“This is how it happened, sir,” began Jess Lynch eagerly. “I’d set my stand up in the alley here about five minutes before the end of the first act, like we’re supposed to. When the girl on this aisle opened the doors after the first act, I began to give the people comin’ out a nice refined selling chatter. We all do. A lot of people bought drinks, and I was so busy I didn’t have time to notice anything going on around me. In a little while I had a breathing spell, and then a man came up to me and said, ‘Let me have a bottle of ginger ale, boy.’ I looked up and saw he was a ritzy feller in evening dress, actin’ kind of tipsy. He was laughing to himself and he looked pretty happy. I says to myself, ‘I bet I know what _he_ wants ginger ale for!’ and sure enough he taps his back pocket and winks. Well—” “Just a minute, son,” interrupted Queen. “Ever see a dead man before?” “Why—why, no sir, but I guess I could stand it once,” said the boy nervously. “Fine! Is this the man who asked you for the ginger ale?” The Inspector took the boy by the arm and made him bend over the dead body. Jess Lynch regarded it with awed fascination. He bobbed his head vigorously. “Yes, sir. That’s the gentleman.” “You’re sure of that now, Jess?” The boy nodded. “By the way, is that the outfit he was wearing when he accosted you?” “Yes, sir.” “Anything missing, Jess?” Ellery, who had been nestling in a dark corner, leaned forward a little. The boy regarded the Inspector with puzzlement on his face, looking from Queen to the body and back again. He was silent for a full minute, while the Queens hung on his words. Then his face lit up suddenly and he cried, “Why—yes, sir! He was wearin’ a hat—a shiny topper—when he spoke to me!” Inspector Queen looked pleased. “Go on, Jess—Doc Prouty! It’s taken you a whale of a long time getting here. What held you up?” A tall lanky man had come striding across the carpet, a black bag in his hand. He was smoking a vicious-looking cigar with no apparent concern for local fire rules, and appeared in something of a hurry. “You said something there, Inspector,” he said, setting down the bag and shaking hands with both Ellery and Queen. “You know we just moved and I haven’t got my new phone yet. I had a hard day to-day and I was in bed anyway. They couldn’t get hold of me—had to send a man around to my new place. I rushed down here as fast as I could. Where’s the casualty?” He dropped to his knees in the aisle as the Inspector indicated the body on the floor. A policeman was summoned to hold a flashlight as the Assistant Medical Examiner worked. Queen took Jess Lynch by the arm and walked him off to one side. “What happened after he asked you for the ginger ale, Jess?”