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The fury of his threshing body communicated itself to his captors; another policeman joined the melee and helped pin the prisoner to the floor. And suddenly he wilted and shrank like a pricked balloon. A policeman hauled him roughly to his feet, where he stood, eyes downcast, body still, hat clutched in his hand.
    Ellery turned his head.
    “ Come now, Parson, ” went on the Inspector, just as if the man had been a balky child at rest after a fit of temper, “ you know that sort of business doesn ’ t go with me. What happened when you tried it last time at the Old Slip on the riverfront? ”
    “ Answer when you ’ re spoken to! ” growled a bluecoat, prodding him in the ribs.
    “ I don ’ t know nothin ’ and besides I got nothin ’ to say, ” muttered the Parson, shifting from one foot to the other.
    “ I ’ m surprised at you, Parson, ” said Queen gently. “ I haven ’ t asked you what you know. ”
    “ You got no right to hold an innocent man! ” shouted the Parson indignantly. “ Ain ’ t I as good as anybody else here? I bought a ticket and I paid for it with real dough, too! Where do you get that stuff ― try in ’ to keep me from goin ’ home! ”
    “ So you bought a ticket, did you? ” asked the Inspector, rocking on his heels. “ Well, well! Suppose you snap out the old stub and let Papa Queen look it over. ”
    The Parson ’ s hand mechanically went to his lower vest pocket, his fingers dipping into it with a quite surprising deftness. His face went blank as he slowly withdrew his hand, empty. He began a search of his other pockets with an appearance of fierce annoyance that made the Inspector smile.
    “ Hell! ” grunted the Parson. “ If that ain ’ t the toughest luck. I always hangs onto my ticket stubs, an ’ just tonight I have to go and throw it away. Sorry, Inspector! ”
    “ Oh, that ’ s quite all right, ” said Queen. His face went bleak and hard. “ Quit stalling, Cazzanelli! What were you doing in this theatre tonight? What made you decide to duck out so suddenly? Answer me! ”
    The Parson looked about him. His arms were held very securely by two bluecoats. A number of hard-looking men surrounded him. The prospect of escape did not seem particularly bright. His face underwent another change. It assumed a priestly, outraged innocence. A mist filmed his little eyes, as if he were truly the Christian martyr and these tyrants his pagan inquisitors. The Parson had often employed this trick of personality to good purpose.
    “ Inspector, ” he said, “ you know you ain ’ t got no right to grill me this way, don ’ t you, Inspector? A man ’ s got a right to his lawyer, ain ’ t he? Sure he ’ s got a right! ” And he stopped as if there were nothing more to be said.
    The Inspector eyed him curiously. “ When did you see Field last? ” he asked.
    “ Field? You don ’ t mean to say ― Monte Field? Never heard of him, Inspector, ” muttered the Parson, rather shakily. “ What are you try in ’ to put over on me? ”
    “ Not a thing, Parson, not a thing. But as long as you don ’ t care to answer now, suppose we let you cool your heels for a while. Perhaps you ’ ll have something to say later . . . . Don ’ t forget, Parson, there ’ s still that little matter of the Bonomo Silk robbery to go into. ” He turned to one of the policemen. “ Escort our friend to that anteroom off the manager ’ s office, and keep him company for a while, officer. ”
    Ellery, reflectively watching the Parson being dragged toward the rear of the theatre, was startled to hear his father say, “ The Parson isn ’ t too bright, is he? To make a slip like that ― ! ”
    “ Be thankful for small favors, ” smiled Ellery. “ One error breeds twenty more. ”
    The Inspector turned with a grin to confront Velie, who had just arrived with a sheaf of papers in his hand.
    “ Ah, Thomas is back, ” chuckled the Inspector, who seemed in good spirits. “ And what have you