d hesitated, fearing doubtless that she might say too much.

"Miss Holladay had complained of a headache in the morning," she said,
after a moment. "She was looking badly when she went out, and the
drive made her worse instead of better. She seemed very nervous and
ill. I advised her to lie down and not dress for dinner, but she would
not listen. She always dined with her father, and did not wish to
disappoint him. She was in a great hurry, fearing that he'd get back
before she was ready."

"There's no doubt in your mind that she was really expecting him?"

"Oh, no, sir; she even went to the door to look for him when he did
not come. She seemed very uneasy about him."

That was one point in our favor certainly.

"And when the news of her father's death reached her, how did she bear
it?"

"She didn't bear it at all, sir," answered the maid, catching her
breath to choke back a sob. "She fainted dead away. Afterwards, she
seemed to be in a kind of daze till the doctor came."

"That is all. Have you any questions to ask the witness, Mr. Royce?"

"Only one," said my chief, leaning forward. I knew what it was, and
held my breath, wondering whether it were wise to ask it. "Do you
remember the gown your mistress wore yesterday afternoon?" he
questioned.

"Oh, yes, sir," and the witness brightened. "It was a dark red
broadcloth, made very plain, with only a little narrow black braid for
trimming."

CHAPTER III

The Coil Tightens

From the breathless silence that followed her answer, she saw that she
had somehow dealt her mistress a heavy blow, and the sobs burst out
beyond control, choking her. I could see how my chief's face turned
livid. He had driven another rivet in the chain--just the one it
needed to hold it firmly together. My head was whirling. Could it be
possible, after all, that this gentle, cultured girl was really such a
fiend at heart that she could strike down.... I put the thought from
me. It was monstrous, unbelievable!

The coroner and the district attorney were whispering together, and I
saw the former glance from the blood-stained handkerchief on the desk
before him to the sobbing woman on the stand. It needed only that--her
identification of that square of cambric--to complete the evidence.
He hesitated a moment, said another word or two to Singleton, then
straightened up again in his chair. Perhaps he thought the chain was
strong enough; perhaps he saw only that the witness was in n