“Yes, Alick, it’s me—it’s John,” replied the elder brother feebly.
“And how did you get in here?” inquired the younger.
“O, I had my pass-key,” says John.
“The deuce you had!” said Alexander. “Ah, you lived in a better world! There are no pass-keys going now.”
“Well, father was always averse to them,” sighed John. And the conversation then broke down, and the brothers looked askance at one another in silence.
“Well, and what the devil are we to do?” said Alexander. “I suppose if the authorities got wind of you, you would be taken up?”
“It depends on whether they’ve found the body or not,” returned John. “And then there’s that cabman, to be sure!”
“O, bother the body!” said Alexander. “I mean about the other thing. That’s serious.”
“Is that what my father spoke about?” asked John. “I don’t even know what it is.”
“About your robbing your bank in California, of course,” replied Alexander.