by his, her passionless, unheated manner his
own, her adjustments and discrimination in words showing her legal
training, while he sat as a maiden schoolmistress might who listened to
the reciting of a favorite pupil. As she went on with her tale;
omitting nothing of the duel; dragging in details of the quarrel which
seemed unnecessary; stating that for some time past Mr. Carmichael's
attentions to her had been pronounced to such an extent that she had
shunned all company for fear of meeting him; damaging him in every way,
as it appeared, while the poor fellow turned a piteous color, putting
his hand over his eyes, and, for the first time in his great trouble, I
saw his lips tremble and his body quiver with emotion. I could scarce
endure the sight of this, and to show my feelings threw my arm across
his shoulder, at which movement a murmur went through the crowd, no
doubt at the oddity of the situation, that I should be so strongly
marked on the one side and Nancy as strongly set on the other.

Danvers's conduct changed, however, before her testimony was finished,
a thing which I was glad to see, for he brought himself together with
fine bravery and courage, but with a bitterness showing in his face as
of one who has been betrayed.

There were two things in Nancy's testimony to which I looked forward
with dread. The first was the story of the cap, and the second the
finding of the pistol which I was morally certain she had moved. The
first of these was not mentioned at all, by which I knew that Pitcairn
had had that incident concealed from him, and the pistol episode, about
which I had been questioned at length, swearing that the first sight I
had of the weapon was when it lay within a foot of the duke's hand, was
answered like this:

_Question_.--"In what position was the pistol when you first saw
it?"

_Answer_.--"I can not swear to that. My impression is that it lay
with the barrel toward the window. As I pointed it out to my
father, Lord Stair, I made a movement to go toward it, but he held
me back, going himself to inspect it. From the distance at which I
then stood it seemed to be directly under the duke's right hand,
with the barrel toward the window."

It was after a full morning's hearing, during which it seemed there was
nothing more she could have said for Danvers's undoing, that she was
excused, to be followed by the villainous boatman, whose testimony
showed all too cle