"'Twas one avenin' about siven or eight o'clock. Me an' me family were up stairs, clanin' out an office that has just been rinted. Kittie, me gurrel, wint down stairs for some extra dustin' rags. Whin she came back, she said she saw a man a-walkin' through the hallway outside. She said that as soon as he saw her, he didn't wait for the illevator, but went down the stairs in a big hurry."
"Did she know the man?"
"She did not. At least, she said she didn't recognize him, for, you see, there was only one little light burnin' in the hallway, because nearly all the tinnents had gone home. The illevator wouldn't have been runnin', only we was goin' to take up the stuff to the office we was cleanin' on the fifth floor."
"Your daughter saw that man in the hallway?" questioned Tom. "Did he seem to come from these offices?"
"No, I axed her particular, and she said he seemed to be comin' from the back av the hall."
"What is back there?" asked Sam.
"A winder wid a fire escape outside," answered the janitor. "Likewise, I've a sink closet there, where I keep me brooms and me brushes and such."
"And you have no idea who the man was?" questioned Dick.
"No, sur. I axed Kitty how he looked, but she said she hadn't seen his face—that he turned away from her and went down the stairs as fast as he could."
"More than likely that was the thief!" exclaimed Tom. "The question is: Who is he and where did he go?"