That Affair Next Door

By ANNA KATHARINE GREEN

Author of "The House Of The Whispering Pines, " "Initials Only, " "DarkHollow, " Etc. 

A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS

114-120 East Twenty-third Street New York

PUBLISHED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

COPYRIGHT, 1897

BY

ANNA KATHARINE ROHLFS

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London

The Knickerbocker Press, New York

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Transcriber's note: Minor typos have been corrected and footnotes movedto end of chapter. 

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CONTENTS. 

_BOOK I. _

MISS BUTTERWORTH'S WINDOW. 

 PAGE

I. --A DISCOVERY 1

II. --QUESTIONS 14

III. --AMELIA DISCOVERS HERSELF 23

IV. --SILAS VAN BURNAM 36

V. --THIS IS NO ONE I KNOW 41

VI. --NEW FACTS 51

VII. --MR. GRYCE DISCOVERS MISS AMELIA 55

VIII. --THE MISSES VAN BURNAM 68

IX. --DEVELOPMENTS 77

X. --IMPORTANT EVIDENCE 88

XI. --THE ORDER CLERK 98

XII. --THE KEYS 114

XIII. --HOWARD VAN BURNAM 126

XIV. --A SERIOUS ADMISSION 141

XV. --A RELUCTANT WITNESS 155

_BOOK II. _

THE WINDINGS OF A LABYRINTH. 

XVI. --COGITATIONS 163

XVII. --BUTTERWORTH VERSUS GRYCE 170

XVIII. --THE LITTLE PINCUSHION 176

XIX. --A DECIDED STEP FORWARD 187

XX. --MISS BUTTERWORTH'S THEORY 201

XXI. --A SHREWD CONJECTURE 208

XXII. --A BLANK CARD 217

XXIII. --RUTH OLIVER 229

XXIV. --A HOUSE OF CARDS 244

XXV. --"THE RINGS! WHERE ARE THE RINGS?" 255

XXVI. --A TILT WITH MR. GRYCE 260

XXVII. --FOUND 266

XXVIII. --TAKEN ABACK 272

_BOOK III. _

THE GIRL IN GRAY. 

XXIX. --AMELIA BECOMES PEREMPTORY 274

XXX. --THE MATTER AS STATED BY MR. GRYCE 283

XXXI. --SOME FINE WORK 296

XXXII. --ICONOCLASM 311

XXXIII. --"KNOWN, KNOWN, ALL KNOWN" 321

XXXIV. --EXACTLY HALF-PAST THREE 329

XXXV. --A RUSE 335

_BOOK IV. _

THE END OF A GREAT MYSTERY. 

XXXVI. --THE RESULT 341

XXXVII. --"TWO WEEKS!" 345

XXXVIII. --A WHITE SATIN GOWN 350

XXXIX. --THE WATCHFUL EYE 357

XL. --AS THE CLOCK STRUCK 364

XLI. --SECRET HISTORY 368

XLII. --WITH MISS BUTTERWORTH'S COMPLIMENTS 395

THAT AFFAIR NEXT DOOR. 

_BOOK I. _

MISS BUTTERWORTH'S WINDOW. 

I. 

A DISCOVERY. 

I am not an inquisitive woman, but when, in the middle of a certain warmnight in September, I heard a carriage draw up at the adjoining houseand stop, I could not resist the temptation of leaving my bed and takinga peep through the curtains of my window. 

First: because the house was empty, or supposed to be so, the familystill being, as I had every reason to believe, in Europe; and secondly:because, not being inquisitive, I often miss in my lonely and singlelife much that it would be both interesting and profitable for me toknow. 

Luckily I made no such mistake this evening. I rose and looked out, andthough I was far from realizing it at the time, took, by so doing, myfirst step in a course of inquiry which has ended----

But it is too soon to speak of the end. Rather let me tell you what Isaw when I parted the curtains of my window in Gramercy Park, on thenight of September 17, 1895. 

Not much at first glance, only a common hack drawn up at the neighboringcurb-stone. The lamp which is supposed to light our part of the block issome rods away on the opposite side of the street, so that I obtainedbut a shadowy glimpse of a young man and woman standing below me on thepavement. I could see, however, that the woman--and not the man--wasputting money into the driver's hand. The next moment they were on thestoop of this long-closed house, and the coach rolled off. 

It was dark, as I have said, and I did not recognize the youngpeople, --at least their figures were not familiar to me; but when, inanother instant, I heard the click of a night-key, and saw them, after arather tedious fumbling at the lock, disappear from the stoop, I took itfor granted that the gentleman was Mr. Van Burnam's eldest son Franklin, and the lady some relative of the family; though why this, its mostpunctilious member, should bring a guest at so late an hour into a housedevoid of everything necessary to make the least exacting visitorcomfortable, was a mystery that I retired to bed to meditate upon. 

I did not succeed in solving it, however, and after some ten minutes hadelapsed, I was settling myself again to sleep when I was re-aroused by afresh sound from the quarter mentioned. The door I had so lately heardshut, opened again, and though I had to rush for it, I succeeded ingetting to my window in time to catch a glimpse of the departing figureof the young man hurrying away towards Broadway. The young woman was notwith him, and as I realized that he had left her behind him in thegreat, empty house, without apparent light and certainly without anycompanion, I began to question if this was like Franklin Van Burnam. Wasit not more in keeping with the recklessness of his more easy-naturedand less reliable brother, Howard, who, some two or three years back, had married a young wife of no very satisfactory antecedents, and who, as I had heard, had been ostracized by the family in consequence?

Whichever of the two it was, he had certainly shown but littleconsideration for his companion, and thus thinking, I fell off to sleepjust as the clock struck the half hour after midnight. 

Next morning as soon as modesty would permit me to approach the window, I surveyed the neighboring house minutely. Not a blind was open, nor ashutter displaced. As I am an early riser, this did not disturb me atthe time, but when after breakfast I looked again and still failed todetect any evidences of life in the great barren front beside me, Ibegan to feel uneasy. But I did nothing till noon, when going into myrear garden and observing that the back windows of the Van Burnam housewere as closely shuttered as the front, I became so anxious that Istopped the next policeman I saw going by, and telling him mysuspicions, urged him to ring the bell. 

No answer followed the summons. 

"There is no one here, " said he. 

"Ring again!" I begged. 

And he rang again but with no better result. 

"Don't you see that the house is shut up?" he grumbled. "We have hadorders to watch the place, but none to take the watch off. "

"There is a young woman inside, " I insisted. "The more I think over lastnight's occurrence, the more I am convinced that the matter should belooked into. "

He shrugged his shoulders and was moving away when we both observed acommon-looking woman standing in front looking at us. She had a bundlein her hand, and her face, unnaturally ruddy though it was, had a scaredlook which was all the more remarkable from the fact that it was one ofthose wooden-like countenances which under ordinary circumstances arecapable of but little expression. She was not a stranger to me; that is, I had seen her before in or about the house in which we were at thatmoment so interested; and not stopping to put any curb on my excitement, I rushed down to the pavement and accosted her. 

"Who are you?" I asked. "Do you work for the Van Burnams, and do youknow who the lady was who came here last night?"

The poor woman, either startled by my sudden address or by my mannerwhich may have been a little sharp, gave a quick bound backward, and wasonly deterred by the near presence of the policeman from attemptingflight. As it was, she stood her ground, though the fiery flush, whichmade her face so noticeable, deepened till her cheeks and brow werescarlet. 

"I am the scrub-woman, " she protested. "I have come to open the windowsand air the house, "--ignoring my last question. 

"Is the family coming home?" the policeman asked. 

"I don't know; I think so, " was her weak reply. 

"Have you the keys?" I now demanded, seeing her fumbling in her pocket. 

She did not answer; a sly look displaced the anxious one she hadhitherto displayed, and she turned away. 

"I don't see what business it is of the neighbors, " she muttered, throwing me a dissatisfied scowl over her shoulder. 

"If you've got the keys, we will go in and see that things are allright, " said the policeman, stopping her with a light touch. 

She trembled; I saw that she trembled, and naturally became excited. Something was wrong in the Van Burnam mansion, and I was going to bepresent at its discovery. But her next words cut my hopes short. 

"I have no objection to _your_ going in, " she said to the policeman, "but I will not give up my keys to _her_. What right has she in ourhouse any way. " And I thought I heard her murmur something about ameddlesome old maid. 

The look which I received from the policeman convinced me that my earshad not played me false. 

"The lady's right, " he declared; and pushing by me quitedisrespectfully, he led the way to the basement door, into which he andthe so-called cleaner presently disappeared. 

I waited in front. I felt it to be my duty to do so. The variouspassers-by stopped an instant to stare at me before proceeding on theirway, but I did not flinch from my post. Not till I had heard that theyoung woman whom I had seen enter these doors at midnight was well, andthat her delay in opening the windows was entirely due to fashionablelaziness, would I feel justified in returning to my own home and itsaffairs. But it took patience and some courage to remain there. Severalminutes elapsed before I perceived the shutters in the third story open, and a still longer time before a window on the second floor flew up andthe policeman looked out, only to meet my inquiring gaze and rapidlydisappear again. 

Meantime three or four persons had stopped on the walk near me, thenucleus of a crowd which would not be long in collecting, and I wasbeginning to feel I was paying dearly for my virtuous resolution, whenthe front door burst violently open and we caught sight of the tremblingform and shocked face of the scrub-woman. 

"She's dead!" she cried, "she's dead! Murder!" and would have said morehad not the policeman pulled her back, with a growl which sounded verymuch like a suppressed oath. 

He would have shut the door upon me had I not been quicker thanlightning. As it was, I got in before it slammed, and happily too; forjust at that moment the house-cleaner, who had grown paler everyinstant, fell in a heap in the entry, and the policeman, who was not theman I would want about me in any trouble, seemed somewhat embarrassed bythis new emergency, and let me lift the poor thing up and drag herfarther into the hall. 

She had fainted, and should have had something done for her, but anxiousthough I always am to be of help where help is needed, I had no soonergot within range of the parlor door with my burden, than I beheld asight so terrifying that I involuntarily let the poor woman slip from myarms to the floor. 

In the darkness of a dim corner (for the room had no light save thatwhich came through the doorway where I stood) lay the form of a womanunder a fallen piece of furniture. Her skirts and distended arms alonewere visible; but no one who saw the rigid outlines of her limbs coulddoubt for a moment that she was dead. 

At a sight so dreadful, and, in spite of all my apprehensions, sounexpected, I felt a sensation of sickness which in another moment mighthave ended in my fainting also, if I had not realized that it wouldnever do for me to lose my wits in the presence of a man who had nonetoo many of his own. So I shook off my momentary weakness, and turningto the policeman, who was hesitating between the unconscious figure ofthe woman outside the door and the dead form of the one within I criedsharply:

"Come, man, to business! The woman inside there is dead, but this one isliving. Fetch me a pitcher of water from below if you can, and then gofor whatever assistance you need. I'll wait here and bring this womanto. She is a strong one, and it won't take long. "

"You'll stay here alone with that----" he began. 

But I stopped him with a look of disdain. 

"Of course I will stay here; why not? Is there anything in the dead tobe afraid of? Save me from the living, and I undertake to save myselffrom the dead. "

But his face had grown very suspicious. 

"You go for the water, " he cried. "And see here! Just call out for someone to telephone to Police Headquarters for the Coroner and adetective. I don't quit this room till one or the other of them comes. "

Smiling at a caution so very ill-timed, but abiding by my invariablerule of never arguing with a man unless I see some way of getting thebetter of him, I did what he bade me, though I hated dreadfully to leavethe spot and its woful mystery, even for so short a time as wasrequired. 

"Run up to the second story, " he called out, as I passed by theprostrate figure of the cleaner. "Tell them what you want from thewindow, or we will have the whole street in here. "

So I ran up-stairs, --I had always wished to visit this house, but hadnever been encouraged to do so by the Misses Van Burnam, --and making myway into the front room, the door of which stood wide open, I rushed tothe window and hailed the crowd, which by this time extended far outbeyond the curb-stone. 

"An officer!" I called out, "a police officer! An accident has occurredand the man in charge here wants the Coroner and a detective from PoliceHeadquarters. "

"Who's hurt?" "Is it a man?" "Is it a woman?" shouted up one or two; and"Let us in!" shouted others; but the sight of a boy rushing off to meetan advancing policeman satisfied me that help would soon be forthcoming, so I drew in my head and looked about me for the next necessity--water. 

I was in a lady's bed-chamber, probably that of the eldest Miss VanBurnam; but it was a bed-chamber which had not been occupied for somemonths, and naturally it lacked the very articles which would have beenof assistance to me in the present emergency. No _eau de Cologne_ onthe bureau, no camphor on the mantel-shelf. But there was water in thepipes (something I had hardly hoped for), and a mug on the wash-stand;so I filled the mug and ran with it to the door, stumbling, as I did so, over some small object which I presently perceived to be a little roundpin-cushion. Picking it up, for I hate anything like disorder, I placedit on a table near by, and continued on my way. 

The woman was still lying at the foot of the stairs. I dashed the waterin her face and she immediately came to. 

Sitting up, she was about to open her lips when she checked herself; afact which struck me as odd, though I did not allow my surprise tobecome apparent. 

Meantime I stole a glance into the parlor. The officer was standingwhere I had left him, looking down on the prostrate figure before him. 

There was no sign of feeling in his heavy countenance, and he had notopened a shutter, nor, so far as I could see, disarranged an object inthe room. 

The mysterious character of the whole affair fascinated me in spite ofmyself, and leaving the now fully aroused woman in the hall, I washalf-way across the parlor floor when the latter stopped me with ashrill cry:

"Don't leave me! I have never seen anything before so horrible. The poordear! The poor dear! Why don't he take those dreadful things off her?"

She alluded not only to the piece of furniture which had fallen upon theprostrate woman, and which can best be described as a cabinet withclosets below and shelves above, but to the various articles of_bric-à-brac_ which had tumbled from the shelves, and which now lay inbroken pieces about her. 

"He will do so; they will do so very soon, " I replied. "He is waitingfor some one with more authority than himself; for the Coroner, if youknow what that means. "

"But what if she's alive! Those things will crush her. Let us take themoff. I'll help. I'm not too weak to help. "

"Do you know who this person is?" I asked, for her voice had morefeeling in it than I thought natural to the occasion, dreadful as itwas. 

"I?" she repeated, her weak eyelids quivering for a moment as she triedto sustain my scrutiny. "How should I know? I came in with the policemanand haven't been any nearer than I now be. What makes you think I knowanything about her? I'm only the scrub-woman, and don't even know thenames of the family. "

"I thought you seemed so very anxious, " I explained, suspicious of hersuspiciousness, which was of so sly and emphatic a character that itchanged her whole bearing from one of fear to one of cunning in amoment. 

"And who wouldn't feel the like of that for a poor creature lyingcrushed under a heap of broken crockery!"

Crockery! those Japanese vases worth hundreds of dollars! that ormuluclock and those Dresden figures which must have been more than a coupleof centuries old!

"It's a poor sense of duty that keeps a man standing dumb and staringlike that, when with a lift of his hand he could show us the like ofher pretty face, and if it's dead she be or alive. "

As this burst of indignation was natural enough and not altogetheruncalled for from the standpoint of humanity, I gave the woman a nod ofapproval, and wished I were a man myself that I might lift the heavycabinet or whatever it was that lay upon the poor creature before us. But not being a man, and not judging it wise to irritate the onerepresentative of that sex then present, I made no remark, but only tooka few steps farther into the room, followed, as it afterwards appeared, by the scrub-woman. 

The Van Burnam parlors are separated by an open arch. It was to theright of this arch and in the corner opposite the doorway that the deadwoman lay. Using my eyes, now that I was somewhat accustomed to thesemi-darkness enveloping us, I noticed two or three facts which hadhitherto escaped me. One was, that she lay on her back with her feetpointing towards the hall door, and another, that nowhere in the room, save in her immediate vicinity, were there to be seen any signs ofstruggle or disorder. All was as set and proper as in my own parlor whenit has been undisturbed for any length of time by guests; and though Icould not see far into the rooms beyond, they were to all appearance inan equally orderly condition. 

Meanwhile the cleaner was trying to account for the overturned cabinet. 

"Poor dear! poor dear! she must have pulled it over on herself! Buthowever did she get into the house? And what was she doing in this greatempty place?"

The policeman, to whom these remarks had evidently been addressed, growled out some unintelligible reply, and in her perplexity the womanturned towards me. 

But what could I say to her? I had my own private knowledge of thematter, but she was not one to confide in, so I stoically shook my head. Doubly disappointed, the poor thing shrank back, after looking first atthe policeman and then at me in an odd, appealing way, difficult tounderstand. Then her eyes fell again on the dead girl at her feet, andbeing nearer now than before, she evidently saw something that startledher, for she sank on her knees with a little cry and began examining thegirl's skirts. 

"What are you looking at there?" growled the policeman. "Get up, can'tyou! No one but the Coroner has right to lay hand on anything here. "

"I'm doing no harm, " the woman protested, in an odd, shaking voice. "Ionly wanted to see what the poor thing had on. Some blue stuff, isn'tit?" she asked me. 

"Blue serge, " I answered; "store-made, but very good; must have comefrom Altman's or Stern's. "

"I--I'm not used to sights like this, " stammered the scrub-woman, stumbling awkwardly to her feet, and looking as if her few remainingwits had followed the rest on an endless vacation. "I--I think I shallhave to go home. " But she did not move. 

"The poor dear's young, isn't she?" she presently insinuated, with anodd catch in her voice that gave to the question an air of hesitationand doubt. 

"I think she is younger than either you or myself, " I deigned to reply. "Her narrow pointed shoes show she has not reached the years ofdiscretion. "

"Yes, yes, so they do!" ejaculated the cleaner, eagerly--too eagerlyfor perfect ingenuousness. "That's why I said 'Poor dear!' and spoke ofher pretty face. I am sorry for young folks when they get into trouble, aint you? You and me might lie here and no one be much the worse for it, but a sweet lady like this----"

This was not very flattering to me, but I was prevented from rebukingher by a prolonged shout from the stoop without, as a rush was madeagainst the front door, followed by a shrill peal of the bell. 

"Man from Headquarters, " stolidly announced the policeman. "Open thedoor, ma'am; or step back into the further hall if you want me to doit. "

Such rudeness was uncalled for; but considering myself too important awitness to show feeling, I swallowed my indignation and proceeded withall my native dignity to the front door. 

II. 

QUESTIONS. 

As I did so, I could catch the murmur of the crowd outside as it seethedforward at the first intimation of the door being opened; but myattention was not so distracted by it, loud as it sounded after thequiet of the shut-up house, that I failed to notice that the door hadnot been locked by the gentleman leaving the night before, and that, consequently, only the night latch was on. With a turn of the knob itopened, showing me the mob of shouting boys and the forms of twogentlemen awaiting admittance on the door-step. I frowned at the mob andsmiled on the gentlemen, one of whom was portly and easy-going inappearance, and the other spare, with a touch of severity in his aspect. But for some reason these gentlemen did not seem to appreciate the honorI had done them, for they both gave me a displeased glance, which was soodd and unsympathetic in its character that I bridled a little, though Isoon returned to my natural manner. Did they realize at the first glancethat I was destined to prove a thorn in the sides of every one connectedwith this matter, for days to come?

"Are you the woman who called from the window?" asked the larger of thetwo, whose business here I found it difficult at first to determine. 

"I am, " was my perfectly self-possessed reply. "I live next door and mypresence here is due to the anxious interest I always take in myneighbors. I had reason to think that all was not as it should be inthis house, and I was right. Look in the parlor, sirs. "

They were already as far as the threshold of that room and needed nofurther encouragement to enter. The heavier man went first and the otherfollowed, and you may be sure I was not far behind. The sight meetingour eyes was ghastly enough, as you know; but these men were evidentlyaccustomed to ghastly sights, for they showed but little emotion. 

"I thought this house was empty, " observed the second gentleman, who wasevidently a doctor. 

"So it was till last night, " I put in; and was about to tell my story, when I felt my skirts jerked. 

Turning, I found that this warning had come from the cleaner who stoodclose beside me. 

"What do you want?" I asked, not understanding her and having nothing toconceal. 

"I?" she faltered, with a frightened air. "Nothing, ma'am, nothing. "

"Then don't interrupt me, " I harshly admonished her, annoyed at aninterference that tended to throw suspicion upon my candor. "This womancame here to scrub and clean, " I now explained; "it was by means of thekey she carried that we were enabled to get into the house. I neverspoke to her till a half hour ago. "

At which, with a display of subtlety I was far from expecting in one ofher appearance, she let her emotions take a fresh direction, andpointing towards the dead woman, she impetuously cried:

"But the poor child there! Aint you going to take those things off ofher? It's wicked to leave her under all that stuff. Suppose there waslife in her!"

"Oh! there's no hope of that, " muttered the doctor, lifting one of thehands, and letting it fall again. 

"Still--" he cast a side look at his companion, who gave him a meaningnod--"it might be well enough to lift this cabinet sufficiently for meto lay my hand on her heart. "

They accordingly did this; and the doctor, leaning down, placed his handover the poor bruised breast. 

"No life, " he murmured. "She has been dead some hours. Do you think wehad better release the head?" he went on, glancing up at the portly manat his side. 

But the latter, who was rapidly growing serious, made a slight protestwith his finger, and turning to me, inquired, with sudden authority:

"What did you mean when you said that the house had been empty till lastnight?"

"Just what I said, sir. It was empty till about midnight, when twopersons----" Again I felt my dress twitched, this time very cautiously. What did the woman want? Not daring to give her a look, for these menwere only too ready to detect harm in everything I did, I gently drew myskirt away and took a step aside, going on as if no interruption hadoccurred. "Did I say persons? I should have said a man and a woman droveup to the house and entered. I saw them from my window. "

"You did?" murmured my interlocutor, whom I had by this time decided tobe a detective. "And this is the woman, I suppose?" he proceeded, pointing to the poor creature lying before us. 

"Why, yes, of course. Who else can she be? I did not see the lady's facelast night, but she was young and light on her feet, and ran up thestoop gaily. "

"And the man? Where is the man? I don't see him here. "

"I am not surprised at that. He went very soon after he came, not tenminutes after, I should say. That is what alarmed me and caused me tohave the house investigated. It did not seem natural or like any of theVan Burnams to leave a woman to spend the night in so large a housealone. "

"You know the Van Burnams?"

"Not well. But that don't signify. I know what report says of them; theyare gentlemen. "

"But Mr. Van Burnam is in Europe. "

"He has two sons. "

"Living here?"

"No; the unmarried one spends his nights at Long Branch, and the otheris with his wife somewhere in Connecticut. "

"How did the young couple you saw get in last night? Was there any onehere to admit them?"

"No; the gentleman had a key. "

"Ah, he had a key. "

The tone in which this was said recurred to me afterwards, but at themoment I was much more impressed by a peculiar sound I heard behind me, something between a gasp and a click in the throat, which came I knewfrom the scrub-woman, and which, odd and contradictory as it may appear, struck me as an expression of satisfaction, though what there was in myadmission to give satisfaction to this poor creature I could notconjecture. Moving so as to get a glimpse of her face, I went on withthe grim self-possession natural to my character:

"And when he came out he walked briskly away. The carriage had notwaited for him. "

"Ah!" again muttered the gentleman, picking up one of the broken piecesof china which lay haphazard about the floor, while I studied thecleaner's face, which, to my amazement, gave evidences of a confusion ofemotions most unaccountable to me. 

Mr. Gryce may have noticed this too, for he immediately addressed her, though he continued to look at the broken piece of china in his hand. 

"And how come you to be cleaning the house?" he asked. "Is the familycoming home?"

