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He stopped.

“If you wish to help us in this case, Miss Kilfillan,” he said, “will you go to the jail and ask Snooks where is the beer and the beer-opener?”

“Where is–” Her face went white. “What beer and what beer-opener?” she asked tensely.

“Seven bottles and a beer-opener,” said Philo Gubb.

“Oh!” she moaned. “And he said he didn’t do it! He swore he didn’t do it! Oh, Snooks, how could you–how could you!”

“Now, don’t you weep like that,” said Philo Gubb soothingly. “You go and ask him. I’ll have my things ready for my immediate departure onto the case by the time you get back.”

Nan hurried away, and Philo Gubb waited only to count the money he had so far received. It amounted to fifty-five dollars. He slipped it into his pocket and stood up on the stepladder. He had even proceeded so far as to put one foot on a lower step, when Mrs. Wilmerton entered the kitchen.

She was a stout woman, and she was almost out of breath. She had to stand a minute before she could speak, but as she stood she made gestures with her hands, as if that much of her delivery could be given, at any rate, and the words might catch up with their appropriate gestures if they could.

“Mister Gubb! Mister Gubb!” she gasped. “Oh, this is terrible! Terrible! Miss Turner should never have dared it! Oh, my breath! Do you–do you know where the beer is?”

“I wouldn’t advise you to take beer for shortness of the breath,” said Philo Gubb. “Just rest a minute.”

“But,” gasped poor Mrs. Wilmerton, “I told Miss Turner it was folly! She’s so stubborn! Ah–h! I thought I’d never get a full breath again as long as I lived. How can we get rid of the beer?”

“There’s plenty want to take it,” said Mr. Gubb. “Attorney Smith–“

“Oh, I knew it! I knew it!” moaned Mrs. Wilmerton. “He threatened it!”

“Threatened what?” asked Philo Gubb.

“That he would find the beer in this house!” cried Mrs. Wilmerton. “He threatened Aunt Martha that if she did not give it to him freely, he would have it found here, and make a scandal! Beer hidden between the quilt and the mattress of Aunt Martha’s bed, and she Secretary of the Ladies’ Temperance League! It’s awful! Martha is so headstrong! She’s getting herself in an awful fix! She never should have had a thing to do with that Slippery fellow!”

“With who? With Slippery Williams?” asked Philo Gubb, intensely surprised. “Aunt Martha Turner? What did she have to do with Slippery Williams?”

“Well, she had plenty, and enough, and more than that to do with him,” said Mrs. Wilmerton angrily. “Getting bottles of beer in her bed, and robbing houses at her time of life, and wanting the Ladies’ Temperance League to have a special meeting this morning to approve of burglary and larceny! At her age!”

“Now, Miss Wilmerton,” said Philo Gubb, from the top of the ladder, “I’d ought to warn you, before you go any farther, that Snooks Turner has engaged me and my services to detect for him in this burglar case. If Aunt Martha Turner burgled the burglary that Snooks is in jail for, maybe you ought not say anything about it to me. I got to do what I can to free Snooksy, no matter who it gets into trouble.”

“Mr. Gubb!” exclaimed Mrs. Wilmerton suddenly–“Mr. Gubb, I’m not authorized so to do, but I’ll warrant I’ll get the other ladies to authorize, or I’ll know why. If I was to give you twenty dollars on behalf of the Ladies’ Temperance League to help get Snooksy out of jail,–and land only knows why he is in jail,–would you be so kind as to beg and plead with Snooksy to leave Attorney Mullen alone, in the ‘Eagle,’ after this?”

She held four five-dollar bills up to Philo Gubb, and he took them.

“From what I saw of his eye,” said Mr. Gubb, “I guess Snooks will be willing to leave Attorney Mullen alone in every shape and form from now on. Now, maybe you can tell me how Snooks got into this business.”