"That man who was arrested for coining, sir?"
"What about him?" asked the inspector, while Jennings listened with all his ears. He was far from expecting to hear the reply.
"He is dead, sir," said the policeman.
"Dead! What do you mean? He was well enough this morning."
"Well, sir, he's dead now—poisoned!"
"Poisoned!" echoed Jennings, and thought—"Ha! here's an undesirable witness got out of the way." Then he followed in the wake of the inspector, who on hearing the news, hurriedly walked towards the police station. Here they found that the news was true. The constable left in charge of the office was greatly agitated, as it seemed he had been lax in doing his duty. But he made a faithful report.
"It was this way, sir," he said, trying to speak calmly. "A boy of fifteen, very poorly dressed—in rags almost—came crying and asking for the prisoner. He said the prisoner was his father."
"How did he know that, when the prisoner gave no name and was arrested only last night?"
"The boy—Billy Tyke his name is, so I suppose the father is called Tyke also—says his father went out last night. He was always a drunkard, and left the boy to starve. The boy followed him later, and knowing he would be on the burst, went to the public-house, where the man was arrested for passing the bad shilling. There, he was told that his father was in jail, and came here to ask us to let him see him."
"You should have refused and have detained the boy. Well?"