derstood his action, and without a groan had accepted
her fate. Indeed, she seemed incapable of any further speech or action.
She was staring down at her husband's body, which she, for the first
time, seemed fully to see. Was her look one of grief or of resentment
for the part he had played so unintentionally in her child's death? It
was hard to tell; and when, with slowly rising finger, she pointed to
the pistol so tightly clutched in the other outstretched hand, no one
there--and by this time the room was full--could foretell what her words
would be when her tongue regained its usage and she could speak.

What she did say was this:

"Is there a bullet gone? Did he fire off that pistol?" A question so
manifestly one of delirium that no one answered it, which seemed to
surprise her, though she said nothing till her glance had passed
all around the walls of the room to where a window stood open to the
night,--its lower sash being entirely raised. "There! look there!" she
cried, with a commanding accent, and, throwing up her hands, sank a dead
weight into the arms of those supporting her.

No one understood; but naturally more than one rushed to the window. An
open space was before them. Here lay the fields not yet parcelled out
into lots and built upon; but it was not upon these they looked, but
upon the strong trellis which they found there, which, if it supported
no vine, formed a veritable ladder between this window and the ground.

Could she have meant to call attention to this fact; and were her words
expressive of another idea than the obvious one of suicide?

If so, to what lengths a woman's imagination can go! Or so their
combined looks seemed to proclaim, when to their utter astonishment they
saw the officer, who had presented a calm appearance up till now, shift
his position and with a surprised grunt direct their eyes to a portion
of the wall just visible beyond the half-drawn curtains of the bed. The
mirror hanging there showed a star-shaped breakage, such as follows the
sharp impact of a bullet or a fiercely projected stone.

"He fired two shots. One went wild; the other straight home."

It was the officer delivering his opinion.

Mr. Saunders, returning from the distant room where he had assisted in
carrying Mrs. Hammond, cast a look at the shattered glass, and remarked
forcibly:

"I heard but one; and I was sitting up, disturbed by that poor infant.
Jennie, did you hear more than one shot?" he ask