"Many people must have seen him. I sat myself outside the shop at sunset
to watch the street, and had sent Absalom forth upon a business, a
private business: he was a good boy. Many saw him go out, but no one saw
him return."

"That is no use, Mhtoon Pah; you must give me some names. Who saw the
boy besides yourself?"

Mhtoon Pah opened his mouth twice before any sound came, and he beat his
hands together.

"The Padre Sahib, going in a hurry, spoke a word to him; I saw that with
my eyes."

"Mr. Heath?"

"Yes, _Thakin_, no other."

"And besides Mr. Heath, was there anyone else who saw him?"

Mhtoon Pah bowed himself double in his chair and rocked about.

"The whole street saw him go, but none saw him return, neither will
they. They took Absalom into some dark place, and when his blood ran
over the floor, and out under the doors, the Chinamen got their little
knives, the knives that have long tortoise-shell handles, and very sharp
edges, and then--"

"For God's sake stop talking like that," said Hartley, abruptly. "There
isn't a fragment of evidence to prove that the boy is murdered. I am