must now see exemplified before me, without the power to stop it. The
consideration with which he approached his subject did not deceive me.

"Miss Cumberland, will you now give the jury the full particulars of that
evening's occurrences, as witnessed by yourself. Begin your relation, if
you please, with an account of the last meal you had together."

Carmel hesitated. Her youth--her conscience, perhaps--shrank in manifest
distress from this inquisition.

"Ask me a question," she prayed. "I do not know how to begin."

"Very well. Who were seated at the dinner-table that night?"

"My sister, my brother, Mr. Ranelagh, and myself."

"Did anything uncommon happen during the meal?"

"Yes, my sister ordered wine, and had our glasses all filled. She never
drank wine herself, but she had her glass filled also. Then she dismissed
Helen, the waitress; and when the girl was gone, she rose and held up
her glass, and invited us to do the same. 'We will drink to my coming
marriage,' said she; but when we had done this, she turned upon Arthur,
with bitter words about his habits, and, declaring that another bottle of
wine should never be opened again in the house, unclosed her fingers and
let her glass drop on the table where it broke. Arthur then let his fall,
and I mine. We all three let our glasses fall and break."

"And Mr. Ranelagh?"

"He did not let his fall. He set it down on the cloth. He had not
drank from it."

Clear, perfectly clear--tallying with what we had heard from other
sources. As this fact forced itself in upon the minds of the jury,
new light shone in every eye and each and all waited eagerly for the
next question.

It came with a quiet, if not insinuating, intonation.

"Miss Cumberland, where were you looking when you let your glass fall?"

My heart gave a bound. I remembered that moment well. So did she, as
could be seen from the tremulous flush and the determination with which
she forced herself to speak.

"At Mr. Ranelagh," she answered, finally.

"Not at your brother?"

"No."

"And at whom was Mr. Ranelagh looking?"

"At--at me."

"Not at your sister?"

"No."

"Was anything said?"

"Not then. With the dropping of the glasses, we all drew back from the
table, and walked towards a little room where we sometimes sat before
going into the library. Arthur went first, and Mr. Ranelagh and I
followed, Adelaide coming last. We--we went this way into the little room
and--what other question