d, her eyes once glittered strangely under their
half-dropped lids; and Martin Hillyard followed the direction of their
gaze to the door-key lying upon the table beside Sir Chichester's hand.

"Jenny," said Sir Chichester, who had at last formulated a question.
"You informed us that Mrs. Croyle instructed you last night not to call
her until she rang. That, no doubt, was an unusual order for her to
give."

"No, sir."

Sir Chichester leaned back in his chair.

"Oh, it wasn't?"

"No, sir."

Sir Chichester looked a little blank. He cast about for another line of
examination.

"You are aware, of course, Jenny, that your mistress was in the habit of
taking drugs--chloroform especially."

"Never, sir," answered Jenny.

"You weren't aware of it?" exclaimed Sir Chichester.

"She never took them."

Harry Luttrell made a little movement. He stared in perplexity at Jenny
Prask, who did not once remove her calm and respectful eyes from Sir
Chichester Splay. She waited in absolute composure for the next
question. But the question took a long time to formulate. Sir Chichester
had framed no interrogatory in a sequence; whereas Jenny's answers were
pat, as though, sitting by the bed whereon her dead mistress lay, she
had thought out the questions which might be asked of her and got her
answers ready. Sir Chichester began to get flurried. At every conjecture
which he expressed, Jenny Prask slammed a door in his face.

"But you told me----" he cried, turning to Harry Luttrell and so broke
off. "Are you speaking the truth, Jenny?"

Suddenly Jenny's composure broke up. The blood rushed into her face. She
shouted violently:

"I swear it! If it was my last dying word, I do! Chloroform indeed!" She
became sarcastic. "What an idea! Just fancy!"

Sir Chichester threw down his pen. He was aghast before the conclusion
to which his examination was leading him.

"But, if Stella didn't put that glass of chloroform between her
pillows--herself--of her own accord--why then, whilst she was
asleep----" He would not utter the inevitable induction. But it was
clear enough, hideous enough to all of them. Why then, whilst she was
asleep, some one entered the room, placed the chloroform where its
deadly fumes would do their work, locked her door upon her and tossed
the key out on to the lawn. A charge of murder--nothing less.

"Don't you see what you are suggesting, Jenny," Sir Chichester
spluttered helplessly.

"I am suggesting noth