"They are, sir, " she answered, hiding her emotion with great skill themoment she perceived attention directed to herself, and speaking with asudden volubility that made us all stare. "They are expected any day. Ididn't know it till yesterday--was it yesterday? No, the daybefore--when young Mr. Franklin--he is the oldest son, sir, and a verynice man, a _very_ nice man--sent me word by letter that I was to getthe house ready. It isn't the first time I have done it for them, sir, and as soon as I could get the basement key from the agent, I came here, and worked all day yesterday, washing up the floors and dusting. Ishould have been at them again this morning if my husband hadn't beensick. But I had to go to the infirmary for medicine, and it was noonwhen I got here, and then I found this lady standing outside with apoliceman, a very nice lady, a very _nice_ lady indeed, sir, I pay myrespects to her"--and she actually dropped me a curtsey like a peasantwoman in a play--"and they took my key from me, and the policeman opensthe door, and he and me go upstairs and into all the rooms, and when wecome to this one----"

She was getting so excited as to be hardly intelligible. Stoppingherself with a jerk, she fumbled nervously with her apron, while I askedmyself how she could have been at work in this house the day beforewithout my knowing it. Suddenly I remembered that I was ill in themorning and busy in the afternoon at the Orphan Asylum, and somewhatrelieved at finding so excellent an excuse for my ignorance, I looked upto see if the detective had noticed anything odd in this woman'sbehavior. Presumably he had, but having more experience than myself withthe susceptibility of ignorant persons in the presence of danger anddistress, he attached less importance to it than I did, for which I wassecretly glad, without exactly knowing my reasons for being so. 

"You will be wanted as a witness by the Coroner's jury, " he now remarkedto her, looking as if he were addressing the piece of china he wasturning over in his hand. "Now, no nonsense!" he protested, as shecommenced to tremble and plead. "You were the first one to see this deadwoman, and you must be on hand to say so. As I cannot tell you when theinquest will be held, you had better stay around till the Coroner comes. He'll be here soon. You, and this other woman too. "

By other woman he meant _me_, Miss Butterworth, of Colonial ancestry andno inconsiderable importance in the social world. But though I did notrelish this careless association of myself with this poor scrub-woman, I was careful to show no displeasure, for I reasoned that as witnesseswe were equal before the law, and that it was solely in this light heregarded us. 

There was something in the manner of both these gentlemen whichconvinced me that while my presence was considered desirable in thehouse, it was not especially wanted in the room. I was therefore movingreluctantly away, when I felt a slight but peremptory touch on the arm, and turning, saw the detective at my side, still studying his piece ofchina. 

He was, as I have said, of portly build and benevolent aspect; afatherly-looking man, and not at all the person one would be likely toassociate with the police. Yet he could take the lead very naturally, and when he spoke, I felt bound to answer him. 

"Will you be so good, madam, as to relate over again, what you saw fromyour window last night? I am likely to have charge of this matter, andwould be pleased to hear all you may have to say concerning it. "

"My name is Butterworth, " I politely intimated. 

"And my name is Gryce. "

"A detective?"

"The same. "

"You must think this matter very serious, " I ventured. 

"Death by violence is always serious. "

"You must regard this death as something more than an accident, I mean. "

His smile seemed to say: "You will not know to-day how I regard it. "

"And you will not know to-day what I think of it either, " was my inwardrejoinder, but I said nothing aloud, for the man was seventy-five if hewas a day, and I have been taught respect for age, and have practisedthe same for fifty years and more. 

I must have shown what was passing in my mind, and he must have seen itreflected on the polished surface of the porcelain he was contemplating, for his lips showed the shadow of a smile sufficiently sarcastic for meto see that he was far from being as easy-natured as his countenanceindicated. 

"Come, come, " said he, "there is the Coroner now. Say what you have tosay, like the straightforward, honest woman you appear. "

"I don't like compliments, " I snapped out. Indeed, they have always beenobnoxious to me. As if there was any merit in being honest andstraightforward, or any distinction in being told so!

"I am Miss Butterworth, and not in the habit of being spoken to as if Iwere a simple countrywoman, " I objected. "But I will repeat what I sawlast night, as it is no secret, and the telling of it won't hurt me andmay help you. "

Accordingly I went over the whole story, and was much more loquaciousthan I had intended to be, his manner was so insinuating and hisinquiries so pertinent. But one topic we both failed to broach, and thatwas the peculiar manner of the scrub-woman. Perhaps it had not struckhim as peculiar and perhaps it should not have struck me so, but in thesilence which was preserved on the subject I felt I had acquired anadvantage over him, which might lead to consequences of no smallimportance. Would I have felt thus or congratulated myself quite so muchupon my fancied superiority, if I had known he was the man who managedthe Leavenworth case, and who in his early years had experienced thatvery wonderful adventure on the staircase of the Heart's Delight?Perhaps I would; for though I have had no adventures, I feel capable ofthem, and as for any peculiar acumen he may have shown in his long andeventful career, why that is a quality which others may share with him, as I hope to be able to prove before finishing these pages. 

III. 

AMELIA DISCOVERS HERSELF. 

There is a small room at the extremity of the Van Burnam mansion. Inthis I took refuge after my interview with Mr. Gryce. As I picked outthe chair which best suited me and settled myself for a comfortablecommunion with my own thoughts, I was astonished to find how much I wasenjoying myself, notwithstanding the thousand and one duties awaiting meon the other side of the party-wall. 

Even this very solitude was welcome, for it gave me an opportunity toconsider matters. I had not known up to this very hour that I had anyspecial gifts. My father, who was a shrewd man of the old New Englandtype, said more times than I am years old (which was not saying it asoften as some may think) that Araminta (the name I was christened by, and the name you will find in the Bible record, though I sign myselfAmelia, and insist upon being addressed as Amelia, being, as I hope, asensible woman and not the piece of antiquated sentimentality suggestedby the former cognomen)--that Araminta would live to make her mark;though in what capacity he never informed me, being, as I have observed, a shrewd man, and thus not likely to thoughtlessly commit himself. 

I now know he was right; my pretensions dating from the moment I foundthat this affair, at first glance so simple, and at the next socomplicated, had aroused in me a fever of investigation which noreasoning could allay. Though I had other and more personal matters onmy mind, my thoughts would rest nowhere but on the details of thistragedy; and having, as I thought, noticed some few facts in connectionwith it, from which conclusions might be drawn, I amused myself withjotting them down on the back of a disputed grocer's bill I happened tofind in my pocket. 

Valueless as explaining this tragedy, being founded upon insufficientevidence, they may be interesting as showing the workings of my mindeven at this early stage of the matter. They were drawn up under threeheads. 

First, was the death of this young woman an accident?

Second, was it a suicide?

Third, was it a murder?

Under the first head I wrote:

_My reasons for not thinking it an accident. _

1. If it had been an accident and she had pulled the cabinet over uponherself, she would have been found with her feet pointing towards thewall where the cabinet had stood. 

(But her feet were towards the door and her head under the cabinet. )

2. The decent, even precise, arrangement of the clothing about her feet, which precludes any theory involving accident. 

Under the second:

_Reason for not thinking it suicide. _

She could not have been found in the position observed without havinglain down on the floor while living and then pulled the shelves downupon herself. 

(A theory obviously too improbable to be considered. )

Under the third:

_Reason for not thinking it murder. _

She would need to have been held down on the floor while the cabinet wasbeing pulled over on her; something which the quiet aspect of the handsand feet made appear impossible. 

To this I added:

_Reasons for accepting the theory of murder. _

1. The fact that she did not go into the house alone; that a man enteredwith her, remained ten minutes, and then came out again and disappearedup the street with every appearance of haste and an anxious desire toleave the spot. 

2. The front door, which he had unlocked on entering, was not locked byhim on his departure, the catch doing the locking. Yet, though he couldhave re-entered so easily, he had shown no disposition to return. 

3. The arrangement of the skirts, which show the touch of a careful handafter death. 

Nothing clear, you see. I was doubtful of all; and yet my suspicionstended most toward murder. 

I had eaten my luncheon before interfering in this matter, which wasfortunate for me, as it was three o'clock before I was summoned to meetthe Coroner, of whose arrival I had been conscious some time before. 

He was in the front parlor where the dead girl lay, and as I took my waythither I felt the same sensations of faintness which had so nearlyovercome me on the previous occasion. But I mastered them, and wasquite myself before I crossed the threshold. 

There were several gentlemen present, but of them all I only noticedtwo, one of whom I took to be the Coroner, while the other was my lateinterlocutor, Mr. Gryce. From the animation observable in the latter, Igathered that the case was growing in interest from the detectivestandpoint. 

"Ah, and is this the witness?" asked the Coroner, as I stepped into theroom. 

"I am Miss Butterworth, " was my calm reply. "_Amelia_ Butterworth. Living next door and present at the discovery of this poor murderedbody. "

"Murdered, " he repeated. "Why do you say murdered?"

For reply I drew from my pocket the bill on which I had scribbled myconclusions in regard to this matter. 

"Read this, " said I. 

Evidently astonished, he took the paper from my hand, and, after somecurious glances in my direction, condescended to do as I requested. Theresult was an odd but grudging look of admiration directed towardsmyself and a quick passing over of the paper to the detective. 

The latter, who had exchanged his bit of broken china for a very muchused and tooth-marked lead-pencil, frowned with a whimsical air at thelatter before he put it in his pocket. Then he read my hurried scrawl. 

"Two Richmonds in the field!" commented the Coroner, with a sly chuckle. "I am afraid I shall have to yield to their allied forces. MissButterworth, the cabinet is about to be raised; do you feel as if youcould endure the sight?"

"I can stand anything where the cause of justice is involved, " Ireplied. 

"Very well, then, sit down, if you please. When the whole body isvisible I will call you. "

And stepping forward he gave orders to have the clock and broken chinaremoved from about the body. 

As the former was laid away on one end of the mantel some one observed:

"What a valuable witness that clock might have been had it been runningwhen the shelves fell!"

But the fact was so patent that it had not been in motion for monthsthat no one even answered; and Mr. Gryce did not so much as look towardsit. But then we had all seen that the hands stood at three minutes tofive. 

I had been asked to sit down, but I found this impossible. Side by sidewith the detective, I viewed the replacing of that heavy piece offurniture against the wall, and the slow disclosure of the upper part ofthe body which had so long lain hidden. 

That I did not give way is a proof that my father's prophecy was notwithout some reasonable foundation; for the sight was one to try thestoutest nerves, as well as to awaken the compassion of the hardestheart. 

The Coroner, meeting my eye, pointed at the poor creature inquiringly. 

"Is this the woman you saw enter here last night?"

I glanced down at her dress, noted the short summer cape tied to theneck with an elaborate bow of ribbon, and nodded my head. 

"I remember the cape, " said I. "But where is her hat? She wore one. Letme see if I can describe it. " Closing my eyes I endeavored to recallthe dim silhouette of her figure as she stood passing up the change tothe driver; and was so far successful that I was ready to announce atthe next moment that her hat presented the effect of a soft felt withone feather or one bow of ribbon standing upright from the side of thecrown. 

"Then the identity of this woman with the one you saw enter here lastnight is established, " remarked the detective, stooping down and drawingfrom under the poor girl's body a hat, sufficiently like the one I hadjust described, to satisfy everybody that it was the same. 

"As if there could be any doubt, " I began. 

But the Coroner, explaining that it was a mere formality, motioned me tostand aside in favor of the doctor, who seemed anxious to approachnearer the spot where the dead woman lay. This I was about to do when asudden thought struck me, and I reached out my hand for the hat. 

"Let me look at it for a moment, " said I. 

Mr. Gryce at once handed it over, and I took a good look at it insideand out. 

"It is pretty badly crushed, " I observed, "and does not present a veryfresh appearance, but for all that it has been worn but once. "

"How do you know?" questioned the Coroner. 

"Let the other Richmond inform you, " was my grimly uttered reply, as Igave it again into the detective's hand. 

There was a murmur about me, whether of amusement or displeasure, I madeno effort to decide. I was finding out something for myself, and I didnot care what they thought of me. 

"Neither has she worn this dress long, " I continued; "but that is nottrue of the shoes. They are not old, but they have been acquainted withthe pavement, and that is more than can be said of the hem of this gown. There are no gloves on her hands; a few minutes elapsed then before theassault; long enough for her to take them off. "

"Smart woman!" whispered a voice in my ear; a half-admiring, half-sarcastic voice that I had no difficulty in ascribing to Mr. Gryce. "But are you sure she wore any? Did you notice that her hand was glovedwhen she came into the house?"

"No, " I answered, frankly; "but so well-dressed a woman would not entera house like this, without gloves. "

"It was a warm night, " some one suggested. 

"I don't care. You will find her gloves as you have her hat; and youwill find them with the fingers turned inside out, just as she drew themfrom her hand. So much I will concede to the warmth of the weather. "

"Like these, for instance, " broke in a quiet voice. 

Startled, for a hand had appeared over my shoulder dangling a pair ofgloves before my eyes, I cried out, somewhat too triumphantly I own:

"Yes, yes, just like those! Did you pick them up here? Are they hers?"

"You say that this is the way hers should look. "

"And I repeat it. "

"Then allow me to pay you my compliments. These were picked up here. "

"But where?" I cried. "I thought I had looked this carpet well over. "

He smiled, not at me but at the gloves, and the thought crossed me thathe felt as if something more than the gloves was being turned insideout. I therefore pursed my mouth, and determined to stand more on myguard. 

"It is of no consequence, " I assured him; "all such matters will comeout at the inquest. "

Mr. Gryce nodded, and put the gloves back in his pocket. With them heseemed to pocket some of his geniality and patience. 

"All these facts have been gone over before you came in, " said he, whichstatement I beg to consider as open to doubt. 

The doctor, who had hardly moved a muscle during all this colloquy, nowrose from his kneeling position beside the girl's head. 

"I shall have to ask the presence of another physician, " said he. "Willyou send for one from your office, Coroner Dahl?"

At which I stepped back and the Coroner stepped forward, saying, however, as he passed me:

"The inquest will be held day after to-morrow in my office. Holdyourself in readiness to be present. I regard you as one of my chiefwitnesses. "

I assured him I would be on hand, and, obeying a gesture of his finger, retreated from the room; but I did not yet leave the house. A straight, slim man, with a very small head but a very bright eye, was leaning onthe newel-post in the front hall, and when he saw me, started up soalertly I perceived that he had business with me, and so waited for himto speak. 

"You are Miss Butterworth?" he inquired. 

"I am, sir. "

"And I am a reporter from the New York _World_. Will you allow me----"

Why did he stop? I had merely looked at him. But he did stop, and thatis saying considerable for a reporter from the New York _World_. 

"I certainly am willing to tell you what I have told every one else, " Iinterposed, considering it better not to make an enemy of so judicious ayoung man; and seeing him brighten up at this, I thereupon related all Iconsidered desirable for the general public to know. 

I was about passing on, when, reflecting that one good turn deservesanother, I paused and asked him if he thought they would leave the deadgirl in that house all night. 

He answered that he did not think they would. That a telegram had beensent some time before to young Mr. Van Burnam, and that they were onlyawaiting his arrival to remove her. 

"Do you mean Howard?" I asked. 

"Is he the elder one?"

"No. "

"It is the elder one they have summoned; the one who has been staying atLong Branch. "

"How can they expect him then so soon?"

"Because he is in the city. It seems the old gentleman is going toreturn on the _New York_, and as she is due here to-day, Franklin VanBurnam has come to New York to meet him. "

"Humph!" thought I, "lively times are in prospect, " and for the firsttime I remembered my dinner and the orders which had not been givenabout some curtains which were to have been hung that day, and all theother reasons I had for being at home. 

I must have shown my feelings, much as I pride myself upon myimpassibility upon all occasions, for he immediately held out his arm, with an offer to pilot me through the crowd to my own house; and I wasabout to accept it when the door-bell rang so sharply that weinvoluntarily stopped. 

"A fresh witness or a telegram for the Coroner, " whispered the reporterin my ear. 

I tried to look indifferent, and doubtless made out pretty well, for headded, after a sly look in my face:

"You do not care to stay any longer?"

I made no reply, but I think he was impressed by my dignity. Could henot see that it would be the height of ill-manners for me to rush out inthe face of any one coming in?

An officer opened the door, and when we saw who stood there, I am surethat the reporter, as well as myself, was grateful that we listened tothe dictates of politeness. It was young Mr. Van Burnam--Franklin; Imean the older and more respectable of the two sons. 

He was flushed and agitated, and looked as if he would like toannihilate the crowd pushing him about on his own stoop. He gave anangry glance backward as he stepped in, and then I saw that a carriagecovered with baggage stood on the other side of the street, and gatheredthat he had not returned to his father's house alone. 

"What has happened? What does all this mean?" were the words he hurledat us as the door closed behind him and he found himself face to facewith a half dozen strangers, among whom the reporter and myself stoodconspicuous. 

Mr. Gryce, coming suddenly from somewhere, was the one to answer him. 

"A painful occurrence, sir. A young girl has been found here, dead, crushed under one of your parlor cabinets. "

"A young girl!" he repeated. (Oh, how glad I was that I had been broughtup never to transgress the principles of politeness. ) "Here! in thisshut-up house? What young girl? You mean old woman, do you not? thehouse-cleaner or some one----"

"No, Mr. Van Burnam, we mean what we say, though possibly I should callher a young lady. She is dressed quite fashionably. "

"The ----" Really I cannot repeat in this public manner the word whichMr. Van Burnam used. I excused him at the time, but I will notperpetuate his forgetfulness in these pages. 

"She is still lying as we found her, " Mr. Gryce now proceeded in hisquiet, almost fatherly way. "Will you not take a look at her? Perhapsyou can tell us who she is?"

"I?" Mr. Van Burnam seemed quite shocked. "How should I know her! Somethief probably, killed while meddling with other people's property. "

"Perhaps, " quoth Mr. Gryce, laconically; at which I felt so angry, astending to mislead my handsome young neighbor, that I irresistibly didwhat I had fully made up my mind not to do, that is, stepped into viewand took a part in this conversation. 

"How can you say that, " I cried, "when her admittance here was due to ayoung man who let her in at midnight with a key, and then left her toeat out her heart in this great house all alone. "

I have made sensations in my life, but never quite so marked a one asthis. In an instant every eye was on me, with the exception of thedetective's. His was on the figure crowning the newel-post, andbitterly severe his gaze was too, though it immediately grew wary as theyoung man started towards me and impetuously demanded:

"Who talks like that? Why, it's Miss Butterworth. Madam, I fear I didnot fully understand what you said. "

Whereupon I repeated my words, this time very quietly but clearly, whileMr. Gryce continued to frown at the bronze figure he had taken into hisconfidence. When I had finished, Mr. Van Burnam's countenance hadchanged, so had his manner. He held himself as erect as before, but notwith as much bravado. He showed haste and impatience also, but not thesame kind of haste and not quite the same kind of impatience. Thecorners of Mr. Gryce's mouth betrayed that he noted this change, but hedid not turn away from the newel-post. 

"This is a remarkable circumstance which you have just told me, "observed Mr. Van Burnam, with the first bow I had ever received fromhim. "I don't know what to think of it. But I still hold that it's somethief. Killed, did you say? Really dead? Well, I'd have given fivehundred dollars not to have had it happen in this house. "

He had been moving towards the parlor door, and he now entered it. Instantly Mr. Gryce was by his side. 

"Are they going to close the door?" I whispered to the reporter, who wastaking this all in equally with myself. 

"I'm afraid so, " he muttered. 

And they did. Mr. Gryce had evidently had enough of my interference, andwas resolved to shut me out, but I heard one word and caught oneglimpse of Mr. Van Burnam's face before the heavy door fell to. The wordwas: "Oh, so bad as that! How can any one recognize her----" And theglimpse--well, the glimpse proved to me that he was much more profoundlyagitated than he wished to appear, and any extraordinary agitation onhis part was certainly in direct contradiction to the very sentence hewas at that moment uttering. 

IV. 

SILAS VAN BURNAM. 

"However much I may be needed at home, I I cannot reconcile it with mysense of duty to leave just yet, " I confided to the reporter, with whatI meant to be a proper show of reason and self-restraint; "Mr. VanBurnam may wish to ask me some questions. "

"Of course, of course, " acquiesced the other. "You are very right;always are very right, I should judge. "

As I did not know what he meant by this, I frowned, always a wise thingto do in an uncertainty; that is, --if one wishes to maintain an air ofindependence and aversion to flattery. 

"Will you not sit down?" he suggested. "There is a chair at the end ofthe hall. "

But I had no need to sit. The front door-bell again rang, andsimultaneously with its opening, the parlor door unclosed and Mr. Franklin Van Burnam appeared in the hall, just as Mr. Silas Van Burnam, his father, stepped into the vestibule. 

"Father!" he remonstrated, with a troubled air; "could you not wait?"

The elder gentleman, who had evidently just been driven up from thesteamer, wiped his forehead with an irascible air, that I will say Ihad noticed in him before and on much less provocation. 

"Wait, with a yelling crowd screaming murder in my ear, and Isabella onone side of me calling for salts, and Caroline on the opposite seatgetting that blue look about the mouth we have learned to dread so in ahot day like this? No, sir, when there is anything wrong going on I wantto know it, and evidently there is something wrong going on here. Whatis it? Some of Howard's----"

But the son, seizing me by the hand and drawing me forward, put a quickstop to the old gentleman's sentence. "Miss Butterworth, father! Ournext-door neighbor, you know. "

"Ah! hum! ha! Miss Butterworth. How do you do, ma'am? What the ---- isshe doing here?" he grumbled, not so low but that I heard both theprofanity and the none too complimentary allusion to myself. 

"If you will come into the parlor, I will tell you, " urged the son. "Butwhat have you done with Isabella and Caroline? Left them in the carriagewith that hooting mob about them?"

"I told the coachman to drive on. They are probably half-way around theblock by this time. "

"Then come in here. But don't allow yourself to be too much affected bywhat you will see. A sad accident has occurred here, and you must expectthe sight of blood. "

"Blood! Oh, I can stand that, if Howard----"

The rest was lost in the sound of the closing door. 

And now, you will say, I ought to have gone. And you are right, butwould you have gone yourself, especially as the hall was full of peoplewho did not belong there?

If you would, then condemn me for lingering just a few minutes longer. 

The voices in the parlor were loud, but they presently subsided; andwhen the owner of the house came out again, he had a subdued look whichwas as great a contrast to his angry aspect on entering, as was thechange I had observed in his son. He was so absorbed indeed that he didnot notice me, though I stood directly in his way. 

"Don't let Howard come, " he was saying in a thick, low voice to his son. "Keep Howard away till we are sure----"

I am confident that his son pressed his arm at this point, for hestopped short and looked about him in a blind and dazed way. 

"Oh!" he ejaculated, in a tone of great displeasure. "This is the womanwho saw----"

"Miss Butterworth, father, " the anxious voice of his son broke in. "Don't try to talk; such a sight is enough to unnerve any man. "

"Yes, yes, " blustered the old gentleman, evidently taking some hint fromthe other's tone or manner. "But where are the girls? They will be deadwith terror, if we don't relieve their minds. They got the idea it wastheir brother Howard who was hurt; and so did I, but it's only somewandering waif--some----"

It seemed as if he was not to be allowed to finish any of his sentences, for Franklin interrupted him at this point to ask him what he was goingto do with the girls. Certainly he could not bring them in here. 

"No, " answered the father, but in the dreamy, inconsequential way ofone whose thoughts were elsewhere. "I suppose I shall have to take themto some hotel. "

Ah, an idea! I flushed as I realized the opportunity which had come tome and had to wait a moment not to speak with too much eagerness. 

"Let me play the part of a neighbor, " I prayed, "and accommodate theyoung ladies for the night. My house is near and quiet. "

"But the trouble it will involve, " protested Mr. Franklin. 

"Is just what I need to allay my excitement, " I responded. "I shall beglad to offer them rooms for the night. If they are equally glad toaccept them----"

"They must be!" the old gentleman declared. "I can't go running roundwith them hunting up rooms to-night. Miss Butterworth is very good; gofind the girls, Franklin; let me have them off my mind, at least. "

The young man bowed. I bowed, and was slipping at last from my place bythe stairs when, for the third time, I felt my dress twitched. 

"Are you going to keep to that story?" a voice whispered in my ear. "About the young man and woman coming in the night, you know. "

"Keep to it!" I whispered back, recognizing the scrub-woman, who hadsidled up to me from some unknown quarter in the semi-darkness. "Why, it's true. Why shouldn't I keep to it. "

A chuckle, difficult to describe but full of meaning, shook the arm ofthe woman as she pressed close to my side. 

