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"
Well, I goes to the plant and finds a window in the basement open just as they
tells me it will be, but when I gets on the first floor just before I go up-stairs to the
office, which is on the second floor, I heard some one walking around up-stairs. I
hid in the hallway while he came down. He stopped at the front door and lighted
a cigarette and then he went on out, and I went up-stairs to finish the job.
"When I gets in Compton's office where the safe is I flashes my light and the first
thing I sees is Compton's body on the floor beside his desk. That kind of stuff
ain't in my line, so I beats it out without crackin' the safe. That's all I know about
it until I sees the papers, and then for a while I was afraid to say anything
because this guy O'Donnell has it in for me, and I know enough about police
methods to know that they could frame up a good case of murder against me. But
after a while Miss Hudson finds me and puts it up to me straight that this guy
Torrance hasn't got no friends except me and her.
"
Of course she didn't know how much I knew, but I did, and it's been worryin' me
ever since. I was waiting, though, hopin' that something would turn up so that he
would be acquitted, but I been watchin' the papers close, and I seen yesterday
that there wasn't much chance, so here I am."
"You say that a man came down from Mr. Compton's office just before you went
up? What time was that?"
"It was about ten o'clock, about half an hour before the cops finds Torrance
there."
"
And then you went upstairs and found Mr. Compton dead?"
Yes, sir."
"
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