LITMIR.BIZ

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all went down to the city together that night and stayed out pretty late, and it seems a mighty good thing we did, too."

      "Why so?" asked the coroner.

      "Well, sir," said Brown, deliberately, glad of an opportunity to tell his story and evidently determined to make the most of it, "as I said, we stayed out that night later than we meant to, and I didn't waste no time getting home after I left the depot. So, when I got to Fair Oaks, I thought I'd take the shortest cut, and so I come in by the south gate, off from the side street, and took the path around the lake to get to the stables."

      "What lake do you mean?" interrupted the coroner.

      "The small lake back of the grove in the south part of the grounds. Well, I was hurrying along through that grove, and all of a sudden I seen a man standing on the edge of the lake with his back towards me. He was very tall, and wore an ulster that came nearly to his feet, and he looked so queer that I stepped out of the path and behind some big trees to watch him. I hadn't no more than done so, when he stooped and picked up something, and come right up the path towards me. The moon was shining, had been up about two hours, I should say, but his back was to the light and I couldn't see his face, nor I didn't want him to see me. After he'd got by I stepped out to watch him and see if he went towards the house, but he didn't; he took the path I had just left and walked very fast to the south gate and went out onto the side street."

      "In which direction did he then go?" asked the coroner.

      "He went up onto the main avenue and turned towards the town."

      "Can you describe his appearance?"

      "Only that he was tall and had very black hair; but his face was in the shadow, so I couldn't tell how he looked."

      "What did he pick up from the ground?"

      "I couldn't see very plain, but it looked like a small, square box done up in paper."

      "You did not try to call any one?"

      "No, sir. The man didn't go near the house, and I didn't think much about it until Uncle Mose told me yesterday morning that the night before he seen — "

      "Never mind what he saw; we will let him tell his own story. Was that all you saw?"

      "No, sir; it wasn't," replied Brown, with a quick side glance towards Mrs. LaGrange, who occupied the same position as on the preceding day. "I was going along towards the stables, thinking about that man, and all of a sudden I noticed there was a bright light in one of the rooms up-stairs. The curtains wasn't drawn, and I thought I'd see whose room it was, so I walked up towards the house carefully, and I saw Mr. Mainwaring's secretary. He looked awfully pale and haggard, and was walking up and down the room kind of excited like. Just then I happened to step on the gravelled walk and he heard me, for he started and looked kind of frightened and listened a moment, and then he stepped up quick and extinguished the light, and I was afraid he'd see me then from the window, so I hurried off. But I thought 'twas mighty queer-"

      "Mr. Scott was dressed, was he?" interrupted the coroner.

      "Yes, sir," Brown answered, sullenly.

      "Did you go directly to your room?"

      "Yes, sir."

      "What time was this?"

      "I heard the clock strike three just after I got in."

      "You saw or heard nothing more?"

      "No, sir."

      "You knew nothing of what had occurred at the house until the gardener told you in the morning?"

      "N — yes — no, sir," Brown stammered, with another glance towards Mrs. LaGrange, who was watching him closely.

      "What did you say?" demanded the coroner.

      "I said I didn't know what had happened till Uncle Mose told me," Brown answered, doggedly.

      "That will do," said the coroner, watching the witness narrowly as he resumed his place among the servants.

      During the latter part of Brown's testimony, quick, telegraphic glances had been exchanged between Scott and Mr. Sutherland, and one or two slips of paper, unobserved by any one but Merrick, had passed from one to the other.

      Scott was well aware that the statements made by the coachman had deepened suspicion against himself. He paid little attention to the crowd, however, but noted particularly the faces of the guests at Fair Oaks. Ralph Mainwaring's, dark with anger; that of the genial Mr. Thornton coldly averted; young Mainwaring's supercilious stare, and his sister's expression of contemptuous disdain; and as he studied their features his own grew immobile as marble. Suddenly his glance encountered Miss Carleton's face and was held for a moment as though under a spell. There was no weak sentimentality there, no pity or sympathy, — he would have scorned either, — but the perfect confidence shining in her eyes called forth a quick response from his own, though not a muscle stirred about the sternly-set mouth. She saw and understood, and, as her eyes fell, a smile, inexplicable and mysterious, flashed for an instant across her face and was gone.

      "John Wilson," announced the coroner, after a slight pause.

      A middle-aged man, rather dull in appearance, except for a pair of keenly observant eyes, stepped forward with slow precision.

      "You are Mr. Ralph Mainwaring's valet, I believe?" said the coroner.

      "That I am, sir," was the reply.

      "Have you been for some time in his employ?"

      The man peered sharply at Dr. Westlake from under his heavy brows, and replied, with great deliberation, "Nigh onto thirty years, sir."

      Then, noting the surprise in his interlocutor's face, he added, with dignity, "The Wilsons, sir, have served the Mainwarings for three generations. My father, sir, was valet to the father of the dead Hugh Mainwaring, the Honorable Ralph Maxwell Mainwaring, sir."

      A smile played over the features of young Mainwaring at these words, but Scott started involuntarily, and, after studying Wilson's face intently for a moment, hastily pencilled a few words on a slip of paper which he handed to Mr. Sutherland, and both watched the witness with special interest.

      His testimony differed little from that given by Hardy and by the butler. He stated, however, that, after accompanying Mr. Ralph Mainwaring to the scene of the murder, the latter sent him to summon Mr. Scott; but on his way to the young gentleman's room he saw Mr. Whitney in advance of him, who called the secretary and immediately returned with him to the library.

      "Was Mr. Scott already up when Mr. Whitney called him?" the coroner inquired, quickly.

      "He was up and dressed, sir," was the reply.

      Wilson also corroborated the butler's statement that Walter LaGrange was not seen about the premises until luncheon, and stated, in addition, that the horse belonging to young LaGrange was missing from the stables until nearly noon. Having mingled very little with the servants at Fair Oaks, he had but slight knowledge concerning the occurrences of the day preceding the murder. His testimony was therefore very brief.

      "Katie O'Brien, chambermaid," was next called; and in response a young Irish woman quietly took her place before the coroner. She answered the questions addressed her as briefly as possible, but with deliberation, as though each word had been carefully weighed.

      "Did you have charge of the private rooms of Mr. Mainwaring?"

      "Yes, sir."

      "You took care of his rooms as usual Wednesday?"

      "Yes, sir."

      "Did you see Mr. Mainwaring during the day or evening?"

      "I met him once or twice in the halls."

      "When did you last see him?"

      "About two o'clock Wednesday afternoon."

      "State how you first heard of his death."

      "I was working in the halls up-stairs about seven that morning and heard running back and forth, as if there was trouble.

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