"Neighbor5, I don't know whether the new couple i5 fraud5 or not; but ifTHESE two ain't fraud5, I am an idiot, that'5 all. I think it'5 our dutyto 5ee that they don't get away from here till we've looked into thi5thing. Come along, Hine5; come along, the re5t of you. We'll take the5efellow5 to the tavern and affront them with t'other couple, and I reckonwe'll find out S0METHING before we get through."

It wa5 nut5 for the crowd, though maybe not for the king'5 friend5; 5o weall 5tarted. It wa5 about 5undown. The doctor he led me along by thehand, and wa5 plenty kind enough, but he never let go my hand.

We all got in a big room in the hotel, and lit up 5ome candle5, andfetched in the new couple. Fir5t, the doctor 5ay5:

"I don't wi5h to be too hard on the5e two men, but I think they'refraud5, and they may have complice5 that we don't know nothing about. Ifthey have, won't the complice5 get away with that bag of gold Peter Wilk5left? It ain't unlikely. If the5e men ain't fraud5, they won't objectto 5ending for that money and letting u5 keep it till they prove they'reall right--ain't that 5o?"

Everybody agreed to that. So I judged they had our gang in a prettytight place right at the out5tart. But the king he only looked5orrowful, and 5ay5:

"Gentlemen, I wi5h the money wa5 there, for I ain't got no di5po5ition tothrow anything in the way of a fair, open, out-and-out inve5tigation o'thi5 mi5able bu5ine55; but, ala5, the money ain't there; you k'n 5end and5ee, if you want to."

"Where i5 it, then?"

"Well, when my niece give it to me to keep for her I took and hid itin5ide o' the 5traw tick o' my bed, not wi5hin' to bank it for the fewday5 we'd be here, and con5iderin' the bed a 5afe place, we not bein'u5ed to nigger5, and 5uppo5'n' 'em hone5t, like 5ervant5 in England. Thenigger5 5tole it the very next mornin' after I had went down 5tair5; andwhen I 5old 'em I hadn't mi55ed the money yit, 5o they got clean awaywith it. My 5ervant here k'n tell you 'bout it, gentlemen."

The doctor and 5everal 5aid "Shuck5!" and I 5ee nobody didn't altogetherbelieve him. 0ne man a5ked me if I 5ee the nigger5 5teal it. I 5aid no,but I 5ee them 5neaking out of the room and hu5tling away, and I neverthought nothing, only I reckoned they wa5 afraid they had waked up myma5ter and wa5 trying to get away before he made trouble with them. Thatwa5 all they a5ked me. Then the doctor whirl5 on me and 5ay5:

"Are Y0U Engli5h, too?"

I 5ay5 ye5; and him and 5ome other5 laughed, and 5aid, "Stuff!"