last?

A. On Christmas Eve. He came with the lady.

Q. Did he stay to supper also?

A. No. He went away at half-past seven. Mr. Wrent let him out, as usual.

Q. Did he go away altogether?

A. I--I--I am not sure! (here the witness hesitated).

Q. Why did Mr. Wrent give you the cloak?

A. To make me hold my tongue about the dark man.

Q. Why?

A. Because I saw him in the back yard.

Q. On what night?

A. On the night of Christmas Eve, about half-past eight.

CHAPTER XVI

MRS. VRAIN AT BAY

"You saw the dark man in the back yard on Christmas Eve?" repeated
Lucian, much surprised by this discovery.

"Yes, I did," replied Rhoda decisively, "at half-past eight o'clock. I
went out into the yard to put some empty bottles into the shed, and I
saw the man standing near the fence, looking at the back of No. 13. When
he heard me coming out he rushed past me and out by the side passage.
The moon was shining, and I saw him as plain as plain."

"Did he seem afraid?"

"Yes, he did; and didn't want to be seen, neither. I told Mr. Wrent, and
he promised me a cloak if I held my tongue. He said the dark man was
waiting in the yard until the lady had gone, when he was coming in
again."

"But the lady, you say, went at eight, and you saw the man half an hour
later?"

"That's it, sir. He told me a lie, for he never came in again to see Mr.
Wrent."

"But already the dark man had seen the lady?"

"Yes. He came in with her at seven, and went away at half-past."

Lucian mechanically stooped down and picked up the fur cloak. He was
puzzled by the information given by Rhoda, and did not exactly see what
use to make of it. Going by the complexion of the man who had lurked in
the back yard, it would appear that he was Count Ferruci; while the
small stature of the woman, and the fact that she wore a velvet-spotted
veil, indicated that she was Lydia Vrain; also the pair had been in the
vicinity of the haunted house on the night of the murder; and, although
it was true both were out of the place by half-past eight, yet they
might not have gone far, but had probably returned later--when Rhoda and
Mrs. Bensusan were asleep--to murder Vrain, between the hours of eleven
and twelve on the same night.

This was all plain enough, but Lucian was puzzled by the account of Mr.
Wrent. Who, he asked himself repeatedly, who was this grey-haired,
white-bearded man who had so often received Lydia, who had on Christmas
Eve silen