"Won't it?"
"No. Indeed, it will be better to give a different account."
"Will that do just as well?"
"Yes. You can say, for instance, that he died of small-pox while under your care in St. Louis, or any other place."
"And that I tended him to the last with the affection of a father," added Rudolph, grinning.
"To be sure. You must settle upon all the details of the story, so as not to be caught in any discrepancies."
"What's that?" asked the tramp, rather mystified.
"Your story must hang together. It mustn't contradict itself."
"To be sure. How long are you going to stay in New York?"