It was empty, and he set it down again; then he took up the bottle. That was empty, too. Grumbling some unintelligible words, he glanced at the cabinet.
We failed to understand him.
"There are but two excuses for a man who deliberately wastes wine," he proceeded, in tipsy argument with himself. "Either he has had enough—hard to think that of Mr. Gillespie at so early an hour in the evening—or else the liquor's bad. Now, only a fool would accuse a man like Mr. Gillespie of having bad liquor in his house, unless—unless—something got into it—Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed, with the complacency of one who has unexpectedly made a remarkable discovery, "there was something in it, something which gave it a bad taste. Prussic acid has a bad taste, hasn't it?—and not liking the taste he flung the wine away. No man would go on drinking wine with prussic acid in it," he mumbled on. "Now, which of those fellows was it who poured him out that wine?"
We sat silent; both bound that he should supply his own answer.
"I ought to know; I've read about it enough. It was the slick one; the fellow who goes by me as if I were dirt—Oh, I know; it's Leighton! Leighton!" And he stumbled to his feet with a sickening leer.
"I'm going down to the police station," he cried. "I'm going to inform the authorities——"
"Not to-night," I protested, rising and speaking somewhat forcibly in his ear. "If you go there to-night they will shut you up till morning—jail you!"
He laughed boisterously. "That would be a joke. None of that for me. I'll see them dashed first." And he looked at us with a sickly smile, the remembrance of which will make me hate him forever. Suddenly he began to search for his hat. "I think I'll go home," he observed, with an air of extreme condescension. "Leighton Gillespie, eh? Well, I'm glad the question is settled. Here's to his health! and yours—and yours——"
He was gone.
We were both on our feet ready to assist him in his departure. But he got away in good shape, and when the lower door slammed we congratulated each other with a look. Then Sam seized the bottle and I the glass from which this fellow had drunk, and both fell crashing into the fireplace. Then Sam spoke: