billiard-room with Mr. Bailey, until the
automobile had been ready. Then she had locked the door at the foot of
the staircase, and, taking a lamp, had accompanied Mr. Bailey to the
main entrance of the house, and had watched him cross the lawn.
Instead of going at once to her room, she had gone back to the
billiard-room for something which had been left there. The card-room
and billiard-room were in darkness. She had groped around, found the
article she was looking for, and was on the point of returning to her
room, when she had heard some one fumbling at the lock at the east
outer door. She had thought it was probably her brother, and had been
about to go to the door, when she heard it open. Almost immediately
there was a shot, and she had run panic-stricken through the
drawing-room and had roused the house.

"You heard no other sound?" the coroner asked. "There was no one with
Mr. Armstrong when he entered?"

"It was perfectly dark. There were no voices and I heard nothing.
There was just the opening of the door, the shot, and the sound of
somebody falling."

"Then, while you went through the drawing-room and up-stairs to alarm
the household, the criminal, whoever it was, could have escaped by the
east door?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. That will do."

I flatter myself that the coroner got little enough out of me. I saw
Mr. Jamieson smiling to himself, and the coroner gave me up, after a
time. I admitted I had found the body, said I had not known who it was
until Mr. Jarvis told me, and ended by looking up at Barbara Fitzhugh
and saying that in renting the house I had not expected to be involved
in any family scandal. At which she turned purple.

The verdict was that Arnold Armstrong had met his death at the hands of
a person or persons unknown, and we all prepared to leave. Barbara
Fitzhugh flounced out without waiting to speak to me, but Mr. Harton
came up, as I knew he would.

"You have decided to give up the house, I hope, Miss Innes," he said.
"Mrs. Armstrong has wired me again."

"I am not going to give it up," I maintained, "until I understand some
things that are puzzling me. The day that the murderer is discovered,
I will leave."

"Then, judging by what I have heard, you will be back in the city very
soon," he said. And I knew that he suspected the discredited cashier
of the Traders' Bank.

Mr. Jamieson came up to me as I was about to leave the coroner's office.

"How is your patient?"