ou listening to me?"

I was listening, most unwillingly. If he were right, things had indeed
come to that terrible pass. But I could not--with all my respect for his
superior knowledge and experience--I could not persuade myself that he
_was_ right. And I owned it, with the humility which I really felt.

He smiled good-humoredly.

"At any rate," he said, "you will admit that Dexter has not freely
opened his mind to you thus far? He is still keeping something from your
knowledge which you are interested in discovering?"

"Yes. I admit that."

"Very good. What applies to your view of the case applies to mine. I
say, he is keeping from you the confession of his guilt. You say, he is
keeping from you information which may fasten the guilt on some other
person. Let us start from that point. Confession, or information, how
are you to get at what he is now withholding from you? What influence
can you bring to bear on him when you see him again?"

"Surely I might persuade him?"

"Certainly. And if persuasion fail--what then? Do you think you can
entrap him into speaking out? or terrify him into speaking out?"

"If you will look at your notes, Mr. Playmore, you will see that I have
already succeeded in terrifying him--though I am only a woman and though
I didn't mean to do it."

"Very well answered. You mark the trick. What you have done once
you think you can do again. Well, as you are determined to try the
experiment, it can do you no harm to know a little more of Dexter's
character and temperament than you know now. Suppose we apply for
information to somebody who can help us?"

I started, and looked round the room. He made me do it--he spoke as if
the person who was to help us was close at our elbows.

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "The oracle is silent; and the oracle is
here."

He unlocked one of the drawers of his desk; produced a bundle of
letters, and picked out one.

"When we were arranging your husband's defense," he said, "we felt some
difficulty about including Miserrimus Dexter among our witnesses. We had
not the slightest suspicion of him, I need hardly tell you. But we were
all afraid of his eccentricity; and some among us even feared that the
excitement of appearing at the Trial might drive him completely out of
his mind. In this emergency we applied to a doctor to help us. Under
some pretext, which I forget now, we introduced him to Dexter. And in
due course of time we received his report. Here i