er go down the stairs,
sometime before the shot. Later you were confident she had hidden the
revolver, and you made a second search for it. Why? You hadn't heard her
testimony at the inquest then. Clark had run away. Why didn't you think
Clark had done it?"

"Because I thought she was having an affair with another man. I have
always thought she did it."

Bassett nodded.

"I thought so. What made you think that?"

"I'll tell you. She went West without a maid, and Mr. Clark got a
Swedish woman from a ranch near to look after her, a woman named
Thorwald. She lived at her own place and came over every day. One night,
after Mrs. Thorwald had started home, I came across her down the road
near the irrigator's house, and there was a man with her. They didn't
hear me behind them, and he was giving her a note for some one in the
house."

"Why not for one of the servants?"

"That's what I thought then, sir. It wasn't my business. But I saw the
same man later on, hanging about the place at night, and once I saw
her with him--Mrs. Lucas, I mean. That was in the early evening. The
gentlemen were out riding, and I'd gone with one of the maids to a hill
to watch the moon rise. They were on some rocks, below in the canyon."

"Did you see him?"

"I think it was the same man, if that's what you mean. I knew something
queer was going on, after that, and I watched her. She went out at night
more than once. Then I told Donaldson there was somebody hanging round
the place, and he set a watch."

"Fine. Now we'll go to the night Lucas was shot. Was the Thorwald woman
there?"

"She had started home."

"Leaving Mrs. Lucas packing alone?"

"Yes. I hadn't thought of that. The Thorwald woman heard the shot and
came back. I remember that, because she fainted upstairs and I had to
carry her to a bed."

"I see. Now about the revolver."

"I located it the first time I looked for it. Donaldson and the others
had searched the billiard room. So I tried the big room. It was under
a chair. I left it there, and concealed myself in the room. She, Mrs.
Lucas, came down late that night and hunted for it. Then she hid it
where I got it later."

"I wish I knew, Melis, why you didn't bring those facts out at the
inquest."

"You must remember this, sir. I had been with Mr. Clark for a long time.
I knew the situation. And I thought that he had gone away that night
to throw suspicion from her to himself. I was not certain what to do. I
would ha