"Come here," he called to Cephas Carboy, and when the shiftless man had shuffled up, he continued: "You say you walked this way. When you got to this spot did you happen to look over to the Langmore house?"
"I—er—I did."
"What did you see? Come now, tell me the exact truth," and Adam Adams put as much of sternness as possible in his tone.
"I saw—See here, I don't want to get in no trouble, I don't. I'm a peaceful man, an' I tend to my own business, I do. You ain't a-goin' to drag me into court."
"I don't want to get you into trouble, Carboy—but I must know the truth of this. I take it that you are poor. Am I right?"
"Humph! Do I look like I was rollin' in wealth?"
"Then a five dollar bill means something to you, eh?"
The shiftless man opened his eyes widely.
"Does it? Say, I ain't had a fiver in my fist fer a month, two months! Farmin' don't pay, an' it ain't easy to git work outside, the season's been that poor. If you—"
"Tell me all you know, and perhaps I'll give you five dollars."