“Was he in any business?”
“Yes, sir; but it wasn’t a very good kind of business. Jack used to break into houses, and take anything he could find. He tried pickin’ pockets one while, but he was too clumsy, and got caught too often. Marlowe could do that better.”
“Were those the two men you spoke of to Mr. O’Connor, as you were coming away?”{83}
“Yes, sir.”
“How did you happen to be in charge of such a man?”
“That’s more than I knows of. When I was a little chap, four or five years old, I lived with Jack; but he never told me where he got me from.”
“Do you think you are his son?”
“No; I know I’m not. When Jack got drunk he used to tell me I wa’n’t no child of his, and he’d send me out to shift for myself if I didn’t do jest as he told me.”
“Did he often get drunk?”
“He used to drink when he got a chance, but he’d only get reg’lar drunk about once a week.”