The Mystery of M. Felix. Farjeon Benjamin Leopold
which a great deal may hang. Do you mean to tell me that you have any doubt on the subject?'
"'I can't say for certain. I was that upset and bewildered when I found M. Felix gone that I don't remember nothing till you came up to me at the street door. 'Ow I opened it, or 'ow I got it open, I don't remember no more than the dead.'
"'Think a little; it is not longer than half-an-hour since I saw you. Your memory cannot have deserted you in so short a time.'
"'I've got no more memory about it than the babe unborn.'
"'But you must try to have. It is a fact that the chain either was or was not up, that the door either was or was not locked. Sit down and think about it for a minute or two; I will keep quiet while you think.'
"But though the woman obeyed our reporter, and sat down and thought of the matter, or said she did, she declared she could make nothing of it, and had to give it up in despair.
"'It is awkward,' said our reporter, 'to say the least of it. There is no telling what construction may be put upon your loss of memory.'
"'I'm a honest woman, sir,' said Mrs. Middlemore, looking imploringly at our reporter; 'you'll put in a good word for me?'
"'You may depend upon that, for I am convinced you are honest and innocent, but it is unfortunate. If you should happen to remember, you had best let me know before you tell anyone else.'
"'Yes, sir, I'll promise that. I don't know what I should do without you.'
"'Get yourself into serious trouble, for a certainty, Mrs. Middlemore. You go out for your supper-beer every night?'
"'Yes, every night; I can't do without it.'
"'Beer is a wholesome beverage, if taken in moderation, which I know is the case with you. Did you go out for it last night?'
"'Yes, I did.'
"'Before or after you paid your last visit to these rooms?'
"'Before, sir, before. You think of everything.'
"'It shows that I am doing the best I can for you. Before you came up to these rooms, you had your supper?'
"'Yes.'
"'Sophy had some with you?'
"'Yes. She's got a twist on her has Sophy.'
"'A twist?'
"'An appetite. She eats as much as a Grenadier.'
"'All growing girls do. How old is Sophy?'
"'Fourteen.'
"'Then, when you went downstairs, you and Sophy went to bed?'
"'Yes.'
"'You both sleep in the same room?'
"'Yes.'
"'In the same bed, most likely?'
"'Yes, we do; and the way that girl pulls the clothes off you is a caution.'
"'Did you both go to bed at the same time?'
"'No, I sent 'er before me, and when I went in she was as sound as a top.'
"'Are you a sound sleeper yourself?'
"'I was before this dreadful thing 'appened, but now I pass the most fearful nights.'
"'Dreams?'
"'Awful.'
"'How about last light? Don't answer hastily. This is another important point.'
"Thus admonished, Mrs. Middlemore took time to consider; and no doubt it was with a certain regret that she felt constrained to say, 'I think I must 'ave slept better than ordinary. I was that tired that my legs was fit to drop off me.'
"'You slept very soundly?'
"'I must 'ave done, mustn't I, sir?'
"'That is for you to say. You see, Mrs. Middlemore, the body of M. Felix could not have been removed without a certain noise. Now, if you were awake you must have heard it.'
"'I didn't 'ear nothing. I'll take my Bible oath of it.'
"'At what hour did you wake this morning?'
"'At 'alf-past eight, and I got up at once.'
"'Isn't that rather late for you?'
"'It is, sir, but I've got no one to attend to now.'
"'You were not in any way disturbed in the night?'
"'No, sir.'
"'You positively heard nothing?'
"'Nothing at all.'
"'Did Sophy?'
"'Love your 'eart, sir! Sophy wouldn't wake up if cannon-balls was firing all round her!'
"'As a matter of fact, has she told you she heard nothing last night?'
"'I won't say that. I ain't 'ad time to arks her.'
"'I'll ask her myself if you've no objection. Stop here for me; I shall not be gone long.'
"'I can't stop 'ere alone, sir. I'll come down, and keep in the passage while you speak to Sophy.'
"They went down together, and Mrs. Middlemore remained outside while our reporter entered the kitchen.
"His entrance aroused Sophy, who had been sitting in a chair, apparently asleep, in the same state of untidiness as he had left her. She fell on her knees with a guilty air, and began to rake out the stove, making a great rattle with the poker.
"'Fire not lit yet, Sophy?' said our reporter, much amused.
"She looked up with a sly look, and seeing that he was not going to scold her, rubbed her nose with the poker and smiled boldly at him.
"'Not yet, old 'un,' she replied, making no attempt to continue her work.
"To be addressed as 'old 'un' must have been especially humiliating to our reporter, who is a good-looking fellow of eight-and-twenty, but he did not resent it.
"'Wood won't catch, I suppose,' he said. 'Too damp, eh?'
"'Soppin',' said Sophy, though as a matter of fact there was no wood before her.
"'What are you looking so hard at me for?' asked our reporter. 'You'll make me blush presently.'
"'You blush!' laughed Sophy. 'I like that, I do. Look 'ere, old 'un. When you wants to blush, you'd better 'ire somebody to do it for you. I'll do it for tuppence a time.'
"'You would have to wash your face first,' said our reporter, entering into the humor of the situation.
"'I wouldn't mind doing that,' said Sophy, staring harder than ever at him, 'if you'd make it wuth my while. As for lookin' at you, a cat may look at a king.'
"'I'm not a king,' observed our reporter, 'and you're not a cat.'
"'Call me one, and you'll feel my clors. I'm reckonin' of you up, that's what I'm doing of.'
"'And what do you make of me, Sophy?'
"'I sha'n't tell if you're going to act mean. 'Ansom is that 'ansom does.'
"Our reporter took the hint, and gave the girl a sixpenny-piece.
"'I say,' cried Sophy, greatly excited, as she tried the coin with her teeth. 'Stow larks, you know. Is it a good 'un?'
"'Upon my honor,' said our reporter, placing his hand on his heart, with a mock heroic air.
"'Say upon your soul.'
"'Upon my soul, if you prefer it.'
"'Change it for me, then. I'd sooner 'ave coppers.'
"Our reporter had some in his pocket, and he counted out six into Sophy's grimy palm. A seventh, by accident, fell to the floor. Sophy instantly picked it up.
"'Findin's keepin's,' she said.
"'I'm agreeable. And now what do you make of me?'
"'Wait a bit,' said Sophy. Unblushingly she lifted her frock, and tied the coppers in her ragged petticoat, tightening the knots with her teeth, which were as white as snow. 'That's my money-box,