eve
of a long journey--was the man found murdered in the sleeping-car?"

"Can it be possible? Are you sure?" cried Sir Charles, almost starting
from his chair. "And what do you deduce from all this? What do you
imply? An accusation against that lady? Absurd!"

"I respect your chivalrous desire to stand up for a lady who calls you
her friend, but we are officials first, and sentiment cannot be
permitted to influence us. We have good reasons for suspecting that
lady. I tell you that frankly, and trust to you as a soldier and man of
honour not to abuse the confidence reposed in you."

"May I not know those reasons?"

"Because she was in the car--the only woman, you understand--between
Laroche and Paris."

"Do you suspect a female hand, then?" asked the General, evidently much
interested and impressed.

"That is so, although I am exceeding my duty in revealing this."

"And you are satisfied that this lady, a refined, delicate person in the
best society, of the highest character,--believe me, I know that to be
the case,--whom you yet suspect of an atrocious crime, was the only
female in the car?"

"Obviously. Who else? What other woman could possibly have been in the
car? No one got in at Laroche; the train never stopped till it reached
Paris."

"On that last point at least you are quite mistaken, I assure you. Why
not upon the other also?"

"The train stopped?" interjected the detective. "Why has no one told us
that?"

"Possibly because you never asked. But it is nevertheless the fact.
Verify it. Every one will tell you the same."

The detective himself hurried to the door and called in the porter. He
was within his rights, of course, but the action showed distrust, at
which the General only smiled, but he laughed outright when the still
stupid and half-dazed porter, of course, corroborated the statement at
once.

"At whose instance was the train pulled up?" asked the detective, and
the Judge nodded his head approvingly.

To know that would fix fresh suspicion.

But the porter could not answer the question.

Some one had rung the alarm-bell--so at least the conductor had
declared; otherwise they should not have stopped. Yet he, the porter,
had not done so, nor did any passenger come forward to admit giving the
signal. But there had been a halt. Yes, assuredly.

"This is a new light," the Judge confessed. "Do you draw any conclusion
from it?" he went on to ask the General.

"That is surely your busin