of　there；　but　I　couldn't。　I'd　seen　him。　And　I'd　felt　him；　as　well。　Felt　the　touch　of　his　hands。

〃He's　。。。　strange；〃　I　said。　〃But　there　doesn't　seem　to　be　any　real　violence　in　him。　I　know　how　he　was　found；　and　it's　hard　to　jibe　that　with　what　I　see；　day　in　and　day　out；　on　the　block。　I　know　violent　men；　Mr。　Hammersmith。〃　It　was　Wharton　I　was　thinking　about；　of　course；　Wharton　strangling　Dean　Stanton　with　his　wrist…chain　and　bellowing　Whoooee；　boys！　Ain't　this　a　party；　now？

He　was　looking　at　me　closely　now；　and　smiling　a　little；　incredulous　smile　that　I　didn't　care　for　very　much。　〃You　didn't　e　up　here　to　get　an　idea　about　whether　or　not　he　might　have　killed　some　other　little　girls　somewhere　else；〃　he　said。　〃You　came　up　here　to　see　if　I　think　he　did　it　at　all。　That's　it；　isn't　it？　'Fess　up；　Edgebe。〃

I　swallowed　the　last　of　my　cold　drink；　put　the　bottle　down　on　the　little　table；　and　said：　〃Well？　Do　you？〃

〃Kids！〃　he　called　down　the　hill；　leaning　forward　a　little　in　his　chair　to　do　it。　〃Y'all　e　on　up　here　now　n　get　your　cookies！〃　Then　he　leaned　back　in　his　chair　again　and　looked　at　me。　That　little　smile　…　the　one　I　didn't　much　care　for　…　had　reappeared。

〃Tell　you　something；〃　he　said。　〃You　want　to　listen　close；　too；　because　this　might　just　be　something　you　need　to　know。〃

〃I'm　listening。〃

〃We　had　us　a　dog　named　Sir　Galahad；〃　he　said；　and　cocked　a　thumb　at　the　doghouse。　〃A　good　dog。　No　particular　breed；　but　gentle。　Calm。　Ready　to　lick　your　hand　or　fetch　a　stick。　There　are　plenty　of　mongrel　dogs　like　him；　wouldn't　you　say？〃

I　shrugged；　nodded。

〃In　many　ways；　a　good　mongrel　dog　is　like　your　negro；〃　he　said。　〃You　get　to　know　it；　and　often　you　grow　to　love　it。　It　is　of　no　particular　use；　but　you　keep　it　around　because　yo