Mystery and detective stories; Short stories; Single men -- Fiction; Valets -- Fiction
"Come back there, you!" shouted the conductor, grasping him firmly by
the coat-tails. "You can't wake up all the passengers."
"Look here, Cap.," expostulated the detective, "don't ye see I've got to
make this arrest? It won't take a minute. The porters'll know who
they've got, and you're runnin' awful light. Have a good cigar?"
The conductor took the weed so designated and swore loudly. It was the
biggest piece of gall on record. Well, hang it! he didn't want to take
McGinnis all the way to Boston, and even if he did, there would be the
same confounded mix-up at the other end. He admitted finally that it was
a fine night. Did McGinnis want a nip? He had a bottle in the porter's
closet. Yes, call out those niggers and make 'em tell what they knew.
The conductor was now just as insistent that the burglar should be
arrested then and there as he had been before that the train should not
be held up. He rushed through the cars telling the various porters to go
outside. Eight or ten presently assembled upon the platform. They filled
McGinnis with unspeakable repulsion.
The conductor began with car No. 2204.
"Now, Deacon, who have you got?"
The Deacon, an enormously fat darky, rolled his eyes and replied that he
had "two ole women an' er gen'elman gwine ortermobublin with his
cheffonier."
The conductor opined that these would prove unfertile candidates for
McGinnis. He therefore turned to Moses, of car No. 2201. Moses, however,
had only half a load. There was a fat man, a Mr. Huber, who travelled
regularly; two ladies on passes; and a very thin man, with his wife, her
sister, a maid, two nurses, and three children.
"Nothin' doin'!" remarked the captain. "Now, Colonel, what have _you_
got?"
But the Colonel, a middle-aged colored man of aristocratic appearance,
had an easy answer. His entire car was full, as he expressed it, "er
frogs."
"Frenchmen!" grunted McGinnis.
The conductor remembered. Yes, they were Sanko's Orchestra going on to
give a matinée concert in Providence.
The next car had only five drummers, every one of whom was known to the
conductor, as taking the trip twice a week. They were therefore counted
out. That left only one car, No. 2205.
"Well, William, what have you got?"
William grinned. Though sleepy, he realized the importance of the
disclosure he was about to make and was correspondingly dignified and
ponderous. There was two trabblin' gen'elmen, Mr. Smith and Mr. Higgins.
He'd handled dose gen'elmen fo' several years. There was a very old
lady, her daughter and maid. Then there was Mr. Uberheimer, who got off
at Middletown. And then--William smiled significantly--there was an
awful strange pair in the drawin'-room. They could look for themselves.
He didn't know nuff'n 'bout burglars in disguise, but dere was "one of
'em in er mighty curious set er fixtures."
"Huh! _Two_ of 'em!" commented McGinnis.
"That's easy!" remarked the mollified conductor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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