Monteagle shook the sleeping man with his foot. Jamie slowly opened his eyes, and on perceiving there were persons present, said hastily—‘How—what—is time, Mr. Brown? Is it time?’
As Mr. Brown was not present, the by-standers were puzzled by these singular words.
‘What do you want with Mr. Brown?’ said Vandewater sternly.
The Irishman rubbed his eyes, and perceiving in whose presence he stood, answered, ‘Why, Jim Brown, to be sure, the eating-house man, he was to call me up in time to go down the Bay.’
‘Indeed! and so you slept here, did you?’ said Mr. Vandewater sternly. ‘But how did you get in?’
‘How did I get in, is it? Och, and wasn’t I working for Jim all day, and took a little of the mountain dew, and comed in here in the afternoon—and where is it, sure, that I am? Can you tell me at all, at all?’
‘Who is this Jim Brown?’ said Vandewater turning to Charley. ‘Can you lead me to him?’ asked Vandewater, quickly.
‘Och, faith, and it’s I can do that, same,’ put in Jamie. ‘I’ll take you to him, right off, jist, if you’ll show the way out of this—what do yees call it? A church is it?’
The Irishman affected such blind stupidity that Vandewater was inclined to believe that his being in the store on the night of the robbery was altogether accidental—that he had blundered in while drunk and got asleep. Nevertheless, he said to Monteagle, ‘Keep that fellow in custody till I return.’
As Mr. Vandewater went out with Charley, he descried Mr. Brown, his partner, examining the fastenings, and he observed that the face of the latter was very pale.