“You searched him, of course, and what did you find?”

“These here.”

He holds up a letter with a curl dangling from its broken end.

The benchers laugh.

“Nothing else? No watch?”

“No. I expect he throwed that into a sewer. They mostly do when we git after ’em.”

“Did he escape from you?”

“He tried to. I had to both club and shoot to git him. He’s strong.”

“You were obliged to call for assistance?”

“Yes.”