"Why not, Jack? I will put it in this way. They quarrel and threaten each other. 'You low-bred thief,' cries Louis, 'you shall die in the hulks!' 'You fool,' cries Maxwell, 'take that for your pains!' And he lets drive with his fist at Louis' face. At that precise moment Louis, with a knife in his hand, makes a drive at Maxwell. The collision diverts his aim, and the knife is jammed into his own breast instead of Maxwell's. How does that strike you?" "It won't wash," answered Jack, "'cause I say it wos the other way." "Because you say! You're a creditable kind of witness, you are--such a respectable character--you can show such a clean record, you can--and as for telling a dozen or two lies, who would believe you capable of such a thing, Jack?" "All very true, guv'nor, wuss luck--but it don't make black white, 'cause I'm a wrong 'un." "Doesn't it? There's no telling what a smart lawyer can do with a witness like you in the box. You'd twist and squirm like a skinned eel. But we'll pass that for the present, and come to something more important. You say that at the commencement of the quarrel Louis cried, 'I've done with you, and my mother shall be done with you.' Are you positive he said just those words? Be very careful about this, Jack." "If 'e didn't say jest them words," Jack replied, "'e sed somethink so near to 'em that yer couldn't tell the difference. But I don't see wot's that got to do with it." "It isn't for you to see. Make up your mind to one thing--that I know a good deal more about the affair than you do. You are positive he said, 'My mother shall be done with you?'" "I'll swear to it, guv'nor. Wot should I 'ave knowed about 'is mother if 'e 'adn't spoke about 'er, 'isself? 'Ow wos I to guess 'e 'ad a mother when I didn't know who 'e wos or where 'e come from?" "That seems conclusive," I said. "By the way, did you happen to hear Maxwell or Louis mention the name of Annette?" "Not as I remember." "Annette Lourbet," I said, to jog his memory. "A Frenchwoman." "No, guv'nor, I never 'eerd the name." "Thank you. What are you doing for a living just now?" "I can't say I'm doin' anythink pertic'lar. Pickin' it up any'ow." "Well, look here, I can put something in your way. I want you to keep your eyes open and to go about London--especially about the suburbs." "Wot's the little game, guv'nor?" "Don't be a dull boy, Jack. You might come across Maxwell or Morgan. I'd like particularly to have a little chat with Maxwell." "I shouldn't mind it myself," said Jack, with a kind of growl. "Do I understand you have seen either of them since you left Liverpool?" "Never set eyes on 'em." "As to the best chance of coming across them now? Can you suggest anything?" "To keep on the trot, in course," he said, reflectively. "But it ain't to be done by a man like me without a object. If I went about without a object the coppers 'd say, 'Allo! Wot's 'e up to?'"