"Oh, you are a good one, " she said. "I didn't know they made 'em sogood!" And with another chuckle full of satisfaction and an odd sort ofadmiration I had certainly not earned, she slid away again into thedarkness. 

Certainly there was something in this woman's attitude towards thisaffair which merited attention. 

V. 

"THIS IS NO ONE I KNOW. "

I welcomed the Misses Van Burnam with just enough good-will to show thatI had not been influenced by any unworthy motives in asking them to myhouse. 

I gave them my guest-chamber, but I invited them to sit in my front roomas long as there was anything interesting going on in the street. I knewthey would like to look out, and as this chamber boasts of a bay withtwo windows, we could all be accommodated. From where I sat I could nowand then hear what they said, and I considered this but just, for if theyoung woman who had suffered so untimely an end was in any way connectedwith them, it was certainly best that the fact should not lie concealed;and one of them, that is Isabella, is such a chatterbox. 

Mr. Van Burnam and his son had returned next door, and so far as wecould observe from our vantage-point, preparations were being made forthe body's removal. As the crowd below, driven away by the policemen oneminute, only to collect again in another, swayed and grumbled in acontinual expectation that was as continually disappointed, I heardCaroline's voice rise in two or three short sentences. 

"They can't find Howard, or he would have been here before now. Did yousee her that time when we were coming out of Clark's? Fanny Preston did, and said she was pretty. "

"No, I didn't get a glimpse----" A shout from the street below. 

"I can't believe it, " were the next words I heard, "but Franklin isawfully afraid----"

"Hush! or the ogress----" I am sure I heard her say ogress; but whatfollowed was drowned in another loud murmur, and I caught nothingfurther till these sentences were uttered by the trembling andover-excited Caroline: "If it is she, pa will never be the same managain. To have her die in our house! O, there's Howard now!"

The interruption came quick and sharp, and it was followed by a doublecry and an anxious rustle, as the two girls sprang to their feet intheir anxiety to attract their brother's attention or possibly to conveyhim some warning. 

But I did not give much heed to them. My eyes were on the carriage inwhich Howard had arrived, and which, owing to the ambulance in front, had stopped on the other side of the way. I was anxious to see himdescend that I might judge if his figure recalled that of the man I hadseen cross the pavement the night before. But he did not descend. Justas his hand was on the carriage door, a half dozen men appeared on theadjoining stoop carrying a burden which they hastened to deposit in theambulance. He sank back when he saw it, and when his face became visibleagain, it was so white it seemed to be the only face in the street, though fifty people stood about staring at the house, at the ambulance, and at him. 

Franklin Van Burnam had evidently come to the door with the rest; forHoward no sooner showed his face the second time than we saw the formerdash down the steps and try to part the crowd in a vain attempt to reachhis brother's side. Mr. Gryce was more successful. He had no difficultyin winning his way across the street, and presently I perceived himstanding near the carriage exchanging a few words with its occupant. Amoment later he drew back, and addressing the driver, jumped into thecarriage with Howard, and was speedily driven off. The ambulancefollowed and some of the crowd, and as soon as a hack could be obtained, Mr. Van Burnam and his son took the same road, leaving us three women ina state of suspense, which as far as one of us was concerned, ended in anervous attack that was not unlike heart failure. I allude, of course, to Caroline, and it took Isabella and myself a good half hour to bringher back to a normal condition, and when this was done, Isabella thoughtit incumbent upon her to go off into hysterics, which, being but a weaksimulation of the other's state, I met with severity and cured with afrown. When both were in trim again I allowed myself one remark. 

"One would think, " said I, "that you knew the young woman who has fallenvictim to her folly next door. "

At which Isabella violently shook her head and Caroline observed:

"It is the excitement which has been too much for me. I am never strong, and this is such a dreadful home-welcoming. When will father andFranklin come back? It was very unkind of them to go off without oneword of encouragement. "

"They probably did not consider the fate of this unknown woman a matterof any importance to you. "

The Van Burnam girls were unlike in appearance and character, but theyshowed an equal embarrassment at this, casting down their eyes andbehaving so strangely that I was driven to wonder, without any show ofhysterics I am happy to say, what would be the upshot of this matter, and how far I would become involved in it before the truth came tolight. 

At dinner they displayed what I should call their best society manner. Seeing this, I assumed my society manner also. It is formed on adifferent pattern from theirs, but is fully as impressive, I judge. 

A most formal meal was the result. My best china was in use, but I hadadded nothing to my usual course of viands. Indeed, I had abstractedsomething. An _entrée_, upon which my cook prides herself, was omitted. Was I going to allow these proud young misses to think I had exertedmyself to please them? No; rather would I have them consider meniggardly and an enemy to good living; so the _entrée_ was, as theFrench say, suppressed. 

In the evening their father came in. He was looking very dejected, andhalf his bluster was gone. He held a telegram crushed in his hand, andhe talked very rapidly. But he confided none of his secrets to me, and Iwas obliged to say good-night to these young ladies without knowing muchmore about the matter engrossing us than when I left their house in theafternoon. 

But others were not as ignorant as myself. A dramatic and highlyexciting scene had taken place that evening at the undertaker's to whichthe unknown's body had been removed, and as I have more than once heardit minutely described, I will endeavor to transcribe it here with allthe impartiality of an outsider. 

When Mr. Gryce entered the carriage in which Howard sat, he noted first, that the young man was frightened; and secondly, that he made no effortto hide it. He had heard almost nothing from the detective. He knew thatthere had been a hue and cry for him ever since noon, and that he waswanted to identify a young woman who had been found dead in his father'shouse, but beyond these facts he had been told little, and yet he seemedto have no curiosity nor did he venture to express any surprise. Hemerely accepted the situation and was troubled by it, showing noinclination to talk till very near the end of his destination, when hesuddenly pulled himself together and ventured this question:

"How did she--the young woman as you call her--kill herself?"

The detective, who in his long career among criminals and suspectedpersons, had seen many men and encountered many conditions, roused atthis query with much of his old spirit. Turning from the man rather thantoward him, he allowed himself a slight shrug of the shoulders as hecalmly replied:

"She was found under a heavy piece of furniture; the cabinet with thevases on it, which you must remember stood at the left of themantel-piece. It had crushed her head and breast. Quite a remarkablemeans of death, don't you think? There has been but one occurrence likeit in my long experience. "

"I don't believe what you tell me, " was the young man's astonishingreply. "You are trying to frighten me or to make game of me. No ladywould make use of any such means of death as that. "

"I did not say she was a lady, " returned Mr. Gryce, scoring one in hismind against his unwary companion. 

A quiver passed down the young man's side where he came in contact withthe detective. 

"No, " he muttered; "but I gathered from what you said, she was no commonperson; or why, " he flashed out in sudden heat, "do you require me to gowith you to see her? Have I the name of associating with any persons ofthe sex who are not ladies?"

"Pardon me, " said Mr. Gryce, in grim delight at the prospect he sawslowly unfolding before him of one of those complicated affairs in whichminds like his unconsciously revel; "I meant no insinuations. We haverequested you, as we have requested your father and brother, toaccompany us to the undertaker's, because the identification of thecorpse is a most important point, and every formality likely to insureit must be observed. "

"And did not they--my father and brother, I mean--recognize her?"

"It would be difficult for any one to recognize her who was not wellacquainted with her. "

A horrified look crossed the features of Howard Van Burnam, which, if apart of his acting, showed him to have genius for his _rôle_. His headsank back on the cushions of the carriage, and for a moment he closedhis eyes. When he opened them again, the carriage had stopped, and Mr. Gryce, who had not noticed his emotion, of course, was looking out ofthe window with his hand on the handle of the door. 

"Are we there already?" asked the young man, with a shudder. "I wishyou had not considered it necessary for me to see her. I shall detectnothing familiar in her, I know. "

Mr. Gryce bowed, repeated that it was a mere formality, and followed theyoung gentleman into the building and afterwards into the room where thedead body lay. A couple of doctors and one or two officials stood about, in whose faces the young man sought for something like encouragementbefore casting his eyes in the direction indicated by the detective. Butthere was little in any of these faces to calm him, and turning shortlyaway, he walked manfully across the room and took his stand by thedetective. 

"I am positive, " he began, "that it is not my wife----" At this momentthe cloth that covered the body was removed, and he gave a great startof relief. "I said so, " he remarked, coldly. "This is no one I know. "

His sigh was echoed in double chorus from the doorway. Glancing that wayhe encountered the faces of his father and elder brother, and movedtowards them with a relieved air that made quite another man of him inappearance. 

"I have had my say, " he remarked. "Shall I wait outside till you havehad yours?"

"We have already said all that we had to, " Franklin returned. "Wedeclared that we did not recognize this person. "

"Of course, of course, " assented the other. "I don't see why they shouldhave expected us to know her. Some common suicide who thought the houseempty--But how did she get in?"

"Don't you know?" said Mr. Gryce. "Can it be that I forgot to tell you?Why, she was let in at night by a young man of medium height"--his eyeran up and down the graceful figure of the young _élégant_ before him ashe spoke--"who left her inside and then went away. A young man who had akey----"

"A _key_? Franklin, I----"

Was it a look from Franklin which made him stop? It is possible, for heturned on his heel as he reached this point, and tossing his head withquite a gay air, exclaimed: "But it is of no consequence! The girl is astranger, and we have satisfied, I believe, all the requirements of thelaw in saying so, and may now drop the matter. Are you going to theclub, Franklin?"

"Yes, but----" Here the elder brother drew nearer and whisperedsomething into the other's ear, who at that whisper turned again towardsthe place where the dead woman lay. Seeing this movement, his anxiousfather wiped the moisture from his forehead. Silas Van Burnam had beensilent up to this moment and seemed inclined to continue so, but hewatched his younger son with painful intentness. 

"Nonsense!" broke from Howard's lips as his brother ceased hiscommunication; but he took a step nearer the body, notwithstanding, andthen another and another till he was at its side again. 

The hands had not been injured, as we have said, and upon these his eyesnow fell. 

"They are like hers! O God! they are like hers!" he muttered, growinggloomy at once. "But where are the rings? There are no rings to be seenon these fingers, and she wore five, including her wedding-ring. "

"Is it of your wife you are speaking?" inquired Mr. Gryce, who had edgedup close to his side. 

The young man was caught unawares. 

He flushed deeply, but answered up boldly and with great appearance ofcandor:

"Yes; my wife left Haddam yesterday to come to New York, and I have notseen her since. Naturally I have felt some doubts lest this unhappyvictim should be she. But I do not recognize her clothing; I do notrecognize her form; only the hands look familiar. "

"And the hair?"

"Is of the same color as hers, but it's a very ordinary color. I do notdare to say from anything I see that this is my wife. "

"We will call you again after the doctor has finished his autopsy, " saidMr. Gryce. "Perhaps you will hear from Mrs. Van Burnam before then. "

But this intimation did not seem to bring comfort with it. Mr. VanBurnam walked away, white and sick, for which display of emotion therewas certainly some cause, and rejoining his father tried to carry offthe moment with the _aplomb_ of a man of the world. 

But that father's eye was fixed too steadily upon him; he faltered as hesat down, and finally spoke up, with feverish energy:

"If it is she, so help me, God, her death is a mystery to me! We havequarrelled more than once lately, and I have sometimes lost my patiencewith her, but she had no reason to wish for death, and I am ready toswear in defiance of those hands, which are certainly like hers, and thenameless something which Franklin calls a likeness, that it is astranger who lies there, and that her death in our house is acoincidence. "

"Well, well, we will wait, " was the detective's soothing reply. "Sitdown in the room opposite there, and give me your orders for supper, andI will see that a good meal is served you. "

The three gentlemen, seeing no way of refusing, followed the discreetofficial who preceded them, and the door of the doctor's room closedupon him and the inquiries he was about to make. 

VI. 

NEW FACTS. 

Mr. Van Burnam and his sons had gone through the formality of a supperand were conversing in the haphazard way natural to men filled with asubject they dare not discuss, when the door opened and Mr. Gryce camein. 

Advancing very calmly, he addressed himself to the father:

"I am sorry, " said he, "to be obliged to inform you that this affair ismuch more serious than we anticipated. This young woman was dead beforethe shelves laden with _bric-à-brac_ fell upon her. It is a case ofmurder; obviously so, or I should not presume to forestall the Coroner'sjury in their verdict. "

Murder! it is a word to shake the stoutest heart!

The older gentleman reeled as he half rose, and Franklin, his son, betrayed in his own way an almost equal amount of emotion. But Howard, shrugging his shoulders as if relieved of an immense weight, lookedabout with a cheerful air, and briskly cried:

"Then it is not the body of my wife you have there. No one would murderLouise. I shall go away and prove the truth of my words by hunting herup at once. "

The detective opened the door, beckoned in the doctor, who whisperedtwo or three words into Howard's ear. 

They failed to awake the emotion he evidently expected. Howard lookedsurprised, but answered without any change of voice:

"Yes, Louise had such a scar; and if it is true that this woman issimilarly marked, then it is a mere coincidence. Nothing will convinceme that my wife has been the victim of murder. "

"Had you not better take a look at the scar just mentioned?"

"No. I am so sure of what I say that I will not even consider thepossibility of my being mistaken. I have examined the clothing on thisbody you have shown me, and not one article of it came from my wife'swardrobe; nor would my wife go, as you have informed me this woman did, into a dark house at night with any other man than her husband. "

"And so you absolutely refuse to acknowledge her. "

"Most certainly. "

The detective paused, glanced at the troubled faces of the other twogentlemen, faces that had not perceptibly altered during thesedeclarations, and suggestively remarked:

"You have not asked by what means she was killed. "

"And I don't care, " shouted Howard. 

"It was by very peculiar means, also new in my experience. "

"It does not interest me, " the other retorted. 

Mr. Gryce turned to his father and brother. 

"Does it interest _you_?" he asked. 

The old gentleman, ordinarily so testy and so peremptory, silentlynodded his head, while Franklin cried:

"Speak up quick. You detectives hesitate so over the disagreeables. Wasshe throttled or stabbed with a knife?"

"I have said the means were peculiar. She was stabbed, but not--with aknife. "

I know Mr. Gryce well enough now to be sure that he did not glancetowards Howard while saying this, and yet at the same time that he didnot miss the quiver of a muscle on his part or the motion of an eyelash. But Howard's assumed _sang froid_ remained undisturbed and hiscountenance imperturbable. 

"The wound was so small, " the detective went on, "that it is a miracleit did not escape notice. It was made by the thrust of some very slenderinstrument through----"

"The heart?" put in Franklin. 

"Of course, of course, " assented the detective; "what other spot isvulnerable enough to cause death?"

"Is there any reason why we should not go?" demanded Howard, ignoringthe extreme interest manifested by the other two, with a determinationthat showed great doggedness of character. 

The detective ignored _him_. 

"A quick stroke, a sure stroke, a fatal stroke. The girl never breathedafter. "

"But what of those things under which she lay crushed?"

"Ah, in them lies the mystery! Her assailant must have been as subtle ashe was sure. "

And still Howard showed no interest. 

"I wish to telegraph to Haddam, " he declared, as no one answered thelast remark. Haddam was the place where he and his wife had beenspending the summer. 

"We have already telegraphed there, " observed Mr. Gryce. "Your wife hasnot yet returned. "

"There are other places, " defiantly insisted the other. "I can find herif you give me the opportunity. "

Mr. Gryce bowed. 

"I am to give orders, then, for this body to be removed to the Morgue. "

It was an unexpected suggestion, and for an instant Howard showed thathe had feelings with the best. But he quickly recovered himself, andavoiding the anxious glances of his father and brother, answered withoffensive lightness:

"I have nothing to do with that. You must do as you think proper. "

And Mr. Gryce felt that he had received a check, and did not knowwhether to admire the young man for his nerve or to execrate him for hisbrutality. That the woman whom he had thus carelessly dismissed to theignominy of the public gaze was his wife, the detective did not doubt. 

VII. 

MR. GRYCE DISCOVERS MISS AMELIA. 

To return to my own observations. I was almost as ignorant of what Iwanted to know at ten o'clock on that memorable night as I was at five, but I was determined not to remain so. When the two Misses Van Burnamhad retired to their room, I slipped away to the neighboring house andboldly rang the bell. I had observed Mr. Gryce enter it a few minutesbefore, and I was resolved to have some talk with him. 

The hall-lamp was lit, and we could discern each other's faces as heopened the door. Mine may have been a study, but I am sure his was. Hehad not expected to be confronted by an elderly lady at that hour ofnight. 

"Well!" he dryly ejaculated, "I am sensible of the honor, MissButterworth. " But he did not ask me in. 

"I expected no less, " said I. "I saw you come in, and I followed as soonafter as I could. I have something to say to you. "

He admitted me then and carefully closed the door. Feeling free to bemyself, I threw off the veil I had tied under my chin and confronted himwith what I call the true spirit. 

"Mr. Gryce, " I began, "let us make an exchange of civilities. Tell mewhat you have done with Howard Van Burnam, and I will tell you what Ihave observed in the course of this afternoon's investigation. "

This aged detective is used to women, I have no doubt, but he is notused to _me_. I saw it by the way he turned over and over the spectacleshe held in his hand. I made an effort to help him out. 

"I have noted something to-day which I think has escaped _you_. It is soslight a clue that most women would not speak of it. But beinginterested in the case, I will mention it, if in return you willacquaint me with what will appear in the papers to-morrow. "

He seemed to like it. He peered through his glasses and at them with thesmile of a discoverer. "I am your very humble servant, " he declared; andI felt as if my father's daughter had received her first recognition. 

But he did not overwhelm me with confidences. O, no, he is very sly, this old and well-seasoned detective; and while appearing to be verycommunicative, really parted with but little information. He saidenough, however, for me to gather that matters looked grim for Howard, and if this was so, it must have become apparent that the death theywere investigating was neither an accident nor a suicide. 

I hinted as much, and he, for his own ends no doubt, admitted at lastthat a wound had been found on the young woman which could not have beeninflicted by herself; at which I felt such increased interest in thisremarkable murder that I must have made some foolish display of it, forthe wary old gentleman chuckled and ogled his spectacles quite lovinglybefore shutting them up and putting them into his pocket. 

"And now what have you to tell me?" he inquired, sliding softly betweenme and the parlor door. 

"Nothing but this. Question that queer-acting house-cleaner closely. Shehas something to tell which it is your business to know. "

I think he was disappointed. He looked as if he regretted the spectacleshe had pocketed, and when he spoke there was an edge to his tone I hadnot noticed in it before. 

"Do you know what that something is?" he asked. 

"No, or I should tell you myself. "

"And what makes you think she is hiding anything from us?"

"Her manner. Did you not notice her manner?"

He shrugged his shoulders. 

"It conveyed much to me, " I insisted. "If I were a detective I wouldhave the secret out of that woman or die in the attempt. "

He laughed; this sly, old, almost decrepit man laughed outright. Then helooked severely at his old friend on the newel-post, and drawing himselfup with some show of dignity, made this remark:

"It is my very good fortune to have made your acquaintance, MissButterworth. You and I ought to be able to work out this case in a waythat will be satisfactory to all parties. "

He meant it for sarcasm, but I took it quite seriously, that is to allappearance. I am as sly as he, and though not quite as old--now _I_ amsarcastic--have some of his wits, if but little of his experience. 

"Then let us to work, " said I. "You have your theories about thismurder, and I have mine; let us see how they compare. "

If the image he had under his eye had not been made of bronze, I am sureit would have become petrified by the look he now gave it. What to meseemed but the natural proposition of an energetic woman with a specialgenius for his particular calling, evidently struck him as audacity ofthe grossest kind. But he confined his display of astonishment to thefigure he was eying, and returned me nothing but this most gentlemanlyretort:

"I am sure I am obliged to you, madam, and possibly I may be willing toconsider your very thoughtful proposition later, but now I am busy, verybusy, and if you will await my presence in your house for a halfhour----"

"Why not let me wait here, " I interposed. "The atmosphere of the placemay sharpen my faculties. I already feel that another sharp look intothat parlor would lead to the forming of some valuable theory. "

"You--" Well, he did not say what I was, or rather, what the image hewas apostrophizing, was. But he must have meant to utter a compliment ofno common order. 

The prim courtesy I made in acknowledgment of his good intentionsatisfied him that I had understood him fully; and changing his wholemanner to one more in accordance with business, he observed after amoment's reflection:

"You came to a conclusion this afternoon, Miss Butterworth, for which Ishould like some explanation. In investigating the hat which had beendrawn from under the murdered girl's remains, you made the remark thatit had been worn but once. I had already come to the same conclusion, but by other means, doubtless. Will you tell me what it was that gavepoint to your assertion?"

"There was but one prick of a hat-pin in it, " I observed. "If you havebeen in the habit of looking into young women's hats, you willappreciate the force of my remark. "

"The deuce!" was his certainly uncalled for exclamation. "Women's eyesfor women's matters! I am greatly indebted to you, ma'am. You havesolved a very important problem for us. A hat-pin! humph!" he mutteredto himself. "The devil in a man is not easily balked; even such aninnocent article as that can be made to serve, when all other means arelacking. "

It is perhaps a proof that Mr. Gryce is getting old, that he allowedthese words to escape him. But having once given vent to them, he madeno effort to retract them, but proceeded to take me into his confidenceso far as to explain:

"The woman who was killed in that room owed her death to the stab of athin, long pin. We had not thought of a hat-pin, but upon yourmentioning it, I am ready to accept it as the instrument of death. Therewas no pin to be seen in the hat when you looked at it?"

"None. I examined it most carefully. "

He shook his head and seemed to be meditating. As I had plenty of time Iwaited, expecting him to speak again. My patience seemed to impress him. Alternately raising and lowering his hands like one in the act ofweighing something, he soon addressed me again, this time in a tone ofbanter:

"This pin--if pin it was--was found broken in the wound. We have beensearching for the end that was left in the murderer's hand, and we havenot found it. It is not on the floors of the parlors nor in thishallway. What do you think the ingenious user of such an instrumentwould do with it?"

This was said, I am now sure, out of a spirit of sarcasm. He was amusinghimself with me, but I did not realize it then. I was too full of mysubject. 

"He would not have carried it away, " I reasoned shortly, "at least notfar. He did not throw it aside on reaching the street, for I watched hismovements so closely that I would have observed him had he done this. Itis in the house then, and presumably in the parlor, even if you do notfind it on the floor. "

"Would you like to look for it?" he impressively asked. I had no meansof knowing at that time that when he was impressive he was his leastcandid and trustworthy self. 

"Would I, " I repeated; and being spare in figure and much more active inmy movements that one would suppose from my age and dignifieddeportment, I ducked under his arms and was in Mr. Van Burnam's parlorbefore he had recovered from his surprise. 

That a man like him could look foolish I would not have you for a momentsuppose. But he did not look very well satisfied, and I had a chance tothrow more than one glance around me before he found his tongue again. 

"An unfair advantage, ma'am; an unfair advantage! I am old and I amrheumatic; you are young and sound as a nut. I acknowledge my folly inendeavoring to compete with you and must make the best of the situation. And now, madam, where is that pin?"

It was lightly said, but for all that I saw that my opportunity hadcome. If I could find this instrument of murder, what might I not expectfrom his gratitude. Nerving myself for the task thus set me, I peeredhither and thither, taking in every article in the room before I made astep forward. There had been some attempt to rectify its disorder. Thebroken pieces of china had been lifted and laid carefully away onnewspapers upon the shelves from which they had fallen. The cabinetstood upright in its place, and the clock which had tumbled face upward, had been placed upon the mantel shelf in the same position. The carpetwas therefore free, save for the stains which told such a woful story ofpast tragedy and crime. 

"You have moved the tables and searched behind the sofas, " I suggested. 

"Not an inch of the floor has escaped our attention, madam. "

My eyes fell on the register, which my skirts half covered. It wasclosed; I stooped and opened it. A square box of tin was visible below, at the bottom of which I perceived the round head of a broken hat-pin. 

Never in my life had I felt as I did at that minute. Rising up, Ipointed at the register and let some of my triumph become apparent; butnot all, for I was by no means sure at that moment, nor am I by anymeans sure now, that he had not made the discovery before I did and wassimply testing my pretensions. 

