h window was shut and fastened after
you missed Mr. Bellingham?"

"I looked at it when we shut the house up for the night. It was then
shut and fastened on the inside."

"And the side gate?"

"That gate was shut and latched. You have to slam the gate to make the
latch fasten, so no one could have gone out of the gate without being
heard."

Here the examination-in-chief ended, and Mr. Loram sat down with an
audible sigh of relief. Miss Dobbs was about to step down from the
witness-box when Mr. Heath rose to cross-examine.

"Did you see Mr. Bellingham in a good light?" he asked.

"Pretty good. It was dark outside, but the hall-lamp was alight."

"Kindly look at this"--here a small object was passed across to the
witness. "It is a trinket that Mr. Bellingham is stated to have
carried suspended from his watch-guard. Can you remember if he was
wearing it in that manner when he came to the house?"

"No, he was not."

"You are sure of that."

"Quite sure."

"Thank you. And now I want to ask you about the search that you have
mentioned. You say that you went all over the house. Did you go into
the study?"

"No--at least, not until Mr. Hurst had gone to London."

"When you did go in, was the window fastened?"

"Yes."

"Could it have been fastened from the outside?"

"No; there is no handle outside."

"What furniture is there in the study?"

"There is a writing-table, a revolving-chair, two easy chairs, two
large book-cases, and a wardrobe that Mr. Hurst keeps his overcoats and
hats in."

"Does the wardrobe lock?"

"Yes."

"Was it locked when you went in?"

"I'm sure I don't know. I don't go about trying the cupboards and
drawers."

"What furniture is there in the drawing-room?"

"A cabinet, six or seven chairs, a Chesterfield sofa, a piano, a
silver-table, and one or two occasional tables."

"Is the piano a grand or upright?"

"It is an upright grand."

"In what position is it placed?"

"It stands across a corner near the window."

"Is there sufficient room behind it for a man to conceal himself?"

Miss Dobbs was amused and did not dissemble. "Oh, yes," she sniggered,
"there's plenty of room for a man to hide behind it."

"When you searched the drawing-room, did you look behind the piano?"

"No, I didn't," Miss Dobbs replied scornfully.

"Did you look under the sofa?"

"Certainly not!"

"What did you do then?"

"We opened the door and looked into the room. We were no