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by an impatient glance at his watch.

ā€œThank you, sir,ā€ said Mr. Thipps. ā€œWell, then, itā€™s true I got to St. Pancras at ten. But there was a man in the carriage with me. Heā€™d got in at Leicester. I didnā€™t recognise him at first, but he turned out to be an old school-fellow of mine.ā€

ā€œWhat was this gentlemanā€™s name?ā€ inquired the Coroner, his pencil poised.

Mr. Thipps shrank together visibly.

ā€œIā€™m afraid I canā€™t tell you that,ā€ he said. ā€œYou seeā€”that is, you will seeā€”it would get him into trouble, and I couldnā€™t do thatā€”no, I reelly couldnā€™t do that, not if my life depended on it. No!ā€ he added, as the ominous pertinence of the last phrase smote upon him, ā€œIā€™m sure I couldnā€™t do that.ā€

ā€œWell, well,ā€ said the Coroner.

The Duchess leaned over to Parker again. ā€œIā€™m beginning quite to admire the little man,ā€ she said.

Mr. Thipps resumed.

ā€œWhen we got to St. Pancras I was going home, but my friend said no. We hadnā€™t met for a long time and we ought toā€”to make a night of it, was his 119 expression. I fear I was weak, and let him overpersuade me to accompany him to one of his haunts. I use the word advisedly,ā€ said Mr. Thipps, ā€œand I assure you, sir, that if I had known beforehand where we were going I never would have set foot in the place.

ā€œI cloak-roomed my bag, for he did not like the notion of our being encumbered with it, and we got into a taxicab and drove to the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. We then walked a little way, and turned into a side street (I do not recollect which) where there was an open door, with the light shining out. There was a man at a counter, and my friend bought some tickets, and I heard the man at the counter say something to him about ā€˜Your friend,ā€™ meaning me, and my friend said, ā€˜Oh, yes, heā€™s been here before, havenā€™t you, Alf?ā€™ (which was what they called me at school), though I assure you, sirā€ā€”here Mr. Thipps grew very earnestā€”ā€œI never had, and nothing in the world should induce me to go to such a place again.

ā€œWell, we went down into a room underneath, where there were drinks, and my friend had several, and made me take one or twoā€”though I am an abstemious man as a ruleā€”and he talked to some other men and girls who were thereā€”a very vulgar set of people, I thought them, though I wouldnā€™t say but what some of the young ladies were nice-looking enough. One of them sat on my friendā€™s knee and called him a slow old thing, and told him to come onā€”so we went into another room, where there were a 120 lot of people dancing all these up-to-date dances. My friend went and danced, and I sat on a sofa. One of the young ladies came up to me and said, didnā€™t I dance, and I said ā€˜No,ā€™ so she said wouldnā€™t I stand her a drink then. ā€˜Youā€™ll stand us a drink then, darling,ā€™ that was what she said, and I said, ā€˜Wasnā€™t it after hours?ā€™ and she said that didnā€™t matter. So I ordered the drinkā€”a gin and bitters it wasā€”for I didnā€™t like not to, the young lady seemed to expect it of me and I felt it wouldnā€™t be gentlemanly to refuse when she asked. But it went against my conscienceā€”such a young girl as she wasā€”and she put her arm round my neck afterwards and kissed me just like as if she was paying for the drinkā€”and it reelly went to my ā€™eart,ā€ said Mr. Thipps, a little ambiguously, but with uncommon emphasis.

Here somebody at the back said, ā€œCheer-oh!ā€ and a sound was heard as of the noisy smacking of lips.

