was fully reciprocated by the foreman and four others.

“I have no more questions to ask, your Honor,” said Overtop.

“Nor I,” said the coroner, “as the witness’s testimony has no great bearin’ on the case, that I can see.  What is jour name, Mister—­er—­”

“Thomas Jelliman,” responded the second policeman, a stout, bluff, honest-looking fellow.  He did not say “Your Honor,” and thereby offended the coroner.

“Well, what’s yer bizness, anyhow?” asked the coroner, curtly.

“I should think you would remember that I was a policeman,” said the witness, looking the coroner straight in the eye.

The coroner, taking a second observation of the witness, recalled him as the identical officer who had arrested him, one Christmas night, for drunkenness, and locked him up in the station house.  This little occurrence was before his election to the dignified and responsible office of County Coroner.

“If you don’t remember me,” said the witness, “I think I could bring myself to your mind easy.  On a certain Christmas night, not many years ago—­”

“Never mind the particulars, Mr. Jelliman,” observed the coroner.  “Come to look at yer, I recolleck yer very well.  Ahem!  What do you know about this ’ere case, Mr. Jelliman?”

“Nothing, sir, except that I can swear to having seen the prisoner, on the night of the murder, at the corner of West and ——­ streets.  He was smoking a cigar, and walking fast.  As he passed me, he said, ’A cold night, Mr. Policeman.’  This made me notice him particularly, because it isn’t very often that people throw away civilities on us.  Just as he turned the corner below me, the alarm bells struck the last round for the Seventh District.  They had struck three or four rounds.  That is all I know about the affair.”