"I—I got a letter, sir, by messenger. I got it early this morning, sir."
"Well, what about it?"
"The letter was typewritten, sir, and was not signed. There was a thousand dollars in bills in the letter, sir, and it said that a Mr. Prale had just been arrested for murder, and that he probably would try to make an alibi by saying that he was here last night and bought some clothes for another man. The letter said that I was to take the money and ask no questions, and that, if I was called to police headquarters, I was to say the man had not been here and that I never had seen him in my life before."
"And you fell for it? You wanted that thousand, I suppose."
"I'll show you the letter, Mr. Farland. There was no signature at all, and the paper was just common paper. I—I thought it was politics, sir."
"You did, eh?"
"Thought it had something to do with politics, sir. I thought the letter and money might have come from political headquarters. I was afraid to tell the truth at the police station."
"You mean you have been so crooked for years that you're afraid of everybody who has a little influence," Farland told him.
"I thought it was orders, sir, from somebody who had better be obeyed."
"Oh, I understand, all right. Well, I scarcely think it was politics. You've been played, that's all. Get me that letter!"