ā€œRemove the person who made that improper noise,ā€ said the Coroner, with great indignation. ā€œGo on, please, Mr. Thipps.ā€

ā€œWell,ā€ said Mr. Thipps, ā€œabout half-past twelve, as I should reckon, things began to get a bit lively, and I was looking for my friend to say good-night, not wishing to stay longer, as you will understand, when I saw him with one of the young ladies, and they seemed to be getting on altogether too well, if you follow me, my friend pulling the ribbons off her shoulder and the young lady laughingā€”and so on,ā€ said Mr. Thipps, hurriedly, ā€œso I thought Iā€™d just slip quietly out, when I heard a scuffle and a shoutā€”and 121 before I knew what was happening there were half-a-dozen policemen in, and the lights went out, and everybody stampeding and shoutingā€”quite horrid, it was. I was knocked down in the rush, and hit my head a nasty knock on a chairā€”that was where I got that bruise they asked me aboutā€”and I was dreadfully afraid Iā€™d never get away and it would all come out, and perhaps my photograph in the papers, when someone caught hold of meā€”I think it was the young lady Iā€™d given the gin and bitters toā€”and she said, ā€˜This way,ā€™ and pushed me along a passage and out at the back somewhere. So I ran through some streets, and found myself in Goodge Street, and there I got a taxi and came home. I saw the account of the raid afterwards in the papers, and saw my friend had escaped, and so, as it wasnā€™t the sort of thing I wanted made public, and I didnā€™t want to get him into difficulties, I just said nothing. But thatā€™s the truth.ā€

ā€œWell, Mr. Thipps,ā€ said the Coroner, ā€œwe shall be able to substantiate a certain amount of this story. Your friendā€™s nameā€”ā€

ā€œNo,ā€ said Mr. Thipps, stoutly, ā€œnot on any account.ā€

ā€œVery good,ā€ said the Coroner. ā€œNow, can you tell us what time you did get in?ā€

ā€œAbout half-past one, I should think. Though reelly, I was so upsetā€”ā€

ā€œQuite so. Did you go straight to bed?ā€

ā€œYes, I took my sandwich and glass of milk first. I thought it might settle my inside, so to speak,ā€ added the witness, apologetically, ā€œnot being accustomed 122 to alcohol so late at night and on an empty stomach, as you may say.ā€

ā€œQuite so. Nobody sat up for you?ā€

ā€œNobody.ā€

ā€œHow long did you take getting to bed first and last?ā€

Mr. Thipps thought it might have been half-an-hour.

ā€œDid you visit the bathroom before turning in?ā€

ā€œNo.ā€

ā€œAnd you heard nothing in the night?ā€

ā€œNo. I fell fast asleep. I was rather agitated, so I took a little dose to make me sleep, and what with being so tired and the milk and the dose, I just tumbled right off and didnā€™t wake till Gladys called me.ā€

Further questioning elicited little from Mr. Thipps. Yes, the bathroom window had been open when he went in in the morning, he was sure of that, and he had spoken very sharply to the girl about it. He was ready to answer any questions; he would be only too ā€™appyā€”happy to have this dreadful affair sifted to the bottom.

Gladys Horrocks stated that she had been in Mr. Thippsā€™s employment about three months. Her previous employers would speak to her character. It was her duty to make the round of the flat at night, when she had seen Mrs. Thipps to bed at ten. Yes, she remembered doing so on Monday evening. She had looked into all the rooms. Did she recollect shutting the bathroom window that night? Well, no, she couldnā€™t swear to it, not in particular, but when Mr. 123 Thipps called her into the bathroom in the morning it certainly was open. She had not been into the bathroom before Mr. Thipps went in. Well, yes, it had happened that she had left that window open before, when anyone had been ā€™aving a bath in the evening and ā€™ad left the blind down. Mrs. Thipps ā€™ad ā€™ad a bath on Monday evening, Mondays was one of her regular bath nights. She was very much afraid she ā€™adnā€™t shut the window on Monday night, though she wished her ā€™ead ā€™ad been cut off afore sheā€™d been so forgetful.

Here the witness burst into tears and was given some water, while the Coroner refreshed himself with a third lozenge.

