I scowled at the cashier and asked him:
"Will you get the gun?"
He ran out as if he was glad to go.
"I didn't mean to kill him," the boy said. "I don't think I did—though I took the gun with me. I was—what did you say?—nuts about Dinah. It was worse some days than others. The day Willsson came in with the check was one of the bad ones. All I could think about was that I lost her because I had no more money, and he was taking five thousand dollars to her. I watched her house that night and saw him go in. I had the gun in my pocket and was afraid of what I might do.
"Believe me when I say I didn't want to do anything. But it was one of the bad days, and I couldn't think straight—couldn't think of anything except that I had lost her because my money was gone, and he had taken five thousand dollars to her. And there was the bank gun in my pocket, and I was afraid of what I might do.
"I knew Willsson's wife was jealous—everybody knew that. I thought if I called her up and told her—I don't know what I thought then, but I went and called her up. And then I called Thaler. I didn't know whether he was—I only knew that I had heard that he and Dinah—were—you know—so I called him up. Then I went back and watched her house again. I saw Mrs. Willsson come, and then Thaler, and saw them both stay watching the house. I was glad of that.
"Then Willsson came out and walked down the street. I looked up at where Mrs. Willsson and Thaler were. Neither did anything, and he was walking away. I knew then why I had wanted them there. I had thought that maybe they would do something, and I wouldn't have to. But they didn't do anything. And he was walking down the street—away. Maybe if one of them had gone over and said something to him, or even followed him, I wouldn't have done anything. But they didn't. I remember taking the gun out of my pocket. I don't remember anything else until I was running up the alley. When I got home I found the gun was empty—all the cartridges had been fired. I cleaned it and reloaded it and put it back in the paying teller's cage the next morning."
"Well," I said, "you're certainly a swell actor. Nobody would have guessed you were still in love with the girl from the way you talked to me about her."
He winced.
"That wasn't acting," he said slowing. "After—after I was in danger—facing the gallows—she—she didn't seem so—so important. I couldn't understand why I had—you know and that spoiled the whole thing—made it—and me—cheap."
XIV
I took Albury and the gun down to the City Hall in a taxicab. In the chief's office we found one of the men who had been along on the storming party last night—a red-faced lieutenant named Biddle. He goggled at me with fishy blue eyes, but asked no questions about my part in last night's doings.
Biddle called in the Prosecuting Attorney. The boy was repeating his story to these officials when the chief of police arrived, looking as if he had just crawled out of bed.
"Well, it certainly is fine to see you!" Noonan pumped my hand up and down while patting my back jovially with his other hand. "You had a narrow one last night—the rats! I was sure they'd got you till we kicked in the doors and found the place empty. Tell he how those son-of-a-guns got out of there!"
"One of your men let them out the back door and sent them away in a department car. They took me along so I couldn't tip you off."
"One of my men did that?" He didn't seem very surprised. "Well, well! If I line 'em up in front of you, will you pick him out for me?"