However that may be, he came forward quickly and after some littleeffort drew out the broken pin and examined it curiously. 

"I should say that this is what we want, " he declared, and from thatmoment on showed me a suitable deference. 

"I account for its being there in this way, " I argued. "The room wasdark; for whether he lighted it or not to commit his crime, hecertainly did not leave it lighted long. Coming out, his foot came incontact with the iron of the register and he was struck by a suddenthought. He had not dared to leave the head of the pin lying on thefloor, for he hoped that he had covered up his crime by pulling theheavy cabinet over upon his victim; nor did he wish to carry away such amemento of his cruel deed. So he dropped it down the register, where hedoubtless expected it would fall into the furnace pipes out of sight. But the tin box retained it. Is not that plausible, sir?"

"I could not have reasoned better myself, madam. We shall have you onthe force, yet. "

But at the familiarity shown by this suggestion, I bridled angrily. "Iam Miss Butterworth, " was my sharp retort, "and any interest I may takein this matter is due to my sense of justice. "

Seeing that he had offended me, the astute detective turned theconversation back to business. 

"By the way, " said he, "your woman's knowledge can help me out atanother point. If you are not afraid to remain in this room alone for amoment, I will bring an article in regard to which I should like youropinion. "

I assured him I was not in the least bit afraid, at which he made meanother of his anomalous bows and passed into the adjoining parlor. Hedid not stop there. Opening the sliding-doors communicating with thedining-room beyond, he disappeared in the latter room, shutting thedoors behind him. Being now alone for a moment on the scene of crime, Icrossed over to the mantel-shelf, and lifted the clock that lay there. 

Why I did this I scarcely know. I am naturally very orderly (some peoplecall me precise) and it probably fretted me to see so valuable anobject out of its natural position. However that was, I lifted it up andset it upright, when to my amazement it began to tick. Had the hands notstood as they did when my eyes first fell on the clock lying face up onthe floor at the dead girl's side, I should have thought the works hadbeen started since that time by Mr. Gryce or some other officiousperson. But they pointed now as then to a few minutes before five andthe only conclusion I could arrive at was, that the clock had been inrunning order when it fell, startling as this fact appeared in a housewhich had not been inhabited for months. 

But if it had been in running order and was only stopped by its fallupon the floor, why did the hands point at five instead of twelve whichwas the hour at which the accident was supposed to have happened? Herewas matter for thought, and that I might be undisturbed in my use of it, I hastened to lay the clock down again, even taking the precaution torestore the hands to the exact position they had occupied before I hadstarted up the works. If Mr. Gryce did not know their secret, why somuch the worse for Mr. Gryce. 

I was back in my old place by the register before the folding-doorsunclosed again. I was conscious of a slight flush on my cheek, so I tookfrom my pocket that perplexing grocer-bill and was laboriously goingdown its long line of figures, when Mr. Gryce reappeared. 

He had to my surprise a woman's hat in his hand. 

"Well!" thought I, "what does this mean!"

It was an elegant specimen of millinery, and was in the latest style. Ithad ribbons and flowers and bird wings upon it, and presented, as it wasturned about by Mr. Gryce's deft hand, an appearance which some mighthave called charming, but to me was simply grotesque and absurd. 

"Is that a last spring's hat?" he inquired. 

"I don't know, but I should say it had come fresh from the milliner's. "

"I found it lying with a pair of gloves tucked inside it on an otherwiseempty shelf in the dining-room closet. It struck me as looking too newfor a discarded hat of either of the Misses Van Burnam. What do youthink?"

"Let me take it, " said I. 

"O, it's been worn, " he smiled, "several times. And the hat-pin is init, too. "

"There is something else I wish to see. "

He handed it over. 

"I think it belongs to one of them, " I declared. "It was made by La Moleof Fifth Avenue, whose prices are simply--wicked. "

"But the young ladies have been gone--let me see--five months. Couldthis have been bought before then?"

"Possibly, for this is an imported hat. But why should it have been leftlying about in that careless way? It cost twenty dollars, if not thirty, and if for any reason its owner decided not to take it with her, whydidn't she pack it away properly? I have no patience with the moderngirl; she is made up of recklessness and extravagance. "

"I hear that the young ladies are staying with you, " was his suggestiveremark. 

"They are. "

"Then you can make some inquiries about this hat; also about the gloves, which are an ordinary street pair. "

"Of what color?"

"Grey; they are quite fresh, size six. "

"Very well; I will ask the young ladies about them. "

"This third room is used as a dining-room, and the closet where I foundthem is one in which glass is kept. The presence of this hat there is amystery, but I presume the Misses Van Burnam can solve it. At allevents, it is very improbable that it has anything to do with the crimewhich has been committed here. "

"Very, " I coincided. 

"So improbable, " he went on, "that on second thoughts I advise you notto disturb the young ladies with questions concerning it unless furtherreasons for doing so become apparent. "

"Very well, " I returned. But I was not deceived by his second thoughts. 

As he was holding open the parlor door before me in a very significantway, I tied my veil under my chin, and was about to leave when hestopped me. 

"I have another favor to ask, " said he, and this time with his mostbenignant smile. "Miss Butterworth, do you object to sitting up for afew nights till twelve o'clock?"

"Not at all, " I returned, "if there is any good reason for it. "

"At twelve o'clock to-night a gentleman will enter this house. If youwill note him from your window I will be obliged. "

"To see whether he is the same one I saw last night? Certainly I willtake a look, but----"

"To-morrow night, " he went on, imperturbably, "the test will berepeated, and I should like to have you take another look; withoutprejudice, madam; remember, without prejudice. "

"I have no prejudices----" I began. 

"The test may not be concluded in two nights, " he proceeded, without anynotice of my words. "So do not be in haste to spot your man, as thevulgar expression is. And now good-night--we shall meet againto-morrow. "

"Wait!" I called peremptorily, for he was on the point of closing thedoor. "I saw the man but faintly; it is an impression only that Ireceived. I would not wish a man to hang through any identification Icould make. "

"No man hangs on simple identification. We shall have to prove thecrime, madam, but identification is important; even such as you canmake. "

There was no more to be said; I uttered a calm good-night and hastenedaway. By a judicious use of my opportunities I had become much lessignorant on the all-important topic than when I entered the house. 

It was half past eleven when I returned home, a late hour for me toenter my respectable front door alone. But circumstances had warrantedmy escapade, and it was with quite an easy conscience and a cheerfulsense of accomplishment that I went up to my room and prepared to sitout the half hour before midnight. 

I am a comfortable sort of person when alone, and found no difficulty inpassing this time profitably. Being very orderly, as you must haveremarked, I have everything at hand for making myself a cup of tea atany time of day or night; so feeling some need of refreshment, I set outthe little table I reserve for such purposes and made the tea and satdown to sip it. 

While doing so, I turned over the subject occupying my mind, andendeavored to reconcile the story told by the clock with mypreconceived theory of this murder; but no reconcilement was possible. The woman had been killed at twelve, and the clock had fallen at five. How could the two be made to agree, and which, since agreement wasimpossible, should be made to give way, the theory or the testimony ofthe clock? Both seemed incontrovertible, and yet one must be false. Which?

I was inclined to think that the trouble lay with the clock; that I hadbeen deceived in my conclusions, and that it was not running at the timeof the crime. Mr. Gryce may have ordered it wound, and then have had itlaid on its back to prevent the hands from shifting past the point wherethey had stood at the time of the crime's discovery. It was anunexplainable act, but a possible one; while to suppose that it wasgoing when the shelves fell, stretched improbability to the utmost, there having been, so far as we could learn, no one in the house formonths sufficiently dexterous to set so valuable a timepiece; for whocould imagine the scrub-woman engaging in a task requiring such delicatemanipulation. 

No! some meddlesome official had amused himself by starting up theworks, and the clue I had thought so important would probably provevalueless. 

There was humiliation in the thought, and it was a relief to me to hearan approaching carriage just as the clock on my mantel struck twelve. Springing from my chair, I put out my light and flew to the window. 

The coach drew up and stopped next door. I saw a gentleman descend andstep briskly across the pavement to the neighboring stoop. The figure hepresented was not that of the man I had seen enter the night before. 

VIII. 

THE MISSES VAN BURNAM. 

Late as it was when I retired, I was up betimes in the morning--as soon, in fact, as the papers were distributed. The _Tribune_ lay on the stoop. Eagerly I seized it; eagerly I read it. From its headlines you may judgewhat it had to say about this murder:

 A STARTLING DISCOVERY IN THE VAN BURNAM MANSION IN GRAMERCY PARK. 

 A YOUNG GIRL FOUND THERE, LYING DEAD UNDER AN OVERTURNED CABINET. 

 EVIDENCES THAT SHE WAS MURDERED BEFORE IT WAS PULLED DOWN UPON HER. 

 THOUGHT BY SOME TO BE MRS. HOWARD VAN BURNAM. 

 A FEARFUL CRIME INVOLVED IN AN IMPENETRABLE MYSTERY. 

 WHAT MR. VAN BURNAM SAYS ABOUT IT: HE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE WOMAN AS HIS WIFE. 

So, so, it was his wife they were talking about. I had not expectedthat. Well! well! no wonder the girls looked startled and concerned. AndI paused to recall what I had heard about Howard Van Burnam's marriage. 

It had not been a fortunate one. His chosen bride was pretty enough, butshe had not been bred in the ways of fashionable society, and the othermembers of the family had never recognized her. The father, especially, had cut his son dead since his marriage, and had even gone so far as tothreaten to dissolve the partnership in which they were all involved. Worse than this, there had been rumors of a disagreement between Howardand his wife. They were not always on good terms, and opinions differedas to which was most in fault. So much for what I knew of these twomentioned parties. 

Reading the article at length, I learned that Mrs. Van Burnam wasmissing; that she had left Haddam for New York the day before herhusband, and had not since been heard from. Howard was confident, however, that the publicity given to her disappearance by the paperswould bring immediate news of her. 

The effect of the whole article was to raise grave doubts as to thecandor of Mr. Van Burnam's assertions, and I am told that in some of theless scrupulous papers these doubts were not only expressed, but actualsurmises ventured upon as to the identity between the person whom I hadseen enter the house with the young girl. As for my own name, it wasblazoned forth in anything but a gratifying manner. I was spoken of inone paper--a kind friend told me this--as the prying Miss Amelia. As ifmy prying had not given the police their only clue to the identificationof the criminal. 

The New York _World_ was the only paper that treated me with anyconsideration. That young man with the small head and beady eyes was notawed by me for nothing. He mentioned me as the clever Miss Butterworthwhose testimony is likely to be of so much value in this veryinteresting case. 

It was the _World_ I handed the Misses Van Burnam when they camedown-stairs to breakfast. It did justice to me and not too muchinjustice to him. They read it together, their two heads plunged deeplyinto the paper so that I could not watch their faces. But I could seethe sheet shake, and I noticed that their social veneer was not as yetlaid on so thickly that they could hide their real terror and heart-achewhen they finally confronted me again. 

"Did you read--have you seen this horrible account?" quavered Caroline, as she met my eye. 

"Yes, and I now understand why you felt such anxiety yesterday. Did youknow your sister-in-law, and do you think she could have been beguiledinto your father's house in that way?"

It was Isabella who answered. 

"We never have seen her and know little of her, but there is no tellingwhat such an uncultivated person as she might do. But that our goodbrother Howard ever went in there with her is a lie, isn't it, Caroline?--a base and malicious lie?"

"Of course it is, of course, of course. You don't think the man you sawwas Howard, do you, dear Miss Butterworth?"

_Dear?_ O dear!

"I am not acquainted with your brother, " I returned. "I have never seenhim but a few times in my life. You know he has not been a very frequentvisitor at your father's house lately. "

They looked at me wistfully, _so_ wistfully. 

"Say it was not Howard, " whispered Caroline, stealing up a little nearerto my side. 

"And we will never forget it, " murmured Isabella, in what I am obligedto say was not her society manner. 

"I hope to be able to say it, " was my short rejoinder, made difficult bythe prejudices I had formed. "When I see your brother, I may be able todecide at a glance that the person I saw entering your house was nothe. "

"Yes, oh, yes. Do you hear that, Isabella? Miss Butterworth will saveHoward yet. O you dear old soul. I could almost love you!"

This was not agreeable to me. I a dear old soul! A term to be applied toa butter-woman not to a Butterworth. I drew back and theirsentimentalities came to an end. I hope their brother Howard is not theguilty man the papers make him out to be, but if he is, the Misses VanBurnam's fine phrase, _We could almost love you_, will not deter me frombeing honest in the matter. 

Mr. Gryce called early, and I was glad to be able to tell him that thegentleman who visited him the night before did not recall the impressionmade upon me by the other. He received the communication quietly, andfrom his manner I judged that it was more or less expected. But who canbe a correct judge of a detective's manner, especially one so foxy andimperturbable as this one? I longed to ask who his visitor was, but Idid not dare, or rather--to be candid in little things that you maybelieve me in great--I was confident he would not tell me, so I wouldnot compromise my dignity by a useless question. 

He went after a five minutes' stay, and I was about to turn my attentionto household affairs, when Franklin came in. 

His sisters jumped like puppets to meet him. 

"O, " they cried, for once thinking and speaking alike, "have you foundher?"

His silence was so eloquent that he did not need to shake his head. 

"But you will before the day is out?" protested Caroline. 

"It is too early yet, " added Isabella. 

"I never thought I would be glad to see that woman under anycircumstances, " continued the former, "but I believe now that if I sawher coming up the street on Howard's arm, I should be happy enough torush out and--and----"

"Give her a hug, " finished the more impetuous Isabella. 

It was not what Caroline meant to say, but she accepted the emendation, with just the slightest air of deprecation. They were both evidentlymuch attached to Howard, and ready in his trouble to forget and forgiveeverything. I began to like them again. 

"Have you read the horrid papers?" and "How is papa this morning?" and"What shall we do to save Howard?" now flew in rapid questions fromtheir lips; and feeling that it was but natural they should have theirlittle say, I sat down in my most uncomfortable chair and waited forthese first ebullitions to exhaust themselves. 

Instantly Mr. Van Burnam took them by the arm, and led them away to adistant sofa. 

"Are you happy here?" he asked, in what he meant for a very confidentialtone. But I can hear as readily as a deaf person anything which is notmeant for my ears. 

"O she's kind enough, " whispered Caroline, "but so stingy. Do take uswhere we can get something to eat. "

"She puts all her money into china! Such plates!--_and so little onthem!_"

At these expressions, uttered with all the emphasis a whisper willallow, I just hugged myself in my quiet corner. The dear, giddy things!But they should see, they should see. 

"I fear"--it was Mr. Van Burnam who now spoke--"I shall have to take mysisters from under your kind care to-day. Their father needs them, andhas, I believe, already engaged rooms for them at the Plaza. "

"I am sorry, " I replied, "but surely they will not leave till they havehad another meal with me. Postpone your departure, young ladies, tillafter luncheon, and you will greatly oblige me. We may never meet soagreeably again. "

They fidgeted (which I had expected), and cast secret looks of almostcomic appeal at their brother, but he pretended not to see them, beingdisposed for some reason to grant my request. Taking advantage of themomentary hesitation that ensued, I made them all three my mostconciliatory bow, and said as I retreated behind the portière:

"I shall give my orders for luncheon now. Meanwhile, I hope the youngladies will feel perfectly free in my house. All that I have is at theircommand. " And was gone before they could protest. 

When I next saw them, they were upstairs in my front room. They wereseated together in the window and looked miserable enough to have alittle diversion. Going to my closet, I brought out a band-box. Itcontained my best bonnet. 

"Young ladies, what do you think of this?" I inquired, taking the bonnetout and carefully placing it on my head. 

I myself consider it a very becoming article of headgear, but theireyebrows went up in a scarcely complimentary fashion. 

"You don't like it?" I remarked. "Well, I think a great deal of younggirls' taste; I shall send it back to Madame More's to-morrow. "

"I don't think much of Madame More, " observed Isabella, "and afterParis----"

"Do you like La Mole better?" I inquired, bobbing my head to and frobefore the mirror, the better to conceal my interest in the venture Iwas making. 

"I don't like any of them but D'Aubigny, " returned Isabella. "Shecharges twice what La Mole does----"

Twice! What are these girls' purses made of, or rather their father's!

"But she has the _chic_ we are accustomed to see in French millinery. Ishall _never_ go anywhere else. "

"We were recommended to her in Paris, " put in Caroline, more languidly. Her interest was only half engaged by this frivolous topic. 

"But did you never have one of La Mole's hats?" I pursued, taking downa hand-mirror, ostensibly to get the effect of my bonnet in the back, but really to hide my interest in their unconscious faces. 

"Never!" retorted Isabella. "I would not patronize the thing. "

"Nor you?" I urged, carelessly, turning towards Caroline. 

"No; I have never been inside her shop. "

"Then whose is----" I began and stopped. A detective doing the work Iwas, would not give away the object of his questions so recklessly. 

"Then who is, " I corrected, "the best person after D'Aubigny? I nevercan pay _her_ prices. I should think it wicked. "

"O don't ask us, " protested Isabella. "We have never made a study of thebest bonnet-maker. At present we wear hats. "

And having thus thrown their youth in my face, they turned away to thewindow again, not realizing that the middle-aged lady they regarded withsuch disdain had just succeeded in making them dance to her music mostsuccessfully. 

The luncheon I ordered was elaborate, for I was determined that theMisses Van Burnam should see that I knew how to serve a fine meal, andthat my plates were not always better than my viands. 

I had invited in a couple of other guests so that I should not seem tohave put myself out for two young girls, and as they were quiet peoplelike myself, the meal passed most decorously. When it was finished, theMisses Caroline and Isabella had lost some of their consequential airs, and I really think the deference they have since showed me is due moreto the surprise they felt at the perfection of this dainty luncheon, than to any considerate appreciation of my character and abilities. 

They left at three o'clock, still without news of Mrs. Van Burnam; andbeing positive by this time that the shadows were thickening about thisfamily, I saw them depart with some regret and a positive feeling ofcommiseration. Had they been reared to a proper reverence for theirelders, how much more easy it would have been to see earnestness inCaroline and affectionate impulses in Isabella. 

The evening papers added but little to my knowledge. Great disclosureswere promised, but no hint given of their nature. The body at the Morguehad not been identified by any of the hundreds who had viewed it, andHoward still refused to acknowledge it as that of his wife. The morrowwas awaited with anxiety. 

So much for the public press!

At twelve o'clock at night, I was again seated in my window. The housenext door had been lighted since ten, and I was in momentary expectationof its nocturnal visitor. He came promptly at the hour set, alightedfrom the carriage with a bound, shut the carriage-door with a slam, andcrossed the pavement with cheerful celerity. His figure was not sopositively like, nor yet so positively unlike, that of the supposedmurderer that I could definitely say, "This is he, " or, "This is nothe, " and I went to bed puzzled, and not a little burdened by a sense ofthe responsibility imposed upon me in this matter. 

And so passed the day between the murder and the inquest. 

IX. 

DEVELOPMENTS. 

Mr. Gryce called about nine o'clock next morning. 

"Well, " said he, "what about the visitor who came to see me last night?"

"Like and unlike, " I answered. "Nothing could induce me to say he is theman we want, and yet I would not dare to swear he was not. "

"You are in doubt, then, concerning him?"

"I am. "

Mr. Gryce bowed, reminded me of the inquest, and left. Nothing was saidabout the hat. 

At ten o'clock I prepared to go to the place designated by him. I hadnever attended an inquest in my life, and felt a little flurried inconsequence, but by the time I had tied the strings of my bonnet (thedespised bonnet, which, by the way, I did not return to More's), I hadconquered this weakness, and acquired a demeanor more in keeping with myvery important position as chief witness in a serious policeinvestigation. 

I had sent for a carriage to take me, and I rode away from my house amidthe shouts of some half dozen boys collected on the curb-stone. But Idid not allow myself to feel dashed by this publicity. On the contrary, I held my head as erect as nature intended, and my back kept the linemy good health warrants. The path of duty has its thorny passages, butit is for strong minds like mine to ignore them. 

Promptly at ten o'clock I entered the room reserved for the inquest, andwas ushered to the seat appointed me. Though never a self-consciouswoman, I could not but be aware of the many eyes that followed me, andendeavored so to demean myself that there should be no question as to myrespectable standing in the community. This I considered due to thememory of my father, who was very much in my thoughts that day. 

The Coroner was already in his seat when I entered, and though I did notperceive the good face of Mr. Gryce anywhere in his vicinity, I had nodoubt he was within ear-shot. Of the other people I took small note, save of the honest scrub-woman, of whose red face and anxious eyes undera preposterous bonnet (which did _not come_ from La Mole's), I caughtvague glimpses as the crowd between us surged to and fro. 

None of the Van Burnams were visible, but this did not necessarily meanthat they were absent. Indeed, I was very sure, from certainindications, that more than one member of the family could be seen inthe small room connecting with the large one in which we witnesses satwith the jury. 

The policeman, Carroll, was the first man to talk. He told of mystopping him on his beat and of his entrance into Mr. Van Burnam's housewith the scrub-woman. He gave the details of his discovery of the deadwoman's body on the parlor floor, and insisted that no one--here helooked very hard at me--had been allowed to touch the body till reliefhad come to him from Headquarters. 

Mrs. Boppert, the scrub-woman, followed him; and if she was watched byno one else in that room, she was watched by me. Her manner before theCoroner was no more satisfactory, according to my notion, than it hadbeen in Mr. Van Burnam's parlor. She gave a very perceptible start whenthey spoke her name, and looked quite scared when the Bible was held outtowards her. But she took the oath notwithstanding, and with hertestimony the inquiry began in earnest. 

"What is your name?" asked the Coroner. 

As this was something she could not help knowing, she uttered thenecessary words glibly, though in a way that showed she resented hisimpertinence in asking her what he already knew. 

"Where do you live? And what do you do for a living?" rapidly followed. 

She replied that she was a scrub-woman and cleaned people's houses, andhaving said this, she assumed a very dogged air, which I thought strangeenough to raise a question in the minds of those who watched her. But noone else seemed to regard it as anything but the embarrassment ofignorance. 

"How long have you known the Van Burnam family?" the Coroner went on. 

"Two years, sir, come next Christmas. "

"Have you often done work for them?"

"I clean the house twice a year, fall and spring. "

"Why were you at this house two days ago?"

"To scrub the kitchen floors, sir, and put the pantries in order. "

"Had you received notice to do so?"

"Yes, sir, through Mr. Franklin Van Burnam. "

"And was that the first day of your work there?"

"No, sir; I had been there all the day before. "

"You don't speak loud enough, " objected the Coroner; "remember thatevery one in this room wants to hear you. "

She looked up, and with a frightened air surveyed the crowd about her. Publicity evidently made her most uncomfortable, and her voice sankrather than rose. 

"Where did you get the key of the house, and by what door did youenter?"

"I went in at the basement, sir, and I got the key at Mr. Van Burnam'sagent in Dey Street. I had to go for it; sometimes they send it to me;but not this time. "

"And now relate your meeting with the policeman on Wednesday morning, infront of Mr. Van Burnam's house. "

She tried to tell her story, but she made awkward work of it, and theyhad to ply her with questions to get at the smallest fact. But finallyshe managed to repeat what we already knew, how she went with thepoliceman into the house, and how they stumbled upon the dead woman inthe parlor. 

Further than this they did not question her, and I, Amelia Butterworth, had to sit in silence and see her go back to her seat, redder thanbefore, but with a strangely satisfied air that told me she had escapedmore easily than she had expected. And yet Mr. Gryce had been warnedthat she knew more than appeared, and by one in whom he seemed to haveplaced some confidence!

The doctor was called next. His testimony was most important, andcontained a surprise for me and more than one surprise for the others. After a short preliminary examination, he was requested to state howlong the woman had been dead when he was called in to examine her. 

"More than twelve and less than eighteen hours, " was his quiet reply. 

"Had the rigor mortis set in?"

"No; but it began very soon after. "

"Did you examine the wounds made by the falling shelves and the vasesthat tumbled with them?"

"I did. "

"Will you describe them?"

He did so. 

"And now"--there was a pause in the Coroner's question which roused usall to its importance, "which of these many serious wounds was in youropinion the cause of her death?"

