s country as they often did. I opened the
door partly and looked in. There was a silence in the room, a strange,
queer silence. I opened the door further and, looking toward the
davenport in the corner, I saw Miss Laura and Mr. Templeton in such an
awkward position. They looked as if they had fallen asleep. His head was
thrown back against the cushions of the davenport, and on his face was a
most awful look. It was discoloured. Her head had fallen forward on his
shoulder, sideways, and on her face, too, was the same terrible stare
and the same discolouration. Their right hands were tightly clasped.

"'I called to them. They did not answer. Then the horrible truth flashed
on me. They were dead. I felt giddy for a minute, but quickly recovered
myself, and with a cry for help I rushed to Mrs. Wainwright's room,
shrieking that they were dead. Mrs. Wainwright fainted. Miss Marian
called the doctor on the telephone and helped us restore her mother. She
seemed perfectly cool in the tragedy, and I do not know what we servants
should have done if she had not been there to direct us. The house was
frantic, and Mr. Wainwright was not at home.

"'I did not detect any odour when I opened the library door. No glasses
or bottles or vials or other receptacles which could have held poison
were discovered or removed by me, or to the best of my knowledge and
belief by anyone else.'"

"What happened next?" asked Craig eagerly.

"The family physician arrived and sent for the coroner immediately, and
later for myself. You see, he thought at once of murder."

"But the coroner, I understand, thinks differently," prompted Kennedy.

"Yes, the coroner has declared the case to be accidental. He says that
the weight of evidence points positively to asphyxiation. Still, how can
it be asphyxiation? They could have escaped from the room at any time;
the door was not locked. I tell you, in spite of the fact that the tests
for poison in their mouths, stomachs, and blood have so far revealed
nothing, I still believe that John Templeton and Laura Wainwright were
murdered."

Kennedy looked at his watch thoughtfully. "You have told me just enough
to make me want to see the coroner himself," he mused. "If we take
the next train out to Williston with you, will you engage to get us a
half-hour talk with him on the case, Mr. Whitney?"

"Surely. But we'll have to start right away. I've finished my other
business in New York. Inspector O'Connor--ah, I see