"What in thunder do you want in here, anyway?"
"I've come in to arrest you," quietly answered the old detective, as he showed his badge. "I'm a detective, as you can plainly see, and the man I inquired about is a fugitive smuggler. As you are aiding him to escape, by withholding the information I want, you must be an accessory of his. As such, you'll have to go to jail!"
The man wilted.
All his lordly, overbearing manners vanished.
Turning as pale as death and trembling like an aspen, he gasped tremulously:
"For pity's sake don't lock me up. I didn't know the circumstances."
"You're an unmannerly dog."
"I know it, sir. I'm sorry if I offended you."
"Promise me to act more civilly in future."
"Yes. Yes. Certainly I shall."