The witness was accustomed to such scenes, and was perfectly at home inthem. Surveying the Coroner with a respectful air, he turned slowlytowards the jury and answered in a slow and impressive manner:

"I feel ready to declare, sirs, that none of them did. She was notkilled by the falling of the cabinet upon her. "

"Not killed by the falling shelves! Why not? Were they not sufficientlyheavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if shehad not been already dead when they fell upon her. As it was, theysimply bruised a body from which life had already departed. "

As this was putting it very plainly, many of the crowd who had not beenacquainted with these facts previously, showed their interest in a veryunmistakable manner; but the Coroner, ignoring these symptoms of growingexcitement, hastened to say:

"This is a very serious statement you are making, doctor. If she did notdie from the wounds inflicted by the objects which fell upon her, fromwhat cause did she die? Can you say that her death was a natural one, and that the falling of the shelves was merely an unhappy accidentfollowing it?"

"No, sir; her death was not natural. She was killed, but not by thefalling cabinet. "

"Killed, and not by the cabinet? How then? Was there any other woundupon her which you regard as mortal?"

"Yes, sir. Suspecting that she had perished from other means thanappeared, I made a most rigid examination of her body, when I discoveredunder the hair in the nape of the neck, a minute spot, which, uponprobing, I found to be the end of a small, thin point of steel. It hadbeen thrust by a careful hand into the most vulnerable part of the body, and death must have ensued at once. "

This was too much for certain excitable persons present, and a momentarydisturbance arose, which, however, was nothing to that in my own breast. 

So! so! it was her neck that had been pierced, and not her heart. Mr. Gryce had allowed us to think it was the latter, but it was not thisfact which stupefied me, but the skill and diabolical coolness of theman who had inflicted this death-thrust. 

After order had been restored, which I will say was very soon, theCoroner, with an added gravity of tone, went on with his questions:

"Did you recognize this bit of steel as belonging to any instrument inthe medical profession?"

"No; it was of too untempered steel to have been manufactured for anythrusting or cutting purposes. It was of the commonest kind, and hadbroken short off in the wound. It was the end only that I found. "

"Have you this end with you, --the point, I mean, which you foundimbedded at the base of the dead woman's brain?"

"I have, sir"; and he handed it over to the jury. As they passed italong, the Coroner remarked:

"Later we will show you the remaining portion of this instrument ofdeath, " which did not tend to allay the general excitement. Seeing this, the Coroner humored the growing interest by pushing on his inquiries. 

"Doctor, " he asked, "are you prepared to say how long a time elapsedbetween the infliction of this fatal wound and those which disfiguredher?"

"No, sir, not exactly; but some little time. "

Some little time, when the murderer was in the house only ten minutes!All looked their surprise, and, as if the Coroner had divined thisfeeling of general curiosity, he leaned forward and emphaticallyrepeated:

"More than ten minutes?"

The doctor, who had every appearance of realizing the importance of hisreply, did not hesitate. Evidently his mind was quite made up. 

"_Yes; more than ten minutes_. "

This was the shock _I_ received from his testimony. 

I remembered what the clock had revealed to me, but I did not move amuscle of my face. I was learning self-control under these repeatedsurprises. 

"This is an unexpected statement, " remarked the Coroner. "What reasonshave you to urge in explanation of it?"

"Very simple and very well known ones; at least, among the profession. There was too little blood seen, for the wounds to have been inflictedbefore death or within a few minutes after it. Had the woman been livingwhen they were made, or even had she been but a short time dead, thefloor would have been deluged with the blood gushing from so many andsuch serious injuries. But the effusion was slight, so slight that Inoticed it at once, and came to the conclusions mentioned before I foundthe mark of the stab that occasioned death. "

"I see, I see! And was that the reason you called in two neighboringphysicians to view the body before it was removed from the house?"

"Yes, sir; in so important a matter, I wished to have my judgmentconfirmed. "

"And these physicians were----"

"Dr. Campbell, of 110 East ---- Street, and Dr. Jacobs, of ----Lexington Avenue. "

"Are these gentlemen here?" inquired the Coroner of an officer who stoodnear. 

"They are, sir. "

"Very good; we will now proceed to ask one or two more questions of thiswitness. You told us that even had the woman been but a few minutes deadwhen she received these contusions, the floor would have been more orless deluged by her blood. What reason have you for this statement?"

"This; that in a few minutes, let us say ten, since that number has beenused, the body has not had time to cool, nor have the blood-vessels hadsufficient opportunity to stiffen so as to prevent the free effusion ofblood. "

"Is a body still warm at ten minutes after death?"

"It is. "

"So that your conclusions are logical deductions from well-known facts?"

"Certainly, sir. "

A pause of some duration followed. 

When the Coroner again proceeded, it was to remark:

"The case is complicated by these discoveries; but we must not allowourselves to be daunted by them. Let me ask you, if you found any marksupon this body which might aid in its identification?"

"One; a slight scar on the left ankle. "

"What kind of a scar? Describe it. "

"It was such as a burn might leave. In shape it was long and narrow, andit ran up the limb from the ankle-bone. "

"Was it on the right foot?"

"No; on the left. "

"Did you call the attention of any one to this mark during or after yourexamination?"

"Yes; I showed it to Mr. Gryce the detective, and to my two coadjutors;and I spoke of it to Mr. Howard Van Burnam, son of the gentleman inwhose house the body was found. "

It was the first time this young gentleman's name had been mentioned, and it made my blood run cold to see how many side-long looks andexpressive shrugs it caused in the motley assemblage. But I had no timefor sentiment; the inquiry was growing too interesting. 

"And why, " asked the Coroner, "did you mention it to this young man inpreference to others?"

"Because Mr. Gryce requested me to. Because the family as well as theyoung man himself had evinced some apprehension lest the deceased mightprove to be his missing wife, and this seemed a likely way to settle thequestion. "

"And did it? Did he acknowledge it to be a mark he remembered to haveseen on his wife?"

"He said she had such a scar, but he would not acknowledge the deceasedto be his wife. "

"Did he see the scar?"

"No; he would not look at it. "

"Did you invite him to?"

"I did; but he showed no curiosity. "

Doubtless thinking that silence would best emphasize this fact, whichcertainly was an astonishing one, the Coroner waited a minute. But therewas no silence. An indescribable murmur from a great many lips filled upthe gap. I felt a movement of pity for the proud family whose good namewas thus threatened in the person of this young gentleman. 

"Doctor, " continued the Coroner, as soon as the murmur had subsided, "did you notice the color of the woman's hair?"

"It was a light brown. "

"Did you sever a lock? Have you a sample of this hair here to show us?"

"I have, sir. At Mr. Gryce's suggestion I cut off two small locks. One Igave him and the other I brought here. "

"Let me see it. "

The doctor passed it up, and in sight of every one present the Coronertied a string around it and attached a ticket to it. 

"That is to prevent all mistake, " explained this very methodicalfunctionary, laying the lock aside on the table in front of him. Then heturned again to the witness. 

"Doctor, we are indebted to you for your valuable testimony, and as youare a busy man, we will now excuse you. Let Dr. Jacobs be called. "

As this gentleman, as well as the witness who followed him, merelycorroborated the statements of the other, and made it an accepted factthat the shelves had fallen upon the body of the girl some time afterthe first wound had been inflicted, I will not attempt to repeat theirtestimony. The question now agitating me was whether they would endeavorto fix the time at which the shelves fell by the evidence furnished bythe clock. 

X. 

IMPORTANT EVIDENCE. 

Evidently not; for the next words I heard were: "Miss AmeliaButterworth!"

I had not expected to be called so soon, and was somewhat flustered bythe suddenness of the summons, for I am only human. But I rose withsuitable composure, and passed to the place indicated by the Coroner, inmy usual straightforward manner, heightened only by a sense of theimportance of my position, both as a witness and a woman whom the oncefamous Mr. Gryce had taken more or less into his confidence. 

My appearance seemed to awaken an interest for which I was not prepared. I was just thinking how well my name had sounded uttered in the sonoroustones of the Coroner, and how grateful I ought to be for the courage Ihad displayed in substituting the genteel name of Amelia for the weakand sentimental one of Araminta, when I became conscious that the eyesdirected towards me were filled with an expression not easy tounderstand. I should not like to call it admiration and will not call itamusement, and yet it seemed to be made up of both. While I was puzzlingmyself over it, the first question came. 

As my examination before the Coroner only brought out the facts alreadyrelated, I will not burden you with a detailed account of it. Oneportion alone may be of interest. I was being questioned in regard tothe appearance of the couple I had seen entering the Van Burnam mansion, when the Coroner asked if the young woman's step was light, or if itbetrayed hesitation. 

I replied: "No hesitation; she moved quickly, almost gaily. "

"And he?"

"Was more moderate; but there is no signification in that; he may havebeen older. "

"No theories, Miss Butterworth; it is facts we are after. Now, do youknow that he was older?"

"No, sir. "

"Did you get any idea as to his age?"

"The impression he made was that of being a young man. "

"And his height?"

"Was medium, and his figure slight and elegant. He moved as a gentlemanmoves; of this I can speak with great positiveness. "

"Do you think you could identify him, Miss Butterworth, if you shouldsee him?"

I hesitated, as I perceived that the whole swaying mass eagerly awaitedmy reply. I even turned my head because I saw others doing so; but Iregretted this when I found that I, as well as others, was glancingtowards the door beyond which the Van Burnams were supposed to sit. Tocover up the false move I had made--for I had no wish as yet to centresuspicion upon anybody--I turned my face quickly back to the crowd anddeclared in as emphatic a tone as I could command:

"I have thought I could do so if I saw him under the same circumstancesas those in which my first impression was made. But lately I have begunto doubt even that. I should never dare trust to my memory in thisregard. "

The Coroner looked disappointed, and so did the people around me. 

"It is a pity, " remarked the Coroner, "that you did not see moreplainly. And, now, how did these persons gain an entrance into thehouse?"

I answered in the most succinct way possible. 

I told them how he had used a door-key in entering, of the length oftime the man stayed inside, and of his appearance on going away. I alsorelated how I came to call a policeman to investigate the matter nextday, and corroborated the statements of this official as to theappearance of the deceased at time of discovery. 

And there my examination stopped. I was not asked any questions tendingto bring out the cause of the suspicion I entertained against thescrub-woman, nor were the discoveries I had made in conjunction with Mr. Gryce inquired into. It was just as well, perhaps, but I would neverapprove of a piece of work done for me in this slipshod fashion. 

A recess now followed. Why it was thought necessary, I cannot imagine, unless the gentlemen wished to smoke. Had they felt as much interest inthis murder as I did, they would not have wanted bite or sup till thedreadful question was settled. There being a recess, I improved theopportunity by going into a restaurant near by where one can get verygood buns and coffee at a reasonable price. But I could have donewithout them. 

The next witness, to my astonishment, was Mr. Gryce. As he steppedforward, heads were craned and many women rose in their seats to get aglimpse of the noted detective. I showed no curiosity myself, for bythis time I knew his features well, but I did feel a great satisfactionin seeing him before the Coroner, for now, thought I, we shall hearsomething worth our attention. 

But his examination, though interesting, was not complete. The Coroner, remembering his promise to show us the other end of the steel pointwhich had been broken off in the dead girl's brain, limited himself tosuch inquiries as brought out the discovery of the broken hat-pin in Mr. Van Burnam's parlor register. No mention was made by the witness of anyassistance which he may have received in making this discovery; a factwhich caused me to smile: men are so jealous of any interference intheir affairs. 

The end found in the register and the end which the Coroner's physicianhad drawn from the poor woman's head were both handed to the jury, andit was interesting to note how each man made his little effort to fitthe two ends together, and the looks they interchanged as they foundthemselves successful. Without doubt, and in the eyes of all, theinstrument of death had been found. But what an instrument!

The felt hat which had been discovered under the body was now producedand the one hole made by a similar pin examined. Then Mr. Gryce wasasked if any other pin had been picked up from the floor of the room, and he replied, no; and the fact was established in the minds of allpresent that the young woman had been killed by a pin taken from her ownhat. 

"A subtle and cruel crime; the work of a calculating intellect, " was theCoroner's comment as he allowed the detective to sit down. Whichexpression of opinion I thought reprehensible, as tending to prejudicethe jury against the only person at present suspected. 

The inquiry now took a turn. The name of Miss Ferguson was called. Whowas Miss Ferguson? It was a new name to most of us, and her face whenshe rose only added to the general curiosity. It was the plainest faceimaginable, yet it was neither a bad nor unintelligent one. As I studiedit and noted the nervous contraction that disfigured her lip, I couldnot but be sensible of my blessings. I am not handsome myself, thoughthere have been persons who have called me so, but neither am I ugly, and in contrast to this woman--well, I will say nothing. I only knowthat, after seeing her, I felt profoundly grateful to a kind Providence. 

As for the poor woman herself, she knew she was no beauty, but she hadbecome so accustomed to seeing the eyes of other people turn away fromher face, that beyond the nervous twitching of which I have spoken, sheshowed no feeling. 

"What is your full name, and where do you live?" asked the Coroner. 

"My name is Susan Ferguson, and I live in Haddam, Connecticut, " was herreply, uttered in such soft and beautiful tones that every one wasastonished. It was like a stream of limpid water flowing from a mostunsightly-looking rock. Excuse the metaphor; I do not often indulge. 

"Do you keep boarders?"

"I do; a few, sir; such as my house will accommodate. "

"Whom have you had with you this summer?"

I knew what her answer would be before she uttered it; so did a hundredothers, but they showed their knowledge in different ways. I did notshow mine at all. 

"I have had with me, " said she, "a Mr. And Mrs. Van Burnam from NewYork. Mr. Howard Van Burnam is his full name, if you wish me to beexplicit. "

"Any one else?"

"A Mr. Hull, also from New York, and a young couple from Hartford. Myhouse accommodates no more. "

"How long have the first mentioned couple been with you?"

"Three months. They came in June. "

"Are they with you still?"

"Virtually, sir. They have not moved their trunks; but neither of themis in Haddam at present. Mrs. Van Burnam came to New York last Mondaymorning, and in the afternoon her husband also left, presumably for NewYork. I have seen nothing of either of them since. "

(It was on Tuesday night the murder occurred. )

"Did either of them take a trunk?"

"No, sir. "

"A hand-bag?"

"Yes; Mrs. Van Burnam carried a bag, but it was a very small one. "

"Large enough to hold a dress?"

"O no, sir. "

"And Mr. Van Burnam?"

"He carried an umbrella; I saw nothing else. "

"Why did they not leave together? Did you hear any one say?"

"Yes; I heard them say Mrs. Van Burnam came against her husband'swishes. He did not want her to leave Haddam, but she would, and he wasnone too pleased at it. Indeed they had words about it, and as both ourrooms overlook the same veranda, I could not help hearing some of theirtalk. "

"Will you tell us what you heard?"

"It does not seem right" (thus this honest woman spoke), "but if it'sthe law, I must not go against it. I heard him say these words: 'I havechanged my mind, Louise. The more I think of it, the more disinclined Iam to have you meddle in the matter. Besides, it will do no good. Youwill only add to the prejudice against you, and our life will becomemore unbearable than it is now. '"

"Of what were they speaking?"

"I do not know. "

"And what did she reply?"

"O, she uttered a torrent of words that had less sense in them thanfeeling. She wanted to go, she would go, _she_ had not changed _her_mind, and considered that her impulses were as well worth following ashis cool judgment. She was not happy, had never been happy, and meantthere should be a change, even if it were for the worse. But she did notbelieve it would be for the worse. Was she not pretty? Was she not verypretty when in distress and looking up thus? And I heard her fall on herknees, a movement which called out a grunt from her husband, but whetherthis was an expression of approval or disapproval I cannot say. Asilence followed, during which I caught the sound of his steady trampingup and down the room. Then she spoke again in a petulant way. 'It mayseem foolish to _you_' she cried, 'knowing me as you do, and being usedto seeing me in all my moods. But to him it will be a surprise, and Iwill so manage it that it will effect all we want, and more, too, perhaps. I--I have a genius for some things, Howard; and my better angeltells me I shall succeed. '"

"And what did he reply to that?"

"That the name of her better angel was Vanity; that his father would seethrough her blandishments; that he forbade her to prosecute her schemes;and much more to the same effect. To all of which she answered by avigorous stamp of her foot, and the declaration that she was going to dowhat she thought best in spite of all opposition; that it was a lover, and not a tyrant that she had married, and that if he did not know whatwas good for himself, she did, and that when he received an intimationfrom his father that the breach in the family was closed, then he wouldacknowledge that if she had no fortune and no connections, she had atleast a plentiful supply of wit. Upon which he remarked: 'A poorqualification when it verges upon folly!' which seemed to close theconversation, for I heard no more till the sound of her skirts rustlingpast my door assured me she had carried her point and was leaving thehouse. But this was not done without great discomfiture to her husband, if one may judge from the few brief but emphatic words that escaped himbefore he closed his own door and followed her down the hall. "

"Do you remember those words?"

"They were swear words, sir; I am sorry to say it, but he certainlycursed her and his own folly. Yet I always thought he loved her. "

"Did you see her after she passed your door?"

"Yes, sir, on the walk outside. "

"Was she then on the way to the train?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Carrying the bag of which you have spoken?"

"Yes, sir; another proof of the state of feeling between them, for hewas very considerate in his treatment of ladies, and I never saw him doanything ungallant before. "

"You say you watched her as she went down the walk?"

"Yes, sir; it is human nature, sir; I have no other excuse to offer. "

It was an apology I myself might have made. I conceived a liking forthis homely matter-of-fact woman. 

"Did you note her dress?"

"Yes, sir; that is human nature also, or, rather, woman's nature. "

"Particularly, madam; so that you can describe it to the jury beforeyou?"

"I think so. "

"Will you, then, be good enough to tell us what sort of a dress Mrs. VanBurnam wore when she left your house for the city?"

"It was a black and white plaid silk, very rich----"

Why, what did this mean? We had all expected a very differentdescription. 

"It was made fashionably, and the sleeves--well, it is impossible todescribe the sleeves. She wore no wrap, which seemed foolish to me, forwe have very sudden changes sometimes in September. "

"A plaid dress! And did you notice her hat?"

"O, I have seen the hat often. It was of every conceivable color. Itwould have been called bad taste at one time, but now-a-days----"

The pause was significant. More than one man in the room chuckled, butthe women kept a discreet silence. 

"Would you know that hat if you saw it?"

"I should think I would!"

The emphasis was that of a countrywoman, and amused some peoplenotwithstanding the melodious tone in which it was uttered. But it didnot amuse me; my thoughts had flown to the hat which Mr. Gryce had foundin the third room of Mr. Van Burnam's house, and which was of everycolor of the rainbow. 

The Coroner asked two other questions, one in regard to the gloves wornby Mrs. Van Burnam, and the other in regard to her shoes. To the first, Miss Ferguson replied that she did not notice her gloves, and to theother, that Mrs. Van Burnam was very fashionable, and as pointed shoeswere the fashion, in cities at least, she probably wore pointed shoes. 

The discovery that Mrs. Van Burnam had been differently dressed on thatday from the young woman found dead in the Van Burnam parlors, had actedas a shock upon most of the spectators. They were just beginning torecover from it when Miss Ferguson sat down. The Coroner was the onlyone who had not seemed at a loss. Why, we were soon destined to know. 

XI. 

THE ORDER CLERK. 

A lady well known in New York society was the next person summoned. Shewas a friend of the Van Burnam family, and had known Howard fromchildhood. She had not liked his marriage; indeed, she ratherparticipated in the family feeling against it, but when young Mrs. VanBurnam came to her house on the preceding Monday, and begged theprivilege of remaining with her for one night, she had not had the heartto refuse her. Mrs. Van Burnam had therefore slept in her house onMonday night. 

Questioned in regard to that lady's appearance and manner, she answeredthat her guest was unnaturally cheerful, laughing much and showing agreat vivacity; that she gave no reason for her good spirits, nor didshe mention her own affairs in any way, --rather took pains not to do so. 

"How long did she stay?"

"Till the next morning. "

"And how was she dressed?"

"Just as Miss Ferguson has described. "

"Did she bring her hand-bag to your house?"

"Yes, and left it there. We found it in her room after she was gone. "

"Indeed! And how do you account for that?"

"She was preoccupied. I saw it in her cheerfulness, which was forced andnot always well timed. "

"And where is that bag now?"

"Mr. Van Burnam has it. We kept it for a day and as she did not call forit, sent it down to the office on Wednesday morning. "

"Before you had heard of the murder?"

"O yes, before I had heard anything about the murder. "

"As she was your guest, you probably accompanied her to the door?"

"I did, sir. "

"Did you notice her hands? Can you say what was the color of hergloves?"

"I do not think she wore any gloves on leaving; it was very warm, andshe held them in her hand. I remembered this, for I noticed the sparkleof her rings as she turned to say good-bye. "

"Ah, you saw her rings!"

"Distinctly. "

"So that when she left you she was dressed in a black and white plaidsilk, had a large hat covered with flowers on her head, and wore rings?"

"Yes, sir. "

And with these words ringing in the ears of the jury, the witness satdown. 

What was coming? Something important, or the Coroner would not look sosatisfied, or the faces of the officials about him so expectant. Iwaited with great but subdued eagerness for the testimony of the nextwitness, who was a young man by the name of Callahan. 

I don't like young men in general. They are either over-suave andpolite, as if they condescended to remember that you are elderly andthat it is their duty to make you forget it, or else they are pert andshallow and disgust you with their egotism. But this young man lookedsensible and business-like, and I took to him at once, though whatconnection he could have with this affair I could not imagine. 

His first words, however, settled all questions as to his personality:He was the order clerk at Altman's. 

As he acknowledged this, I seemed to have some faint premonition of whatwas coming. Perhaps I had not been without some vague idea of the truthever since I had put my mind to work on this matter; perhaps my witsonly received their real spur then; but certainly I knew what he wasgoing to say as soon as he opened his lips, which gave me quite a goodopinion of myself, whether rightfully or not, I leave you to judge. 

His evidence was short, but very much to the point. On the seventeenthof September, as could be verified by the books, the firm had receivedan order for a woman's complete outfit, to be sent, C. O. D. , to Mrs. James Pope at the Hotel D----, on Broadway. Sizes and measures and someparticulars were stated, and as the order bore the words _In haste_underlined upon it, several clerks had assisted him in filling thisorder, which when filled had been sent by special messenger to the placedesignated. 

Had he this order with him?

He had. 

And could he identify the articles sent to fill it?

He could. 

At which the Coroner motioned to an officer and a pile of clothing wasbrought forward from some mysterious corner and laid before the witness. 

Immediately expectation rose to a high pitch, for every one recognized, or thought he did, the apparel which had been taken from the victim. 

The young man, who was of the alert, nervous type, took up the articlesone by one and examined them closely. 

As he did so, the whole assembled crowd surged forward andlightning-like glances from a hundred eyes followed his every movementand expression. 

"Are they the same?" inquired the Coroner. 

The witness did not hesitate. With one quick glance at the blue sergedress, black cape, and battered hat, he answered in a firm tone:

"They are. "

And a clue was given at last to the dreadful mystery absorbing us. 

The deep-drawn sigh which swept through the room testified to theuniversal satisfaction; then our attention became fixed again, for theCoroner, pointing to the undergarments accompanying the articles alreadymentioned, demanded if they had been included in the order. 

There was as little hesitation in the reply given to this question as tothe former. He recognized each piece as having come from hisestablishment. "You will note, " said he, "that they have never beenwashed, and that the pencil marks are still on them. "

"Very good, " observed the Coroner, "and you will note that one articlethere is torn down the back. Was it in that condition when sent?"

"It was not, sir. "

"All were in perfect order?"

"Most assuredly, sir. "

"Very good, again. The jury will take cognizance of this fact, which maybe useful to them in their future conclusions. And now, Mr. Callahan, doyou notice anything lacking here from the list of articles forwarded byyou?"

"No, sir. "

"Yet there is one very necessary adjunct to a woman's outfit which isnot to be found here. "

"Yes, sir, the shoes; but I am not surprised at that. We sent shoes, butthey were not satisfactory, and they were returned. "

"Ah, I see. Officer, show the witness the shoes that were taken from thedeceased. "

This was done, and when Mr. Callahan had examined them, the Coronerinquired if they came from his store. He replied no. 