Recovering, witness stated that she had certainly looked into all the rooms before going to bed. No, it was quite impossible for a body to be ā€™idden in the flat without her seeing of it. She ā€™ad been in the kitchen all evening, and there wasnā€™t ā€™ardly room to keep the best dinner service there, let alone a body. Old Mrs. Thipps sat in the drawing-room. Yes, she was sure sheā€™d been into the dining-room. How? Because she put Mr. Thippsā€™s milk and sandwiches there ready for him. There had been nothing in thereā€”that she could swear to. Nor yet in her own bedroom, nor in the ā€™all. Had she searched the bedroom cupboard and the box-room? Well, no, not to say searched; she wasnā€™t use to searchinā€™ peopleā€™s ā€™ouses for skelintons every night. So that a man might have concealed himself in the box-room or a wardrobe? She supposed he might. 124

In reply to a woman jurorā€”well, yes, she was walking out with a young man. Williams was his name, Bill Williams,ā€”well, yes, William Williams, if they insisted. He was a glazier by profession. Well, yes, he ā€™ad been in the flat sometimes. Well, she supposed you might say he was acquainted with the flat. Had she everā€”no, she ā€™adnā€™t, and if sheā€™d thought such a question was going to be put to a respectable girl she wouldnā€™t ā€™ave offered to give evidence. The vicar of St. Maryā€™s would speak to her character and to Mr. Williamsā€™s. Last time Mr. Williams was at the flat was a fortnight ago.

Well, no, it wasnā€™t exactly the last time she ā€™ad seen Mr. Williams. Well, yes, the last time was Mondayā€”well, yes, Monday night. Well, if she must tell the truth, she must. Yes, the officer had cautioned her, but there wasnā€™t any ā€™arm in it, and it was better to lose her place than to be ā€™ung, though it was a cruel shame a girl couldnā€™t ā€™ave a bit of fun without a nasty corpse cominā€™ in through the window to get ā€™er into difficulties. After she ā€™ad put Mrs. Thipps to bed, she ā€™ad slipped out to go to the Plumbersā€™ and Glaziersā€™ Ball at the ā€œBlack Faced Ram.ā€ Mr. Williams ā€™ad met ā€™er and brought ā€™er back. ā€™E could testify to where sheā€™d been and that there wasnā€™t no ā€™arm in it. Sheā€™d left before the end of the ball. It might ā€™ave been two oā€™clock when she got back. Sheā€™d got the keys of the flat from Mrs. Thippsā€™s drawer when Mrs. Thipps wasnā€™t looking. She ā€™ad asked leave to go, but couldnā€™t get it, along of Mr. Thipps beinā€™ away that night. She was bitterly sorry she ā€™ad beā€™aved so, and she was 125 sure sheā€™d been punished for it. She had ā€™eard nothing suspicious when she came in. She had gone straight to bed without looking round the flat. She wished she were dead.

No, Mr. and Mrs. Thipps didnā€™t ā€™ardly ever ā€™ave any visitors; they kepā€™ themselves very retired. She had found the outside door bolted that morning as usual. She wouldnā€™t never believe any ā€™arm of Mr. Thipps. Thank you, Miss Horrocks. Call Georgiana Thipps, and the Coroner thought we had better light the gas.

The examination of Mrs. Thipps provided more entertainment than enlightenment, affording as it did an excellent example of the game called ā€œcross questions and crooked answers.ā€ After fifteen minutesā€™ suffering, both in voice and temper, the Coroner abandoned the struggle, leaving the lady with the last word.

ā€œYou neednā€™t try to bully me, young man,ā€ said that octogenarian with spirit, ā€œsettinā€™ there spoilinā€™ your stomach with them nasty jujubes.ā€

At this point a young man arose in court and demanded to give evidence. Having explained that he was William Williams, glazier, he was sworn, and corroborated the evidence of Gladys Horrocks in the matter of her presence at the ā€œBlack Faced Ramā€ on the Monday night. They had returned to the flat rather before two, he thought, but certainly later than 1.30. He was sorry that he had persuaded Miss Horrocks to come out with him when she didnā€™t 126 ought. He had observed nothing of a suspicious nature in Prince of Wales Road at either visit.

Inspector Sugg gave evidence of having been called in at about half-past eight on Monday morning. He had considered the girlā€™s manner to be suspicious and had arrested her. On later information, leading him to suspect that the deceased might have been murdered that night, he had arrested Mr. Thipps. He had found no trace of breaking into the flat. There were marks on the bathroom window-sill which pointed to somebody having got in that way. There were no ladder marks or footmarks in the yard; the yard was paved with asphalt. He had examined the roof, but found nothing on the roof. In his opinion the body had been brought into the flat previously and concealed till the evening

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