o'clock to-morrow. We may have only good news to impart. We may find
nothing to complicate the situation."

Arthur Cumberland shook his head. "It's not what you will find--" said
he, and stopped, biting his lips and looking down.

The coroner uttered a few words of consolation forced from him by the
painfulness of the situation. The young man did not seem to hear them.
The only sign of life he gave was to rush away the moment the coroner had
taken his leave, and regain his seat within sight and hearing of his
still unconscious sister. As he did so, these words came to his ears
through the door which separated them:

"Flowers--I smell flowers! Lila, you always loved flowers; but I never
saw your hands so full of them."

Arthur uttered a sharp cry; then, bowing his face upon his aims, he broke
into sobs which shook the table where he sat.

Twenty-four hours later, in the coroner's office, sat an anxious group
discussing the great case and the possible revelations awaiting them. The
district attorney, Mr. Clifton, the chief of police, and one or two
others--among them Sweetwater--made up the group, and carried on the
conversation. Dr. Perry only was absent. He had undertaken to make the
autopsy and had been absent, for this purpose, several hours.

Five o'clock had struck, and they were momentarily looking for his
reappearance; but, when the door opened, as it did at this time, it was
to admit young Cumberland, whose white face and shaking limbs betrayed
his suspense and nervous anxiety.

He was welcomed coldly, but not impolitely, and sat down in very much
the same place he had occupied during his last visit, but in a very
different, and much more quiet state of mind. To Sweetwater, his
aspect was one of despair, but be made no remark upon it; only kept
all his senses alert for the coming moment, of so much importance to
them all. But even he failed to guess how important, until the door
opened again, and the coroner appeared, looking not so much depressed
as stunned. Picking out Arthur from the group, he advanced towards him
with some commonplace remark; but desisted suddenly and turned upon
the others instead.

"I have finished the autopsy," said he. "I knew just what poison the
phial had held, and lost no time in my tests. A minute portion of this
drug, which is dangerous only in large quantities, was found in the
stomach of the deceased; but not enough to cause serious trouble, and she
died, as we had already