Whereupon they were held up to the jury, and attention called to thefact that, while rather new than old, they gave signs of having beenworn more than once; which was not true of anything else taken from thevictim. 

This matter settled, the Coroner proceeded with his questions. 

"Who carried the articles ordered, to the address given?"

"A man in our employ, named Clapp. "

"Did he bring back the amount of the bill?"

"Yes, sir; less the five dollars charged for the shoes. "

"What was the amount, may I ask?"

"Here is our cash-book, sir. The amount received from Mrs. James Pope, Hotel D----, on the seventeenth of September, is, as you see, seventy-five dollars and fifty-eight cents. "

"Let the jury see the book; also the order. "

They were both handed to the jury, and if ever I wished myself in anyone's shoes, save my own very substantial ones, it was at that moment. Idid so want a peep at that order. 

It seemed to interest the jury also, for their heads drew together veryeagerly over it, and some whispers and a few knowing looks passedbetween them. Finally one of them spoke:

"It is written in a very odd hand. Do you call this a woman's writing ora man's?"

"I have no opinion to give on the subject, " rejoined the witness. "It isintelligible writing, and that is all that comes within my province. "

The twelve men shifted on their seats and surveyed the Coroner eagerly. Why did he not proceed? Evidently he was not quick enough to suit them. 

"Have you any further questions for this witness?" asked that gentlemanafter a short delay. 

Their nervousness increased, but no one ventured to follow the Coroner'ssuggestion. A poor lot, I call them, a very poor lot! I would have foundplenty of questions to put to him. 

I expected to see the man Clapp called next, but I was disappointed inthis. The name uttered was Henshaw, and the person who rose in answer toit was a tall, burly man with a shock of curly black hair. He was theclerk of the Hotel D----, and we all forgot Clapp in our eagerness tohear what this man had to say. 

His testimony amounted to this:

That a person by the name of Pope was registered on his books. That shecame to his house on the seventeenth of September, some time near noon. That she was not alone; that a person she called her husband accompaniedher, and that they had been given a room, at her request, on the secondfloor overlooking Broadway. 

"Did you see the husband? Was it his handwriting we see in yourregister?"

"No, sir. He came into the office, but he did not approach the desk. Itwas she who registered for them both, and who did all the business infact. I thought it queer, but took it for granted he was ill, for heheld his head very much down, and acted as if he felt disturbed oranxious. "

"Did you notice him closely? Would you be able to identify him onsight?"

"No, sir, I should not. He looked like a hundred other men I see everyday: medium in height and build, with brown hair and brown moustache. Not noticeable in any way, sir, except for his hang-dog air and evidentdesire not to be noticed. "

"But you saw him later?"

"No, sir. After he went to his room he stayed there, and no one saw him. I did not even see him when he left the house. His wife paid the billand he did not come into the office. "

"But you saw her well; you would know her again?"

"Perhaps, sir; but I doubt it. She wore a thick veil when she came in, and though I might remember her voice, I have no recollection of herfeatures for I did not see them. "

"You can give a description of her dress, though; surely you must havelooked long enough at a woman who wrote her own and her husband's namein your register, for you to remember her clothes. "

"Yes, for they were very simple. She had on what is called a gossamer, which covered her from neck to toe, and on her head a hat wrapped allabout with a blue veil. "

"So that she might have worn any dress under that gossamer?"

"Yes, sir. "

"And any hat under that veil?"

"Any one that was large enough, sir. "

"_Very_ good. Now, did you see her hands?"

"Not to remember them. "

"Did she have gloves on?"

"I cannot say. I did not stand and watch her, sir. "

"That is a pity. But you say you heard her voice. "

"Yes, sir. "

"Was it a lady's voice? Was her tone refined and her language good?"

"They were, sir. "

"When did they leave? How long did they remain in your house?"

"They left in the evening; after tea, I should say. "

"How? On foot or in a carriage?"

"In a carriage; one of the hacks that stand in front of the door. "

"Did they bring any baggage with them?"

"No, sir. "

"Did they take any away?"

"The lady carried a parcel. "

"What kind of a parcel?"

"A brown-paper parcel, like clothing done up. "

"And the gentleman?"

"I did not see him. "

"Was she dressed the same in going as in coming?"

"To all appearance, except her hat. That was smaller. "

"She had the gossamer on still, then?"

"Yes, sir. "

"And a veil?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Only that the hat it covered was smaller?"

"Yes, sir. "

"And now, how did you account to yourself for the parcel and the changeof hat?"

"I didn't account for them. I didn't think anything about them at thetime; but, since I have had the subject brought to my mind, I find iteasy enough. She had a package delivered to her while she was in ourhouse, or rather packages; they were quite numerous, I believe. "

"Can you recall the circumstances of their delivery?"

"Yes, sir; the man who brought the packages said that they had not beenpaid for, so I allowed him to carry them to Mrs. James Pope's room. Whenhe went away, he had but one small parcel with him; the rest he hadleft. "

"And this is all you can tell us about this singular couple? Had they nomeals in your house?"

"No, sir; the gentleman--or I suppose I should say the lady, sir, forthe order was given in her voice--sent for two dozen oysters and abottle of ale, which were furnished to them in their rooms; but theydidn't come to the dining-room. "

"Is the boy here who carried up those articles?"

"He is, sir. "

"And the chambermaid who attended to their rooms?"

"Yes, sir. "

"Then you may answer this question, and we will excuse you. How was thegentleman dressed when you saw him?"

"In a linen duster and a felt hat. "

"Let the jury remember that. And now let us hear from Richard Clapp. IsRichard Clapp in the room?"

"I am, sir, " answered a cheery voice; and a lively young man with ashrewd eye and a wide-awake manner popped up from behind a portly womanon a side seat and rapidly came forward. 

He was asked several questions before the leading one which we allexpected; but I will not record them here. The question which broughtthe reply most eagerly anticipated was this:

"Do you remember being sent to the Hotel D----with several packages fora Mrs. James Pope?"

"I do, sir. "

"Did you deliver them in person? Did you see the lady?"

A peculiar look crossed his face and we all leaned forward. But hisanswer brought a shock of disappointment with it. 

"No, I didn't, sir. She wouldn't let me in. She bade me lay the thingsdown by the door and wait in the rear hall till she called me. "

"And you did this?"

"Yes, sir. "

"But you kept your eye on the door, of course?"

"Naturally, sir. "

"And saw----"

"A hand steal out and take in the things. "

"A woman's hand?"

"No; a man's. I saw the white cuff. "

"And how long was it before they called you?"

"Fifteen minutes, I should say. I heard a voice cry 'Here!' and seeingtheir door open, I went toward it. But by the time I reached it, it wasshut again, and I only heard the lady say that all the articles but theshoes were satisfactory, and would I thrust the bill in under the door. I did so, and they were some minutes counting out the change, butpresently the door opened slightly, and I saw a man's hand holding outthe money, which was correct to the cent. 'You need not receipt thebill, ' cried the lady from somewhere in the room. 'Give him the shoesand let him go. ' So I received the shoes in the same mysterious way Ihad the money, and seeing no reason for waiting longer, pocketed thebills and returned to the store. "

"Has the jury any further questions to ask the witness?"

Of course not. They were ninnies, all of them, and----But, contrary tomy expectation, one of them did perk up courage, and, wriggling verymuch on his seat, ventured to ask if the cuff he had seen on the man'shand when it was thrust through the doorway had a button in it. 

The answer was disappointing. The witness had not noticed any. 

The juror, somewhat abashed, sank into silence, at which another of theprecious twelve, inspired no doubt by the other's example, blurted out:

"Then what was the color of the coat sleeve? You surely can rememberthat. "

But another disappointment awaited us. 

"He did not wear any coat. It was a shirt sleeve I saw. "

A shirt sleeve! There was no clue in that. A visible look of dejectionspread through the room, which was not dissipated till another witnessstood up. 

This time it was the bell-boy of the hotel who had been on duty thatday. His testimony was brief, and added but little to the generalknowledge. He had been summoned more than once by these mysteriousparties, but only to receive his orders through a closed door. He hadnot entered the room at all. 

He was followed by the chambermaid, who testified that she was in theroom once while they were there; that she saw them both then, but didnot catch a glimpse of their faces; Mr. Pope was standing in the windowalmost entirely shielded by the curtains, and Mrs. Pope was busy hangingup something in the wardrobe. The gentleman had on his duster and thelady her gossamer; it was but a few minutes after their arrival. 

Questioned in regard to the state of the room after they left it, shesaid that there was a lot of brown paper lying about, marked B. Altman, but nothing else that did not belong there. 

"Not a tag, nor a hat-pin, nor a bit of memorandum, lying on bureau ortable?"

"Nothing, sir, so far as I mind. I wasn't on the look-out for anything, sir. They were a queer couple, but we have lots of queer couples at ourhouse, and the most I notices, sir, is those what remember thechambermaid and those what don't. This couple was of the kind whatdon't. "

"Did you sweep the room after their departure?"

"I always does. They went late, so I swept the room the next morning. "

"And threw the sweepings away, of course?"

"Of course; would you have me keep them for treasures?"

"It might have been well if you had, " muttered the Coroner. "Thecombings from the lady's hair might have been very useful inestablishing her identity. "

The porter who has charge of the lady's entrance was the last witnessfrom this house. He had been on duty on the evening in question and hadnoticed this couple leaving. They both carried packages, and hadattracted his attention first, by the long, old-fashioned duster whichthe gentleman wore, and secondly, by the pains they both took not to beobserved by any one. The woman was veiled, as had already been said, andthe man held his package in such a way as to shield his face entirelyfrom observation. 

"So that you would not know him if you saw him again?" asked theCoroner. 

"Exactly, sir, " was the uncomprising answer. 

As he sat down, the Coroner observed: "You will note from thistestimony, gentlemen, that this couple, signing themselves Mr. And Mrs. James Pope of Philadelphia, left this house dressed each in a longgarment eminently fitted for purposes of concealment, --he in a linenduster, and she in a gossamer. Let us now follow this couple a littlefarther and see what became of these disguising articles of apparel. IsSeth Brown here?"

A man, who was so evidently a hackman that it seemed superfluous to askhim what his occupation was, shuffled forward at this. 

It was in his hack that this couple had left the D----. He rememberedthem very well as he had good reason to. First, because the man paid himbefore entering the carriage, saying that he was to let them out at thenorthwest corner of Madison Square, and secondly----But here the Coronerinterrupted him to ask if he had seen the gentleman's face when he paidhim. The answer was, as might have been expected, No. It was dark, andhe had not turned his head. 

"Didn't you think it queer to be paid before you reached yourdestination?"

"Yes, but the rest was queerer. After I had taken the money--I neverrefuses money, sir--and was expecting him to get into the hack, he stepsup to me again and says in a lower tone than before: 'My wife is verynervous. Drive slow, if you please, and when you reach the place I havenamed, watch your horses carefully, for if they should move while she isgetting out, the shock would throw her into a spasm. ' As she had lookedvery pert and lively, I thought this mighty queer, and I tried to get apeep at his face, but he was too smart for me, and was in the carriagebefore I could clap my eye on him. "

"But you were more fortunate when they got out? You surely saw one orboth of them then?"

"No, sir, I didn't. I had to watch the horses' heads, you know. Ishouldn't like to be the cause of a young lady having a spasm. "

"Do you know in what direction they went?"

"East, I should say. I heard them laughing long after I had whipped upmy horses. A queer couple, sir, that puzzled me some, though I shouldnot have thought of them twice if I had not found next day----"

"Well?"

"The gentleman's linen duster and the neat brown gossamer which the ladyhad worn, lying folded under the two back cushions of my hack; a presentfor which I was very much obliged to them, but which I was not longallowed to enjoy, for yesterday the police----"

"Well, well, no matter about that. Here is a duster and here is a browngossamer. Are these the articles you found under your cushions?"

"If you will examine the neck of the lady's gossamer, you can soon tell, sir. There was a small hole in the one I found, as if something had beensnipped out of it; the owner's name, most likely. "

"Or the name of the place where it was bought, " suggested the Coroner, holding the garment up to view so as to reveal a square hole under thecollar. 

"That's it!" cried the hackman. "That's the very one. Shame, I say, tospoil a new garment that way. "

"Why do you call it new?" asked the Coroner. 

"Because it hasn't a mud spot or even a mark of dust upon it. We lookedit all over, my wife and I, and decided it had not been long off theshelf. A pretty good haul for a poor man like me, and if the police----"

But here he was cut short again by an important question:

"There is a clock but a short distance from the place where youstopped. Did you notice what time it was when you drove away?"

"Yes, sir. I don't know why I remember it, but I do. As I turned to goback to the hotel, I looked up at this clock. It was half-past eleven. "

XII. 

THE KEYS. 

We were all by this time greatly interested in the proceedings; and whenanother hackman was called we recognized at once that an effort wasabout to be made to connect this couple with the one who had alighted atMr. Van Burnam's door. 

The witness, who was a melancholy chap, kept his stand on the east sideof the Square. At about twenty minutes to twelve, he was awakened from anap he had been taking on the top of his coach, by a sharp rap on hiswhip arm, and looking down, he saw a lady and gentleman standing at thedoor of his vehicle. 

"We want to go to Gramercy Park, " said the lady. "Drive us there atonce. "

"I nodded, for what is the use of wasting words when it can be avoided;and they stepped at once into the coach. "

"Can you describe them--tell us how they looked?"

"I never notice people; besides, it was dark; but he had a swell air, and she was pert and merry, for she laughed as she closed the door. "

"Can't you remember how they were dressed?"

"No, sir; she had on something that flapped about her shoulders, and hehad a dark hat on his head, but that was all I saw. "

"Didn't you see his face?"

"Not a bit of it; he kept it turned away. He didn't want nobody lookingat _him_. She did all the business. "

"Then you saw _her_ face?"

"Yes, for a minute. But I wouldn't know it again. She was young andpurty, and her hand which dropped the money into mine was small, but Icouldn't say no more, not if you was to give me the town. "

"Did you know that the house you stopped at was Mr. Van Burnam's, andthat it was supposed to be empty?"

"No, sir, I'm not one of the swell ones. My acquaintances live inanother part of the town. "

"But you noticed that the house was dark?"

"I may have. I don't know. "

"And that is all you have to tell us about them?"

"No, sir; the next morning, which was yesterday, sir, as I was a-dustingout the coach I found under the cushions a large blue veil, folded andlying very flat. But it had been slit with a knife and could not beworn. "

This was strange too, and while more than one person about me venturedan opinion, I muttered to myself, "James Pope, his mark!" astonished ata coincidence which so completely connected the occupants of the twocoaches. 

But the Coroner was able to produce a witness whose evidence carried thematter on still farther. A policeman in full uniform testified next, andafter explaining that his beat led him from Madison Avenue to Third onTwenty-seventh Street, went on to say that as he was coming up thisstreet on Tuesday evening some few minutes before midnight, heencountered, somewhere between Lexington Avenue and Third, a man andwoman walking rapidly towards the latter avenue, each carrying a parcelof some dimensions; that he noted them because they seemed so merry, butwould have thought nothing of it, if he had not presently perceived themcoming back without the parcels. They were chatting more gaily thanever. The lady wore a short cape, and the gentleman a dark coat, but hecould give no other description of their appearance, for they went byrapidly, and he was more interested in wondering what they had done withsuch large parcels in such a short time at that hour of night, than innoting how they looked or whither they were going. He did observe, however, that they proceeded towards Madison Square, and remembers nowthat he heard a carriage suddenly drive away from that direction. 

The Coroner asked him but one question:

"Had the lady no parcel when you saw her last?"

"I saw none. "

"Could she not have carried one under her cape?"

"Perhaps, if it was small enough. "

"As small as a lady's hat, say?"

"Well, it would have to be smaller than some of them are now, sir. "

And so terminated this portion of the inquiry. 

A short delay followed the withdrawal of this witness. The Coroner, whowas a somewhat portly man, and who had felt the heat of the day verymuch, leaned back and looked anxious, while the jury, always restless, moved in their seats like a set of school-boys, and seemed to long forthe hour of adjournment, notwithstanding the interest which everybodybut themselves seemed to take in this exciting investigation. 

Finally an officer, who had been sent into the adjoining room, came backwith a gentleman, who was no sooner recognized as Mr. Franklin VanBurnam than a great change took place in the countenances of allpresent. The Coroner sat forward and dropped the large palm-leaf fan hehad been industriously using for the last few minutes, the jury settleddown, and the whispering of the many curious ones about me grew lessaudible and finally ceased altogether. A gentleman of the family wasabout to be interrogated, and such a gentleman!

I have purposely refrained from describing this best known and bestreputed member of the Van Burnam family, foreseeing this hour when hewould attract the attention of a hundred eyes and when his appearancewould require our special notice. I will therefore endeavor to picturehim to you as he looked on this memorable morning, with just the simplewarning that you must not expect me to see with the eyes of a young girlor even with those of a fashionable society woman. I know a man when Isee him, and I had always regarded Mr. Franklin as an exceptionallyfine-looking and prepossessing gentleman, but I shall not go intoraptures, as I heard a girl behind me doing, nor do I feel likeacknowledging him as a paragon of all the virtues--as Mrs. Cunninghamdid that evening in my parlor. 

He is a medium-sized man, with a shape not unlike his brother's. Hishair is dark and so are his eyes, but his moustache is brown and hiscomplexion quite fair. He carries himself with distinction, and thoughhis countenance in repose has a precise air that is not perfectlyagreeable, it has, when he speaks or smiles, an expression at once keenand amiable. 

On this occasion he failed to smile, and though his elegance wassufficiently apparent, his worth was not so much so. Yet the impressiongenerally made was favorable, as one could perceive from the air ofrespect with which his testimony was received. 

He was asked many questions. Some were germane to the matter in hand andsome seemed to strike wide of all mark. He answered them allcourteously, showing a manly composure in doing so, that served to calmthe fever-heat into which many had been thrown by the stories of the twohackmen. But as his evidence up to this point related merely to minorconcerns, this was neither strange nor conclusive. The real test beganwhen the Coroner, with a certain bluster, which may have been meant toattract the attention of the jury, now visibly waning, or, as was morelikely, may have been the unconscious expression of a secret if hithertowell concealed embarrassment, asked the witness whether the keys to hisfather's front door had any duplicates. 

The answer came in a decidedly changed tone. "No. The key used by ouragent opens the basement door only. "

The Coroner showed his satisfaction. "No duplicates, " he repeated; "thenyou will have no difficulty in telling us where the keys to yourfather's front door were kept during the family's absence. "

Did the young man hesitate, or was it but imagination on my part--"Theywere usually in my possession. "

"Usually!" There was irony in the tone; evidently the Coroner wasgetting the better of his embarrassment, if he had felt any. "And wherewere they on the seventeenth of this month? Were they in your possessionthen?"

"No, sir. " The young man tried to look calm and at his ease, but thedifficulty he felt in doing so was apparent. "On the morning of thatday, " he continued, "I passed them over to my brother. "

Ah! here was something tangible as well as important. I began to fearthe police understood themselves only too well; and so did the wholecrowd of persons there assembled. A groan in one direction was answeredby a sigh in another, and it needed all the Coroner's authority toprevent an outbreak. 

Meanwhile Mr. Van Burnam stood erect and unwavering, though his eyeshowed the suffering which these demonstrations awakened. He did notturn in the direction of the room where we felt sure his family wasgathered, but it was evident that his thoughts did, and that mostpainfully. The Coroner, on the contrary, showed little or no feeling; hehad brought the investigation up to this critical point and felt fullycompetent to carry it farther. 

"May I ask, " said he, "where the transference of these keys took place?"

"I gave them to him in our office last Tuesday morning. He said he mightwant to go into the house before his father came home. "

"Did he say why he wanted to go into the house?"

"No. "

"Was he in the habit of going into it alone and during the family'sabsence?"

"No. "

"Had he any clothes there? or any articles belonging to himself or hiswife which he would be likely to wish to carry away?"

"No. "

"Yet he wanted to go in?"

"He said so. "

"And you gave him the keys without question?"

"Certainly, sir. "

"Was that not opposed to your usual principles--to your way of doingthings, I should say?"

"Perhaps; but principles, by which I suppose you mean my usual businessmethods, do not govern me in my relations with my brother. He asked me afavor, and I granted it. It would have to have been a much larger onefor me to have asked an explanation from him before doing so. "

"Yet you are not on good terms with your brother; at least you have nothad the name of being, for some time?"

"We have had no quarrel. "

"Did he return the keys you lent him?"

"No. "

"Have you seen them since?"

"No. "

"Would you know them if they were shown you?"

"I would know them if they unlocked our front door. "

"But you would not know them on sight?"

"I don't think so. "

"Mr. Van Burnam, it is disagreeable for me to go into family matters, but if you have had no quarrel with your brother, how comes it that youand he have had so little intercourse of late?"

"He has been in Connecticut and I at Long Branch. Is not that a goodanswer, sir?"

"Good, but not good enough. You have a common office in New York, haveyou not?"

"Certainly, the firm's office. "

"And you sometimes meet there, even while residing in differentlocalities?"

"Yes, our business calls us in at times and then we meet, of course. "

"Do you talk when you meet?"

"Talk?"

"Of other matters besides business, I mean. Are your relations friendly?Do you show the same spirit towards each other as you did three yearsago, say?"

"We are older; perhaps we are not quite so voluble. "

"But do you feel the same?"

"No. I see you will have it, and so I will no longer hold back thetruth. We are not as brotherly in our intercourse as we used to be; butthere is no animosity between us. I have a decided regard for mybrother. "

This was said quite nobly, and I liked him for it, but I began to feelthat perhaps it had been for the best after all that I had never beenintimate with the family. But I must not forestall either events or myopinions. 

"Is there any reason"--it is the Coroner, of course, who isspeaking--"why there should be any falling off in your mutualconfidence? Has your brother done anything to displease you?"

"We did not like his marriage. "

"Was it an unhappy one?"

"It was not a suitable one. "

"Did you know Mrs. Van Burnam well, that you say this?"

"Yes, I knew her, but the rest of the family did not. "

"Yet they shared in your disapprobation?"

"They felt the marriage more than I did. The lady--excuse me, I neverlike to speak ill of the sex--was not lacking in good sense or virtue, but she was not the person we had a right to expect Howard to marry. "

"And you let him see that you thought so?"

"How could we do otherwise?"

"Even after she had been his wife for some months?"

"We could not like her. "

"Did your brother--I am sorry to press this matter--ever show that hefelt your change of conduct towards him?"

"I find it equally hard to answer, " was the quick reply. "My brother isof an affectionate nature, and he has some, if not all, of the family'spride. I think he did feel it, though he never said so. He is notwithout loyalty to his wife. "

"Mr. Van Burnam, of whom does the firm doing business under the name ofVan Burnam & Sons consist?"

"Of the three persons mentioned. "

"No others?"

"No. "

"Has there ever been in your hearing any threat made by the seniorpartner of dissolving this firm as it stands?"

"I have heard"--I felt sorry for this strong but far from heartless man, but I would not have stopped the inquiry at this point if I could; Iwas far too curious--"I have heard my father say that he would withdrawif Howard did not. Whether he would have done so, I consider open todoubt. My father is a just man and never fails to do the right thing, though he sometimes speaks with unnecessary harshness. "

"He made the threat, however?"

"Yes. "

"And Howard heard it?"

"Or of it; I cannot say which. "

"Mr. Van Burnam, have you noticed any change in your brother since thisthreat was uttered?"

"How, sir; what change?"

"In his treatment of his wife, or in his attitude towards yourself?"

"I have not seen him in the company of his wife since they went toHaddam. As for his conduct towards myself, I can say no more than I havealready. We have never forgotten that we are children of one mother. "

"Mr. Van Burnam, how many times have you seen Mrs. Howard Van Burnam?"

"Several. More frequently before they were married than since. "

"You were in your brother's confidence, then, at that time; knew he wascontemplating marriage?"

