"Do you intend to act upon my advice?"
"Why—no, I think not," replied the sergeant. "Not, at any rate, until I have had a talk with you."
"What will you take?"
"Well, sir, the night's cold. I don't mind a drop of brandy-and-water."
It was brought, and Mr. Dare joined his visitor in partaking of it. He agreed with him that the night was cold. But nothing could Mr. Dare make of him. As often as he turned the conversation on the subject in hand, so often did the sergeant turn it off again. Mrs. Dare grew tired of listening to nothing; and she departed, leaving them together.
Then the manner of Sergeant Delves changed. He drew his chair forward; and bent towards Mr. Dare.
"You have been urging me to go against young Halliburton," he began. "It won't do. Halliburton no more fingered that cheque, or had anything to do with it, than you or I had. Mr. Dare, don't you stir in this matter any further."
"My present intention is to stir it to the bottom," returned Mr. Dare.
"Look here," said the sergeant in an undertone; "I am not obliged to take notice of offences that don't come legally in my way. Many a thing has been done in this town—ay, and is being done now—that I am obliged to wink at; it don't lay right in my duty to take notice of it, so I keep my eyes shut. Now that's just it in this case. So long as the parties concerned, Mr. Ashley, or White, don't put it into my hands officially, I am not obliged to take so-and-so into custody, or to act upon my own suspicions. And I won't do it upon suspicions of my own: I promise it. If I am forced, that's another matter."
"Are you alluding to Halliburton?"