“Moah dan twenty yeahs, sah, I’se had charge ob dese y’er grounds; an’ mars’r Mainwaring, he t’ought nobody but ole Mose cud take cyah ob ’em, sah.”

“You were about the grounds as usual Wednesday, were you not?”

“I was ’bout de grounds all day, sah, ’case dere was a pow’ful lot to do a-gittin’ ready for de big doins dere was goin’ to be on mars’r’s birfday.”

“Did you see either of the strangers who called that day?”

“I’se a-comm’ to dat d’rectly, sah.  You see, sah, I wants to say right heah, befo’ I goes any furder, dat I don’ know noffin ’cept what tuk place under my own obserbation.  I don’ feel called upon to ’spress no ’pinions ‘bout nobody.  I jes’ wants to state a few recurrences dat I noted at de time, speshally ’bout dem strangers as was heah in pertickeler.  Well, sah, de fust man, he come heah in de mawnin’.  De Inglish gentlemens, dey had been a-walkin’ in de grounds and jes’ done gone roun’ de corner oh de house to go to mars’r Mainwaring’s liberry, when dis man he comes up de av’nue in a kerridge, an’ de fust ting I heah ‘im a-cussin’ de driver.  Den he gets out and looks roun’ kind o’ quick, jes’ like de possum in de kohn, as ef he was ’fraid somebody done see ‘im.  I was fixin’ de roses on de front poach, an’ I looked at ‘im pow’ful sharp, an’ when de dooh opened he jumped in quick, as ef he was glad to get out o’ sight.  Well, sah, I didn’t like de ’pearance ob dat man, an’ I jes’ t’ought I’d get anoder look at ’im, but he stayed a mighty long time, sah, an’ bime’by I had to go to de tool-house, an’ when I gets back the kerridge was gone.”

“Could you describe the man, Uncle Mose?” the coroner asked.

“No, sah, I don’ know as I could ’scribe ’im perzacly; but I’d know ’im, no matter where I sot eyes on ’im, and I know’d ‘im the nex’ time I see ‘im.  Well, sah, dat aft’noon, mars’r Mainwaring an’ de folks had gone out ridin’, an’ I was roun’ kind o’ permiscuous like, an’ I see anoder kerridge way down de av’nue by de front gate, an’ I waited, ‘spectin’ maybe I’d see dat man again.  While I was waitin’ by de front dooh, all oh a sudden a man come roun’ from de side, as ef he come from mars’r Mainwaring’s liberry, but he was anoder man.”

“Didn’t he look at all like the first man?” inquired the coroner.

“No, sah; he looked altogedder diff’rent; but I don’ know as I could state whar’in de differensiashun consisted, sah.  Dis man was berry good lookin’ ‘ceptin’ his eyes, an’ dem yoh cudn’ see, ’case he had on cull’ed glasses.  Mebbe his eyes was pow’ful weak, er mebbe he didn’t want nobody to see ’em; but I ’spicioned dem glasses d’rectly, sah, an’ I watched ‘im.  He goes down to de kerridge an’ takes out a coat an’ says sump’ in to de driver, an’ de kerridge goes away tow’ds de town, an’ he walks off de oder way.  Bime’by I see ’im gwine back again on de oder side ob de street-”

“Was he alone?” interrupted the coroner.