"It was in my endeavors to prevent the match that I saw so much of MissLouise Stapleton. "

"Ah! I am glad of the explanation! I was just going to inquire why you, of all members of the family, were the only one to know your brother'swife by sight. "

The witness, considering this question answered, made no reply. But thenext suggestion could not be passed over. 

"If you saw Mrs. Van Burnam so often, you are acquainted with herpersonal appearance?"

"Sufficiently so; as well as I know that of my ordinarycalling-acquaintance. "

"Was she light or dark?"

"She had brown hair. "

"Similar to this?"

The lock held up was the one which had been cut from the head of thedead girl. 

"Yes, somewhat similar to that. " The tone was cold; but he could nothide his distress. 

"Mr. Van Burnam, have you looked well at the woman who was foundmurdered in your father's house?"

"I have, sir. "

"Is there anything in her general outline or in such features as haveescaped disfigurement to remind you of Mrs. Howard Van Burnam?"

"I may have thought so--at first glance, " he replied, with decidedeffort. 

"And did you change your mind at the second?"

He looked troubled, but answered firmly: "No, I cannot say that I did. But you must not regard my opinion as conclusive, " he hastily added. "Myknowledge of the lady was comparatively slight. "

"The jury will take that into account. All we want to know now iswhether you can assert from any knowledge you have or from anything tobe noted in the body itself, that it is not Mrs. Howard Van Burnam?"

"I cannot. "

And with this solemn assertion his examination closed. 

The remainder of the day was taken up in trying to prove a similaritybetween Mrs. Van Burnam's handwriting and that of Mrs. James Pope asseen in the register of the Hotel D---- and on the order sent toAltman's. But the only conclusion reached was that the latter might bethe former disguised, and even on this point the experts differed. 

XIII. 

HOWARD VAN BURNAM. 

The gentleman who stepped from the carriage and entered Mr. Van Burnam'shouse at twelve o'clock that night produced so little impression upon methat I went to bed satisfied that no result would follow these effortsat identification. 

And so I told Mr. Gryce when he arrived next morning. But he seemed byno means disconcerted, and merely requested that I would submit to onemore trial. To which I gave my consent, and he departed. 

I could have asked him a string of questions, but his manner did notinvite them, and for some reason I was too wary to show an interest inthis tragedy superior to that felt by every right-thinking personconnected with it. 

At ten o'clock I was in my old seat in the court-room. The same crowdwith different faces confronted me, amid which the twelve stolidcountenances of the jury looked like old friends. Howard Van Burnam wasthe witness called, and as he came forward and stood in full view of usall, the interest of the occasion reached its climax. 

His countenance wore a reckless look that did not serve to prepossesshim with the people at whose mercy he stood. But he did not seem tocare, and waited for the Coroner's questions with an air of ease whichwas in direct contrast to the drawn and troubled faces of his father andbrother just visible in the background. 

Coroner Dahl surveyed him a few minutes before speaking, then he quietlyasked if he had seen the dead body of the woman who had been found lyingunder a fallen piece of furniture in his father's house. 

He replied that he had. 

"Before she was removed from the house or after it?"

"After. "

"Did you recognize it? Was it the body of any one you know?"

"I do not think so. "

"Has your wife, who was missing yesterday, been heard from yet, Mr. VanBurnam?"

"Not to my knowledge, sir. "

"Had she not--that is, your wife--a complexion similar to that of thedead woman just alluded to?"

"She had a fair skin and brown hair, if that is what you mean. But theseattributes are common to too many women for me to give them any weightin an attempted identification of this importance. "

"Had they no other similar points of a less general character? Was notyour wife of a slight and graceful build, such as is attributed to thesubject of this inquiry?"

"My wife was slight and she was graceful, common attributes also. "

"And your wife had a scar?"

"Yes. "

"On the left ankle?"

"Yes. "

"Which the deceased also has?"

"That I do not know. They say so, but I had no interest in looking. "

"Why, may I ask? Did you not think it a remarkable coincidence?"

The young man frowned. It was the first token of feeling he had given. 

"I was not on the look-out for coincidences, " was his cold reply. "I hadno reason to think this unhappy victim of an unknown man's brutality mywife, and so did not allow myself to be moved by even such a fact asthis. "

"You had no reason, " repeated the Coroner, "to think this woman yourwife. Had you any reason to think she was not?"

"Yes. "

"Will you give us that reason?"

"I had more than one. First, my wife would never wear the clothes I sawon the girl whose dead body was shown to me. Secondly, she would nevergo to any house alone with a man at the hour testified to by one of yourwitnesses. "[A]

"Not with any man?"

"I did not mean to include her husband in my remark, of course. But as Idid not take her to Gramercy Park, the fact that the deceased womanentered an empty house accompanied by a man, is proof enough to me thatshe was not Louise Van Burnam. "

"When did you part with your wife?"

"On Monday morning at the depot in Haddam. "

"Did you know where she was going?"

"I knew where she said she was going. "

"And where was that, may I ask?"

"To New York, to interview my father. "

"But your father was not in New York?"

"He was daily expected here. The steamer on which he had sailed fromSouthampton was due on Tuesday. "

"Had she an interest in seeing your father? Was there any special reasonwhy she should leave you for doing so?"

"She thought so; she thought he would become reconciled to her entranceinto our family if he should see her suddenly and without prejudicedpersons standing by. "

"And did you fear to mar the effect of this meeting if you accompaniedher?"

"No, for I doubted if the meeting would ever take place. I had nosympathy with her schemes, and did not wish to give her the sanction ofmy presence. "

"Was that the reason you let her go to New York alone?"

"Yes. "

"Had you no other?"

"No. "

"Why did you follow her, then, in less than five hours?"

"Because I was uneasy; because I also wanted to see my father; because Iam a man accustomed to carry out every impulse; and impulse led me thatday in the direction of my somewhat headstrong wife. "

"Did you know where your wife intended to spend the night?"

"I did not. She has many friends, or at least I have, in the city, and Iconcluded she would go to one of them--as she did. "

"When did you arrive in the city? before ten o'clock?"

"Yes, a few minutes before. "

"Did you try to find your wife?"

"No. I went directly to the club. "

"Did you try to find her the next morning?"

"No; I had heard that the steamer had not yet been sighted off FireIsland, so considered the effort unnecessary. "

"Why? What connection is there between this fact and an endeavor on yourpart to find your wife?"

"A very close one. She had come to New York to throw herself at myfather's feet. Now she could only do this at the steamer or in----"

"Why do you not proceed, Mr. Van Burnam?"

"I will. I do not know why I stopped, --or in his own house. "

"In his own house? In the house in Gramercy Park, do you mean?"

"Yes, he has no other. "

"The house in which this dead girl was found?"

"Yes, "--impatiently. 

"Did you think she might throw herself at his feet there?"

"She said she might; and as she is romantic, foolishly romantic, Ithought her fully capable of doing so. "

"And so you did not seek her in the morning?"

"No, sir. "

"How about the afternoon?"

This was a close question; we saw that he was affected by it though hetried to carry it off bravely. 

"I did not see her in the afternoon. I was in a restless frame of mind, and did not remain in the city. "

"Ah! indeed! and where did you go?"

"Unless necessary, I prefer not to say. "

"It is necessary. "

"I went to Coney Island. "

"Alone?"

"Yes. "

"Did you see anybody there you know?"

"No. "

"And when did you return?"

"At midnight. "

"When did you reach your rooms?"

"Later. "

"How much later?"

"Two or three hours. "

"And where were you during those hours?"

"I was walking the streets. "

The ease, the quietness with which he made these acknowledgments wereremarkable. The jury to a man honored him with a prolonged stare, andthe awe-struck crowd scarcely breathed during their utterance. At thelast sentence a murmur broke out, at which he raised his head and withan air of surprise surveyed the people before him. Though he must haveknown what their astonishment meant, he neither quailed nor blanched, and while not in reality a handsome man, he certainly looked handsome atthis moment. 

I did not know what to think; so forbore to think anything. Meanwhilethe examination went on. 

"Mr. Van Burnam, I have been told that the locket I see there danglingfrom your watch-chain contains a lock of your wife's hair. Is it so?"

"I have a lock of her hair in this; yes. "

"Here is a lock clipped from the head of the unknown woman whoseidentity we seek. Have you any objection to comparing the two?"

"It is not an agreeable task you have set me, " was the imperturbableresponse; "but I have no objection to doing what you ask. " And calmlylifting the chain, he took off the locket, opened it, and held it outcourteously toward the Coroner. "May I ask you to make the firstcomparison, " he said. 

The Coroner, taking the locket, laid the two locks of brown hairtogether, and after a moment's contemplation of them both, surveyed theyoung man seriously, and remarked:

"They are of the same shade. Shall I pass them down to the jury?"

Howard bowed. You would have thought he was in a drawing-room, and inthe act of bestowing a favor. But his brother Franklin showed a verydifferent countenance, and as for their father, one could not even seehis face, he so persistently held up his hand before it. 

The jury, wide-awake now, passed the locket along, with many sly nodsand a few whispered words. When it came back to the Coroner, he took itand handed it to Mr. Van Burnam, saying:

"I wish you would observe the similarity for yourself. I can hardlydetect any difference between them. "

"Thank you! I am willing to take your word for it, " replied the youngman, with most astonishing _aplomb_. And Coroner and jury for a momentlooked baffled, and even Mr. Gryce, of whose face I caught a passingglimpse at this instant, stared at the head of his cane, as if it wereof thicker wood than he expected and had more knotty points on it thaneven his accustomed hand liked to encounter. 

Another effort was not out of place, however; and the Coroner, summoningup some of the pompous severity he found useful at times, asked thewitness if his attention had been drawn to the dead woman's hands. 

He acknowledged that it had. "The physician who made the autopsy urgedme to look at them, and I did; they were certainly very like my wife's. "

"Only like. "

"I cannot say that they were my wife's. Do you wish me to perjuremyself?"

"A man should know his wife's hands as well as he knows her face. "

"Very likely. "

"And you are ready to swear these were not the hands of your wife?"

"I am ready to swear I did not so consider them. "

"And that is all?"

"That is all. "

The Coroner frowned and cast a glance at the jury. They needed proddingnow and then, and this is the way he prodded them. As soon as they gavesigns of recognizing the hint he gave them, he turned back, and renewedhis examination in these words:

"Mr. Van Burnam, did your brother at your request hand you the keys ofyour father's house on the morning of the day on which this tragedyoccurred?"

"He did. "

"Have you those keys now?"

"I have not. "

"What have you done with them? Did you return them to your brother?"

"No; I see where your inquiries are tending, and I do not suppose youwill believe my simple word; but I lost the keys on the day I receivedthem; that is why----"

"Well, you may continue, Mr. Van Burnam. "

"I have no more to say; my sentence was not worth completing. "

The murmur which rose about him seemed to show dissatisfaction; but heremained imperturbable, or rather like a man who did not hear. I beganto feel a most painful interest in the inquiry, and dreaded, while Ianxiously anticipated, his further examination. 

"You lost the keys; may I ask when and where?"

"That I do not know; they were missing when I searched for them; missingfrom my pocket, I mean. "

"Ah! and when did you search for them?"

"The next day--after I had heard--of--of what had taken place in myfather's house. "

The hesitations were those of a man weighing his reply. They told on thejury, as all such hesitations do; and made the Coroner lose an atom ofthe respect he had hitherto shown this easy-going witness. 

"And you do not know what became of them?"

"No. "

"Or into whose hands they fell?"

"No, but probably into the hands of the wretch----"

To the astonishment of everybody he was on the verge of vehemence; butbecoming sensible of it, he controlled himself with a suddenness thatwas almost shocking. 

"Find the murderer of this poor girl, " said he, with a quiet air thatwas more thrilling than any display of passion, "and ask _him_ where hegot the keys with which he opened the door of my father's house atmidnight. "

Was this a challenge, or just the natural outburst of an innocent man. Neither the jury nor the Coroner seemed to know, the former lookingstartled and the latter nonplussed. But Mr. Gryce, who had moved nowinto view, smoothed the head of his cane with quite a loving touch, anddid not seem at this moment to feel its inequalities objectionable. 

"We will certainly try to follow your advice, " the Coroner assured him. "Meanwhile we must ask how many rings your wife is in the habit ofwearing?"

"Five. Two on the left hand and three on the right. "

"Do you know these rings?"

"I do. "

"Better than you know her hands?"

"As well, sir. "

"Were they on her hands when you parted from her in Haddam?"

"They were. "

"Did she always wear them?"

"Almost always. Indeed I do not ever remember seeing her take off morethan one of them. "

"Which one?"

"The ruby with the diamond setting. "

"Had the dead girl any rings on when you saw her?"

"No, sir. "

"Did you look to see?"

"I think I did in the first shock of the discovery. "

"And you saw none?"

"No, sir. "

"And from this you concluded she was not your wife?"

"From this and other things. "

"Yet you must have seen that the woman was in the habit of wearingrings, even if they were not on her hands at that moment?"

"Why, sir? What should I know about her habits?"

"Is not that a ring I see now on your little finger?"

"It is; my seal ring which I always wear. "

"Will you pull it off?"

"Pull it off!"

"If you please; it is a simple test I am requiring of you, sir. "

The witness looked astonished, but pulled off the ring at once. 

"Here it is, " said he. 

"Thank you, but I do not want it. I merely want you to look at yourfinger. "

The witness complied, evidently more nonplussed than disturbed by thiscommand. 

"Do you see any difference between that finger and the one next it?"

"Yes; there is a mark about my little finger showing where the ring haspressed. "

"Very good; there were such marks on the fingers of the dead girl, who, as you say, had no rings on. I saw them, and perhaps you did yourself?"

"I did not; I did not look closely enough. "

"They were on the little finger of the right hand, on the marriagefinger of the left, and on the forefinger of the same. On which fingersdid your wife wear rings?"

"On those same fingers, sir, but I will not accept this fact as provingher identity with the deceased. Most women do wear rings, and on thosevery fingers. "

The Coroner was nettled, but he was not discouraged. He exchanged lookswith Mr. Gryce, but nothing further passed between them and we were leftto conjecture what this interchange of glances meant. 

The witness, who did not seem to be affected either by the character ofthis examination or by the conjectures to which it gave rise, preservedhis _sang-froid_, and eyed the Coroner as he might any other questioner, with suitable respect, but with no fear and but little impatience. Andyet he must have known the horrible suspicion darkening the minds ofmany people present, and suspected, even if against his will, that thisexamination, significant as it was, was but the forerunner of anotherand yet more serious one. 

"You are very determined, " remarked the Coroner in beginning again, "notto accept the very substantial proofs presented you of the identitybetween the object of this inquiry and your missing wife. But we are notyet ready to give up the struggle, and so I must ask if you heard thedescription given by Miss Ferguson of the manner in which your wife wasdressed on leaving Haddam?

"I have. "

"Was it a correct account? Did she wear a black and white plaid silk anda hat trimmed with various colored ribbons and flowers?"

"She did. "

"Do you remember the hat? Were you with her when she bought it, or didyou ever have your attention drawn to it in any particular way?"

"I remember the hat. "

"Is this it, Mr. Van Burnam?"

I was watching Howard, and the start he gave was so pronounced and theemotion he displayed was in such violent contrast to the self-possessionhe had maintained up to this point, that I was held spell-bound by theshock I received, and forebore to look at the object which the Coronerhad suddenly held up for inspection. But when I did turn my head towardsit, I recognized at once the multi-colored hat which Mr. Gryce hadbrought in from the third room of Mr. Van Burnam's house on the eveningI was there, and realized almost in the same breath that great as thismystery had hitherto seemed it was likely to prove yet greater beforeits proper elucidation was arrived at. 

"Was that found in my father's house? Where--where was that hat found?"stammered the witness, so far forgetting himself as to point towards theobject in question. 

"It was found by Mr. Gryce in a closet off your father's dining-room, ashort time after the dead girl was carried out. "

"I don't believe it, " vociferated the young man, paling with somethingmore than anger, and shaking from head to foot. 

"Shall I put Mr. Gryce on his oath again?" asked the Coroner, mildly. 

The young man stared; evidently these words failed to reach hisunderstanding. 

"_Is_ it your wife's hat?" persisted the Coroner with very littlemercy. "Do you recognize it for the one in which she left Haddam?"

"Would to God I did not!" burst in vehement distress from the witness, who at the next moment broke down altogether and looked about for thesupport of his brother's arm. 

Franklin came forward, and the two brothers stood for a moment in theface of the whole surging mass of curiosity-mongers before them, arm inarm, but with very different expressions on their two proud faces. Howard was the first to speak. 

"If that was found in the parlors of my father's house, " he cried, "thenthe woman who was killed there was my wife. " And he started away with awild air towards the door. 

"Where are you going?" asked the Coroner, quietly, while an officerstepped softly before him, and his brother compassionately drew him backby the arm. 

"I am going to take her from that horrible place; she is my wife. Father, you would not wish her to remain in that spot for anothermoment, would you, while we have a house we call our own?"

Mr. Van Burnam the senior, who had shrunk as far from sight as possiblethrough these painful demonstrations, rose up at these words from hisagonized son, and making him an encouraging gesture, walked hastily outof the room; seeing which, the young man became calmer, and though hedid not cease to shudder, tried to restrain his first grief, which tothose who looked closely at him was evidently very sincere. 

"I would not believe it was she, " he cried, in total disregard of thepresence he was in, "I _would not_ believe it; but now----" A certainpitiful gesture finished the sentence, and neither Coroner nor juryseemed to know just how to proceed, the conduct of the young man beingso markedly different from what they had expected. After a short pause, painful enough to all concerned, the Coroner, perceiving that verylittle could be done with the witness under the circumstances, adjournedthe sitting till afternoon. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: Why could he not have said Miss Butterworth? These VanBurnams are proud, most vilely proud as the poet has it. --A. B. ]

XIV. 

A SERIOUS ADMISSION. 

I went at once to a restaurant. I ate because it was time to eat, andbecause any occupation was welcome that would pass away the hours ofwaiting. I was troubled; and I did not know what to make of myself. Iwas no friend to the Van Burnams; I did not like them, and certainly hadnever approved of any of them but Mr. Franklin, and yet I found myselfaltogether disturbed over the morning's developments, Howard's emotionhaving appealed to me in spite of my prejudices. I could not but thinkill of him, his conduct not being such as I could honestly commend. ButI found myself more ready to listen to the involuntary pleadings of myown heart in his behalf than I had been prior to his testimony and itssomewhat startling termination. 

But they were not through with him yet, and after the longest threehours I ever passed, we were again convened before the Coroner. 

I saw Howard as soon as anybody did. He came in, arm in arm as before, with his faithful brother, and sat down in a retired corner behind theCoroner. But he was soon called forward. 

His face when the light fell on it was startling to most of us. It wasas much changed as if years, instead of hours, had elapsed since lastwe saw it. No longer reckless in its expression, nor easy, nor politelypatient, it showed in its every lineament that he had not only passedthrough a hurricane of passion, but that the bitterness, which had beenits worst feature, had not passed with the storm, but had settled intothe core of his nature, disturbing its equilibrium forever. My emotionswere not allayed by the sight; but I kept all expression of them out ofview. I must be sure of his integrity before giving rein to mysympathies. 

The jury moved and sat up quite alert when they saw him. I think that ifthese especial twelve men could have a murder case to investigate everyday, they would grow quite wide-awake in time. Mr. Van Burnam made nodemonstration. Evidently there was not likely to be a repetition of themorning's display of passion. He had been iron in his impassibility atthat time, but he was steel now, and steel which had been through thefiercest of fires. 

The opening question of the Coroner showed by what experience thesefires had been kindled. 

"Mr. Van Burnam, I have been told that you have visited the Morgue inthe interim which has elapsed since I last questioned you. Is thattrue?"

"It is. "

"Did you, in the opportunity thus afforded, examine the remains of thewoman whose death we are investigating, attentively enough to enable youto say now whether they are those of your missing wife?"

"I have. The body is that of Louise Van Burnam; I crave your pardon andthat of the jury for my former obstinacy in refusing to recognize it. Ithought myself fully justified in the stand I took. I see now that Iwas not. "

The Coroner made no answer. There was no sympathy between him and thisyoung man. Yet he did not fail in a decent show of respect; perhapsbecause he did feel some sympathy for the witness's unhappy father andbrother. 

"You then acknowledge the victim to have been your wife?"

"I do. "

"It is a point gained, and I compliment the jury upon it. We can nowproceed to settle, if possible, the identity of the person whoaccompanied Mrs. Van Burnam into your father's house. "

"Wait, " cried Mr. Van Burnam, with a strange air, "_I acknowledge I wasthat person_. "

It was coolly, almost fiercely said, but it was an admission thatwellnigh created a hubbub. Even the Coroner seemed moved, and cast aglance at Mr. Gryce which showed his surprise to be greater than hisdiscretion. 

"You acknowledge, " he began--but the witness did not let him finish. 

"I acknowledge that I was the person who accompanied her into that emptyhouse; but I do not acknowledge that I killed her. She was alive andwell when I left her, difficult as it is for me to prove it. It was therealization of this difficulty which made me perjure myself thismorning. "

"So, " murmured the Coroner, with another glance at Mr. Gryce, "youacknowledge that you perjured yourself. Will the room be quiet!"

But the lull came slowly. The contrast between the appearance of thiselegant young man and the significant admissions he had just made(admissions which to three quarters of the persons there meant more, much more, than he acknowledged), was certainly such as to provokeinterest of the deepest kind. I felt like giving rein to my ownfeelings, and was not surprised at the patience shown by the Coroner. But order was restored at last, and the inquiry proceeded. 

"We are then to consider the testimony given by you this morning as nulland void?"

"Yes, so far as it contradicts what I have just stated. "

"Ah, then you will no doubt be willing to give us your evidence again?"

"Certainly, if you will be so kind as to question me. "

"Very well; where did your wife and yourself first meet after yourarrival in New York?"

"In the street near my office. She was coming to see me, but I prevailedupon her to go uptown. "

"What time was this?"

"After ten and before noon. I cannot give the exact hour. "

"And where did you go?"

"To a hotel on Broadway; you have already heard of our visit there. "

"You are, then, the Mr. James Pope, whose wife registered in the booksof the Hotel D---- on the seventeenth of this month?"

"I have said so. "

"And may I ask for what purpose you used this disguise, and allowed yourwife to sign a wrong name?"

"To satisfy a freak. She considered it the best way of covering up ascheme she had formed; which was to awaken the interest of my fatherunder the name and appearance of a stranger, and not to inform him whoshe was till he had given some evidence of partiality for her. "

"Ah, but for such an end was it necessary for her to assume a strangename before she saw your father, and for you both to conduct yourselvesin the mysterious way you did all that day and evening?"

"I do not know. She thought so, and I humored her. I was tired ofworking against her, and was willing she should have her own way for atime. "

"And for this reason you let her fit herself out with clothes down toher very undergarments?"

"Yes; strange as it may seem, I was just such a fool. I had entered intoher scheme, and the means she took to change her personality only amusedme. She wished to present herself to my father as a girl obliged to workfor her living, and was too shrewd to excite suspicion in the minds ofany of the family by any undue luxury in her apparel. At least that wasthe excuse she gave me for the precautions she took, though I think thedelight she experienced in anything romantic and unusual had as much todo with it as anything else. She enjoyed the game she was playing, andwished to make as much of it as possible. "

"Were her own garments much richer than those she ordered fromAltman's?"

"Undoubtedly. Mrs. Van Burnam wore nothing made by Americanseamstresses. Fine clothes were her weakness. "

"I see, I see; but why such an attempt on your part to keep yourself inthe background? Why let your wife write your assumed names in the hotelregister, for instance, instead of doing it yourself?"

"It was easier for her; I know no other reason. She did not mind puttingdown the name Pope. I did. "

It was an ungracious reflection upon his wife, and he seemed to feel itso; for he almost immediately added: "A man will sometimes lend himselfto a scheme of which the details are obnoxious. It was so in this case;but she was too interested in her plans to be affected by so small amatter as this. "

This explained more than one mysterious action on the part of this pairwhile they were at the Hotel D----. The Coroner evidently considered itin this light, for he dwelt but little longer on this phase of the case, passing at once to a fact concerning which curiosity had hitherto beenroused without receiving any satisfaction. 

