‘I am but just got home.’
‘What time did you start to go away?’ ‘I didn’t look at the clock,’ replied Jim, in a surly manner.
‘Come as near as you can, Jim, and give us a true answer as you value the safety of your bacon,’ said Charley sternly.
Jim looked up rather fiercely, but he saw that Charley was in earnest, and replied, ‘Well, I don’t know what time it was. It may be ’twas eleven o’clock and may be it was only ten.’
‘And you have just returned?’
‘I told you so once before.’
‘So you did. When have you seen Irish Jamie, last?’
Jim looked keenly at his interrogators before he replied, ‘Well, I can’t rightly tell. Not in a fortnight, I should say p’raps, three weeks.’
‘It’s all a cock and a bull story, that of Jamie,’ said Charley. ‘You see there’s no truth in it. He must be arrested.’
Jim Brown turned away his face and his manner was suspicious upon hearing these words.