them myself.
House door barred and bolted. Door leading into the servants' offices
barred and bolted. I got back to my own room, and thought it out
quietly. Where could she be? Certainly _in_ the house, somewhere. Where?
I had made sure of the other rooms; the field of search was exhausted.
She could only be in Mrs. Macallan's room--the _one_ room which had
baffled my investigations; the _only_ room which had not lent itself
to examination. Add to this that the key of the door in the study,
communicating with Mrs. Macallan's room, was stated in the nurse's
evidence to be missing; and don't forget that the dearest object of Mrs.
Beauly's life (on the showing of her own letter, read at the Trial) was
to be Eustace Macallan's happy wife. Put these things together in your
own mind, and you will know what my thoughts were, as I sat waiting for
events in my chair, without my telling you. Toward four o'clock, strong
as I am, fatigue got the better of me. I fell asleep. Not for long.
I awoke with a start and looked at my watch. Twenty-five minutes past
four. Had she got back to her room while I was asleep? I hopped to her
door and listened. Not a sound. I softly opened the door. The room was
empty. I went back again to my own room to wait and watch. It was hard
work to keep my eyes open. I drew up the window to let the cool air
refresh me; I fought hard with exhausted nature, and exhausted nature
won. I fell asleep again. This time it was eight in the morning when
I awoke. I have goodish ears, as you may have noticed. I heard women's
voices talking under my open window. I peeped out. Mrs. Beauly and her
maid in close confabulation! Mrs. Beauly and her maid looking guiltily
about them to make sure that they were neither seen nor heard! 'Take
care, ma'am,' I heard the maid say; 'that horrid deformed monster is as
sly as a fox. Mind he doesn't discover you.' Mrs. Beauly answered, 'You
go first, and look out in front; I will follow you, and make sure there
is nobody behind us.' With that they disappeared around the corner of
the house. In five minutes more I heard the door of Mrs. Beauly's room
softly opened and closed again. Three hours later the nurse met her in
the corridor, innocently on her way to make inquiries at Mrs. Eustace
Macallan's door. What do you think of these circumstances? What do you
think of Mrs. Beauly and her maid having something to say to each other,
which they didn't dare say in the house--for fear of my bein