roat, while her face became convulsed. We obtained water
for her, but it was useless, for within five minutes she was stretched
rigid upon the grass, unconscious, and a few moments later she was
still--quite dead! Ah, shall I ever forget the scene! The effect
produced upon us was appalling. All was so sudden, so tragic, so
horrible!

"Lady Heyburn was the first to speak. 'Gabrielle,' she said, 'what have
you done? You have carried out the secret revenge which in your letter
you threatened!' I saw myself trapped. Those people had some motive in
killing the girl and placing this crime upon myself! I could not speak,
for I was too utterly dumfounded."

"The fiends!" ejaculated Walter fiercely.

"Then followed a hurried consultation, in which Krail showed himself
most solicitous on my behalf," the pale-faced girl went on. "Aided by
Flockart, I think, he scraped away a hole in a pit full of dead leaves,
and there the body must have been concealed just as it was. To me they
all took a solemn vow to keep what they declared to be my secret. The
bottle containing the wine from which the poor American girl had drunk
was broken and hidden, the plates and food swiftly packed up, and we at
once fled from the scene of the tragedy. With Krail wheeling the girl's
empty cycle, we reached the high road, where we all mounted and rode
back in silence to Paris. Ah, shall I ever rid myself of the memory of
that fatal afternoon?" she cried as she paused for breath.

"Fearing that he might be noticed taking along the empty cycle, Krail
threw it into the river near Valmondois," she went on. "Arrived back at
the Rue Leonce-Reynaud, I protested that nothing had been introduced
into the wine. But they declared that, owing to my youth and the
terrible scandal it would cause if I were arrested, they would never
allow the matter to pass their lips, Mr. Hamilton, indeed, making the
extraordinary declaration that such a crime had extenuating
circumstances when love was at stake. I then saw that I had fallen the
victim of some clever conspiracy; but so utterly overcome was I by the
awful scene that I could make but faint protest.

"Ah! think of my horrible position--accused of a crime of which I was
entirely innocent! The days slipped on, and I was sent back to Amiens,
and in due course came home here to dear old Glencardine. From that day
I have lived in constant fear, until on the night of the ball at
Connachan--you remember the evening, dad?--on