"Far be it from me to deceive you, Cap," responded the cabby with irritating levity. "I done that same."
"Who was that man?" demanded Mr. Birnes coldly.
"Search me! I never seen him before."
The detective regarded the cabby with accusing eyes. Then, quite casually, he flipped open his coat and Johns caught a glimpse of a silver shield. It might only have been accident, of course, still—
"Now, Johns, who was the man in the cab when you stopped to pick up the second man at Thirty-fourth Street?"
"Wrong, Cap," and the cabby grinned. "There wasn't any man."
"Don't attempt to deny—"
"No man, Cap. It was a woman."
"A woman!" the detective repeated. "A woman!"
"Sure thing—a woman, a regular woman. And, Cap, she was a pippin, a peachorino, a beauty bright," he added, gratuitously.