“He came to you?”
“Yes. He wanted to bribe me.”
“What did Mrs. Tump say when you told her that?”
There was sudden panic in Freel’s voice. “I didn’t tell her,” he said. “You mustn’t tell her. She must never know about that.”
Mason continued standing at the window. The tips of his fingers drummed thoughtfully on the narrow projection against which his elbows were propped. Suddenly, he whirled to face Freel. “You’re lying,” he charged.
“I am not, Mr. Mason. I swear to you that I’m telling the God’s truth.”
Mason said, “I see the whole business now. How much are you getting out of it?”
“Nothing, I’m simply giving my testimony in an attempt to right a wrong in which I feel I have unwittingly participated… Of course, I knew what was going on there at the Home, but then, I was just an accountant. I had charge of the books, and that was all.”
“Where are those books?”
“I don’t know. I was discharged.”