"In leaving the hotel, " said he, "you and your wife were seen carryingcertain packages, which were missing from your arms when you alighted atMr. Van Burnam's house. What was in those packages, and where did youdispose of them before you entered the second carriage?"

Howard made no demur in answering. 

"My wife's clothes were in them, " said he, "and we dropped themsomewhere on Twenty-seventh Street near Third Avenue, just as we saw anold woman coming along the sidewalk. We knew that she would stop andpick them up, and she did, for we slid into a dark shadow made by aprojecting stoop and watched her. Is that too simple a method fordisposing of certain encumbering bundles, to be believed, sir?"

"That is for the jury to decide, " answered the Coroner, stiffly. "Butwhy were you so anxious to dispose of these articles? Were they notworth some money, and would it not have been simpler and much morenatural to have left them at the hotel till you chose to send for them?That is, if you were simply engaged in playing, as you say, a game uponyour father, and not upon the whole community?"

"Yes, " Mr. Van Burnam acknowledged, "that would have been the naturalthing, no doubt; but we were not following natural instincts at thetime, but a woman's _bizarre_ caprices. We did as I said; and laughedlong, I assure you, over its unqualified success; for the old woman notonly grabbed the packages with avidity, but turned and fled away withthem, just as if she had expected this opportunity and had preparedherself to make the most of it. "

"It was very laughable, certainly, " observed the Coroner, in a hardvoice. "_You_ must have found it very ridiculous"; and after giving thewitness a look full of something deeper than sarcasm, he turned towardsthe jury as if to ask them what they thought of these very forced andsuspicious explanations. 

But they evidently did not know what to think, and the Coroner's looksflew back to the witness who of all the persons present seemed the leastimpressed by the position in which he stood. 

"Mr. Van Burnam, " said he, "you showed a great deal of feeling thismorning at being confronted with your wife's hat. Why was this, and whydid you wait till you saw this evidence of her presence on the scene ofdeath to acknowledge the facts you have been good enough to give us thisafternoon?"

"If I had a lawyer by my side, you would not ask me that question, or ifyou did, I would not be allowed to answer it. But I have no lawyer here, and so I will say that I was greatly shocked by the catastrophe whichhad happened to my wife, and under the stress of my first overpoweringemotions had the impulse to hide the fact that the victim of so dreadfula mischance was my wife. I thought that if no connection was foundbetween myself and this dead woman, I would stand in no danger of thesuspicion which must cling to the man who came into the house with her. But like most first impulses, it was a foolish one and gave way underthe strain of investigation. I, however, persisted in it as long aspossible, partially because my disposition is an obstinate one, andpartially because I hated to acknowledge myself a fool; but when I sawthe hat, and recognized it as an indisputable proof of her presence inthe Van Burnam house that night, my confidence in the attempt I wasmaking broke down all at once. I could deny her shape, her hands, andeven the scar, which she might have had in common with other women, butI could not deny her hat. Too many persons had seen her wear it. "

But the Coroner was not to be so readily imposed upon. 

"I see, I see, " he repeated with great dryness, "and I hope the jurywill be satisfied. And they probably will, unless they remember theanxiety which, according to your story, was displayed by your wife tohave her whole outfit in keeping with her appearance as a working girl. If she was so particular as to think it necessary to dress herself instore-made undergarments, why make all these precautions void bycarrying into the house a hat with the name of an expensive millinerinside it?"

"Women are inconsistent, sir. She liked the hat and hated to part withit. She thought she could hide it somewhere in the great house, at leastthat was what she said to me when she tucked it under her cape. "

The Coroner, who evidently did not believe one word of this, stared atthe witness as if curiosity was fast taking the place of indignation. And I did not wonder. Howard Van Burnam, as thus presented to our noticeby his own testimony, was an anomaly, whether we were to believe what hewas saying at the present time or what he had said during the morningsession. But I wished I had had the questioning of him. 

His next answer, however, opened up one dark place into which I had beenpeering for some time without any enlightenment. It was in reply to thefollowing query:

"All this, " said the Coroner, "is very interesting; but what explanationhave you to give for taking your wife into your father's empty house atan hour so late, and then leaving her to spend the best part of the darknight alone?"

"None, " said he, "that will strike you as sensible and judicious. But wewere not sensible that night, neither were we judicious, or I would notbe standing here trying to explain what is not explainable by any of theordinary rules of conduct. She was set upon being the first to greet myfather on his entrance into his own home, and her first plan had been todo so in her own proper character as my wife, but afterwards the freaktook her, as I have said, to personify the housekeeper whom my fatherhad cabled us to have in waiting at his house, --a cablegram which hadreached us too late for any practical use, and which we had thereforeignored, --and fearing he might come early in the morning, before shecould be on hand to make the favorable impression she intended, shewished to be left in the house that night; and I humored her. I did notforesee the suffering that my departure might cause her, or the fearsthat were likely to spring from her lonely position in so large andempty a dwelling. Or rather, I should say, _she_ did not foresee them;for she begged me not to stay with her, when I hinted at the darknessand dreariness of the place, saying that she was too jolly to feel fearor think of anything but the surprise my father and sisters wouldexperience in discovering that their very agreeable young housekeeperwas the woman they had so long despised. "

"And why, " persisted the Coroner, edging forward in his interest and soallowing me to catch a glimpse of Mr. Gryce's face as he too leanedforward in his anxiety to hear every word that fell from this remarkablewitness, --"why do you speak of her fear? What reason have you to thinkshe suffered apprehension after your departure?"

"Why?" echoed the witness, as if astounded by the other's lack ofperspicacity. "Did she not kill herself in a moment of terror anddiscouragement? Leaving her, as I did, in a condition of health and goodspirits, can you expect me to attribute her death to any other causethan a sudden attack of frenzy caused by terror?"

"Ah!" exclaimed the Coroner in a suspicious tone, which no doubt voicedthe feelings of most people present; "then you think your wife committedsuicide?"

"Most certainly, " replied the witness, avoiding but two pairs of eyes inthe whole crowd, those of his father and brother. 

"_With_ a hat-pin, " continued the Coroner, letting his hitherto scarcelysuppressed irony become fully visible in voice and manner, "thrust intothe back of her neck at a spot young ladies surely would have but littlereason to know is peculiarly fatal! Suicide! when she was found crushedunder a pile of _bric-à-brac_, which was thrown down or fell upon herhours after she received the fatal thrust!"

"I do not know how else she could have died, " persisted the witness, calmly, "unless she opened the door to some burglar. And what burglarwould kill a woman in that way, when he could pound her with his fists?No; she was frenzied and stabbed herself in desperation; or the thingwas done by accident, God knows how! And as for the testimony of theexperts--we all know how easily the wisest of them can be mistaken evenin matters of as serious import as these. _If all the experts in theworld_"--here his voice rose and his nostrils dilated till his aspectwas actually commanding and impressed us all like a suddentransformation--"_If all the experts in the world were to swear thatthose shelves were thrown upon her after she had lain therefor fourhours dead, I would not believe them. Appearances or no appearances, blood or no blood, I here declare that she pulled that cabinet over inher death-struggle; and upon the truth of this fact I am ready to restmy honor as a man and my integrity as her husband_. "

An uproar immediately followed, amid which could be heard cries of "Helies!" "He's a fool!" The attitude taken by the witness was sounexpected that the most callous person present could not fail to beaffected by it. But curiosity is as potent a passion as surprise, and ina few minutes all was still again and everybody intent to hear how theCoroner would answer these asseverations. 

"I have heard of a blind man denying the existence of light, " said thatgentleman, "but never before of a sensible being like yourself urgingthe most untenable theories in face of such evidence as has been broughtbefore us during this inquiry. If your wife committed suicide, or if theentrance of the point of a hat-pin into her spine was effected byaccident, how comes the head of the pin to have been found so many feetaway from her and in such a place as the parlor register?"

"It may have flown there when it broke, or, what is much more probable, been kicked there by some of the many people who passed in and out ofthe room between the time of her death and that of its discovery. "

"But the register was found closed, " urged the Coroner. "Was it not, Mr. Gryce?"

That person thus appealed to, rose for an instant. 

"It was, " said he, and deliberately sat down again. 

The face of the witness, which had been singularly free from expressionsince his last vehement outbreak, clouded over for an instant and hiseye fell as if he felt himself engaged in an unequal struggle. But herecovered his courage speedily, and quietly observed:

"The register may have been closed by a passing foot. I have known ofstranger coincidences than that. "

"Mr. Van Burnam, " asked the Coroner, as if weary of subterfuges andargument, "have you considered the effect which this highlycontradictory evidence of yours is likely to have on your reputation?"

"I have. "

"And are you ready to accept the consequences?"

"If any especial consequences follow, I must accept them, sir. "

"When did you lose the keys which you say you have not now in yourpossession? This morning you asserted that you did not know; but perhapsthis afternoon you may like to modify that statement. "

"I lost them after I left my wife shut up in my father's house. "

"Soon?"

"Very soon. "

"How soon?"

"Within an hour, I should judge. "

"How do you know it was so soon?"

"I missed them at once. "

"Where were you when you missed them?"

"I don't know; somewhere. I was walking the streets, as I have said. Idon't remember just where I was when I thrust my hands into my pocketand found the keys gone. "

"You do not?"

"No. "

"But it was within an hour after leaving the house?"

"Yes. "

"Very good; the keys have been found. "

The witness started, started so violently that his teeth came togetherwith a click loud enough to be heard over the whole room. 

"Have they?" said he, with an effort at nonchalance which, however, failed to deceive any one who noticed his change of color. "_You_ cantell me, then, where I lost them. "

"They were found, " said the Coroner, "in their usual place above yourbrother's desk in Duane Street. "

"Oh!" murmured the witness, utterly taken aback or appearing so. "Icannot account for their being found in the office. I was so sure Idropped them in the street. "

"I did not think you could account for it, " quietly observed theCoroner. And without another word he dismissed the witness, whostaggered to a seat as remote as possible from the one where he hadpreviously been sitting between his father and brother. 

XV. 

A RELUCTANT WITNESS. 

A pause of decided duration now followed; an exasperating pause whichtried even me, much as I pride myself upon my patience. There seemed tobe some hitch in regard to the next witness. The Coroner sent Mr. Gryceinto the neighboring room more than once, and finally, when the generaluneasiness seemed on the point of expressing itself by a loud murmur, agentleman stepped forth, whose appearance, instead of allaying theexcitement, renewed it in quite an unprecedented and remarkable way. 

I did not know the person thus introduced. 

He was a handsome man, a very handsome man, if the truth must be told, but it did not seem to be this fact which made half the people therecrane their heads to catch a glimpse of him. Something else, somethingentirely disconnected with his appearance there as a witness, appearedto hold the people enthralled and waken a subdued enthusiasm whichshowed itself not only in smiles, but in whispers and significantnudges, chiefly among the women, though I noticed that the jurymenstared when somebody obliged them with the name of this new witness. Atlast it reached my ears, and though it awakened in me also a decidedcuriosity, I restrained all expression of it, being unwilling to addone jot to this ridiculous display of human weakness. 

Randolph Stone, as the intended husband of the rich Miss Althorpe, was afigure of some importance in the city, and while I was very glad of thisopportunity of seeing him, I did not propose to lose my head or forget, in the marked interest his person invoked, the very serious cause whichhad brought him before us. And yet I suppose no one in the room observedhis figure more minutely. 

He was elegantly made and possessed, as I have said, a face of peculiarbeauty. But these were not his only claims to admiration. He was a manof undoubted intelligence and great distinction of manner. Theintelligence did not surprise me, knowing, as I did, how he had raisedhimself to his present enviable position in society in the short spaceof five years. But the perfection of his manner astonished me, thoughhow I could have expected anything less in a man honored by MissAlthorpe's regard, I cannot say. He had that clear pallor of complexionwhich in a smooth-shaven face is so impressive, and his voice when hespoke had that music in it which only comes from great cultivation and adeliberate intent to please. 

He was a friend of Howard's, that I saw by the short look that passedbetween them when he first entered the room; but that it was not as afriend he stood there was apparent from the state of amazement withwhich the former recognized him, as well as from the regret to be seenunderlying the polished manner of the witness himself. Though perfectlyself-possessed and perfectly respectful, he showed by every meanspossible the pain he felt in adding one feather-weight to the evidenceagainst a man with whom he was on terms of more or less intimacy. 

But let me give his testimony. Having acknowledged that he knew the VanBurnam family well, and Howard in particular, he went on to state thaton the night of the seventeenth he had been detained at his office bybusiness of a more than usual pressing nature, and finding that he couldexpect no rest for that night, humored himself by getting off the carsat Twenty-first Street instead of proceeding on to Thirty-third Street, where his apartments were. 

The smile which these words caused (Miss Althorpe lives in Twenty-firstStreet) woke no corresponding light on his face. Indeed, he frowned atit, as if he felt that the gravity of the situation admitted of nothingfrivolous or humorsome. And this feeling was shared by Howard, for hestarted when the witness mentioned Twenty-first Street, and cast him ahaggard look of dismay which happily no one saw but myself, for everyone else was concerned with the witness. Or should I except Mr. Gryce?

"I had of course no intentions beyond a short stroll through this streetprevious to returning to my home, " continued the witness, gravely; "andam sorry to be obliged to mention this freak of mine, but find itnecessary in order to account for my presence there at so unusual anhour. "

"You need make no apologies, " returned the Coroner. "Will you state onwhat line of cars you came from your office?"

"I came up Third Avenue. "

"Ah! and walked towards Broadway?"

"Yes. "

"So that you necessarily passed very near the Van Burnam mansion?"

"Yes. "

"At what time was this, can you say?"

"At four, or nearly four. It was half-past three when I left my office. "

"Was it light at that hour? Could you distinguish objects readily?"

"I had no difficulty in seeing. "

"And what did you see? Anything amiss at the Van Burnam mansion?"

"No, sir, nothing amiss. I merely saw Howard Van Burnam coming down thestoop as I went by the corner. "

"You made no mistake. It was the gentleman you name, and no other whomyou saw on this stoop at this hour?"

"I am very sure that it was he. I am sorry----"

But the Coroner gave him no opportunity to finish. 

"You and Mr. Van Burnam are friends, you say, and it was light enoughfor you to recognize each other; then you probably spoke?"

"No, we did not. I was thinking--well of other, things, " and here heallowed the ghost of a smile to flit suggestively across his firm-setlips. "And Mr. Van Burnam seemed preoccupied also, for, as far as Iknow, he did not even look my way. "

"And you did not stop?"

"No, he did not look like a man to be disturbed. "

"And this was at four on the morning of the eighteenth?"

"At four. "

"You are certain of the hour and of the day?"

"I am certain. I should not be standing here if I were not very sure ofmy memory. I am sorry, " he began again, but he was stopped asperemptorily as before by the Coroner. 

"Feeling has no place in an inquiry like this. " And the witness wasdismissed. 

Mr. Stone, who had manifestly given his evidence under compulsion, looked relieved at its termination. As he passed back to the room fromwhich he had come, many only noticed the extreme elegance of his formand the proud cast of his head, but I saw more than these. I saw thelook of regret he cast at his friend Howard. 

A painful silence followed his withdrawal, then the Coroner spoke to thejury:

"Gentlemen, I leave you to judge of the importance of this testimony. Mr. Stone is a well-known man of unquestionable integrity, but perhapsMr. Van Burnam can explain how he came to visit his father's house atfour o'clock in the morning on that memorable night, when according tohis latest testimony he left his wife there at twelve. We will give himthe opportunity. "

"There is no use, " began the young man from the place where he sat. Butgathering courage even while speaking, he came rapidly forward, andfacing Coroner and jury once more, said with a false kind of energy thatimposed upon no one:

"I can explain this fact, but I doubt if you will accept my explanation. I was at my father's house at that hour, but not in it. My restlessnessdrove me back to my wife, but not finding the keys in my pocket, I camedown the stoop again and went away. "

"Ah, I see now why you prevaricated this morning in regard to the timewhen you missed those keys. "

"I know that my testimony is full of contradictions. "

"You feared to have it known that you were on the stoop of your father'shouse for the second time that night?"

"Naturally, in face of the suspicion I perceived everywhere about me. "

"And this time you did not go in?"

"No. "

"Nor ring the bell?"

"No. "

"Why not, if you left your wife within, alive and well?"

"I did not wish to disturb her. My purpose was not strong enough tosurmount the least difficulty. I was easily deterred from going where Ihad little wish to be. "

"So that you merely went up the stoop and down again at the time Mr. Stone saw you?"

"Yes, and if he had passed a minute sooner he would have seen this: seenme go up, I mean, as well as seen me come down. I did not linger long inthe doorway. "

"But you did linger there a moment?"

"Yes; long enough to hunt for the keys and get over my astonishment atnot finding them. "

"Did you notice Mr. Stone going by on Twenty-first Street?"

"No. "

"Was it as light as Mr. Stone has said?"

"Yes, it was light. "

"And you did not notice him?"

"No. "

"Yet you must have followed very closely behind him?"

"Not necessarily. I went by the way of Twentieth Street, sir. Why, I donot know, for my rooms are uptown. I do not know why I did half thethings I did that night. "

"I can readily believe it, " remarked the Coroner. 

Mr. Van Burnam's indignation rose. 

"You are trying, " said he, "to connect me with the fearful death of mywife in my father's lonely house. You cannot do it, for I am as innocentof that death as you are, or any other person in this assemblage. Nordid I pull those shelves down upon her as you would have this jurythink, in my last thoughtless visit to my father's door. She diedaccording to God's will by her own hand or by means of some strange andunaccountable accident known only to Him. And so you will find, ifjustice has any place in these investigations and a manly intelligencebe allowed to take the place of prejudice in the breasts of the twelvemen now sitting before me. "

And bowing to the Coroner, he waited for his dismissal, and receivingit, walked back not to his lonely corner, but to his former placebetween his father and brother, who received him with a wistful air andstrange looks of mingled hope and disbelief. 

"The jury will render their verdict on Monday morning, " announced theCoroner, and adjourned the inquiry. 

_BOOK II. _

THE WINDINGS OF A LABYRINTH. 

XVI. 

COGITATIONS. 

My cook had prepared for me a most excellent dinner, thinking that Ineeded all the comfort possible after a day of such trying experiences. But I ate little of it; my thoughts were too busy, my mind too muchexercised. What would be the verdict of the jury, and could thisespecial jury be relied upon to give a just verdict?

At seven I had left the table and was shut up in my own room. I couldnot rest till I had fathomed my own mind in regard to the events of theday. 

The question--the great question, of course, now--was how much ofHoward's testimony was to be believed, and whether he was, notwithstanding his asseverations to the contrary, the murderer of hiswife. To most persons the answer seemed easy. From the expression ofsuch people as I had jostled in leaving the court-room, I judged thathis sentence had already been passed in the minds of most there present. But these hasty judgments did not influence me. I hope I look deeperthan the surface, and my mind would not subscribe to his guilt, notwithstanding the bad impression made upon me by his falsehoods andcontradictions. 

Now why would not my mind subscribe to it? Had sentiment got the betterof me, Amelia Butterworth, and was I no longer capable of looking athing squarely in the face? Had the Van Burnams, of all people in theworld, awakened my sympathies at the cost of my good sense, and was Idisposed to see virtue in a man in whom every circumstance as it came tolight revealed little but folly and weakness? The lies he had told--forthere is no other word to describe his contradictions--would have beensufficient under most circumstances to condemn a man in my estimation. Why, then, did I secretly look for excuses to his conduct?

Probing the matter to the bottom, I reasoned in this way: The latterhalf of his evidence was a complete contradiction of the first, purposely so. In the first, he made himself out a cold-hearted egotistwith not enough interest in his wife to make an effort to determinewhether she and the murdered woman were identical; in the latter, heshowed himself in the light of a man influenced to the point of folly bya woman to whom he had been utterly unyielding a few hours before. 

Now, knowing human nature to be full of contradictions, I could notsatisfy myself that I should be justified in accepting either half ofhis testimony as absolutely true. The man who is all firmness one minutemay be all weakness the next, and in face of the calm assertions made bythis one when driven to bay by the unexpected discoveries of the police, I dared not decide that his final assurances were altogether false, andthat he was not the man I had seen enter the adjoining house with hiswife. 

Why, then, not carry the conclusion farther and admit, as reason andprobability suggested, that he was also her murderer; that he had killedher during his first visit and drawn the shelves down upon her in thesecond? Would not this account for all the phenomena to be observed inconnection with this otherwise unexplainable affair? Certainly, all butone--one that was perhaps known to nobody but myself, and that was thetestimony given by the clock. _It_ said that the shelves fell at five, whereas, according to Mr. Stone's evidence, it was four, or thereabouts, when Mr. Van Burnam left his father's house. But the clock might nothave been a reliable witness. It might have been set wrong, or it mightnot have been running at all at the time of the accident. No, it wouldnot do for me to rely too much upon anything so doubtful, nor did I; yetI could not rid myself of the conviction that Howard spoke the truthwhen he declared in face of Coroner and jury that they could not connecthim with this crime; and whether this conclusion sprang fromsentimentality or intuition, I was resolved to stick to it for thepresent night at least. The morrow might show its futility, but themorrow had not come. 

Meanwhile, with this theory accepted, what explanation could be given ofthe very peculiar facts surrounding this woman's death? Could thesupposition of suicide advanced by Howard before the Coroner beentertained for a moment, or that equally improbable suggestion ofaccident?

Going to my bureau drawer, I drew out the old grocer-bill which hasalready figured in these pages, and re-read the notes I had scribbledon its back early in the history of this affair. They related, if youwill remember, to this very question, and seemed even now to answer itin a more or less convincing way. Will you pardon me if I transcribethese notes again, as I cannot imagine my first deliberations on thissubject to have made a deep enough impression for you to recall themwithout help from me. 

The question raised in these notes was threefold, and the answers, asyou will recollect, were transcribed before the cause of death had beendetermined by the discovery of the broken pin in the dead woman's brain. 

These are the queries:

First: was her death due to accident?

Second: was it effected by her own hand?

Third: was it a murder?

The replies given are in the form of reasons, as witness:

_My reasons for not thinking it an accident. _

1. If it had been an accident, and she had pulled the cabinet over uponherself, [B] she would have been found with her feet pointing towards thewall where the cabinet had stood. But her feet were towards the door andher head under the cabinet. 

2. The precise arrangement of the clothing about her feet, whichprecluded any theory involving accident. 

_My reason for not thinking it a suicide. _

She could not have been found in the position observed without havinglain down on the floor while living, and then pulled the shelves downupon herself. (A theory obviously too improbable to be considered. )

_My reason for not thinking it murder. _

She would need to have been held down on the floor while the cabinet wasbeing pulled over on her, a thing which the quiet aspect of the handsand feet make appear impossible. (Very good, but we know now that shewas dead when the shelves fell over, so that my one excuse for notthinking it a murder is rendered null. )

_My reasons for thinking it a murder. _

----But I will not repeat these. My reasons for not thinking it anaccident or a suicide remained as good as when they were written, and ifher death had not been due to either of these causes, then it must havebeen due to some murderous hand. Was that hand the hand of her husband?I have already given it as my opinion that it was not. 

Now, how to make that opinion good, and reconcile me again to myself;for I am not accustomed to have my instincts at war with my judgment. Isthere any reason for my thinking as I do? Yes, the manliness of man. Heonly looked well when he was repelling the suspicion he saw in thesurrounding faces. But that might have been assumed, just as hiscareless manner was assumed during the early part of the inquiry. I musthave some stronger reason than this for my belief. The two hats? Well, he had explained how there came to be two hats on the scene of crime, but his explanation had not been very satisfactory. _I_ had seen no hatin her hand when she crossed the pavement to her father's house. Butthen she might have carried it under her cape without my seeingit--perhaps. The discovery of two hats and of two pairs of gloves in Mr. Van Burnam's parlors was a fact worth further investigation, andmentally I made a note of it, though at the moment I saw no prospect ofengaging in this matter further than my duties as a witness required. 

And now what other clue was offered me, save the one I have alreadymentioned as being given by the clock? None that I could seize upon; andfeeling the weakness of the cause I had so obstinately embraced, I rosefrom my seat at the tea-table and began making such alterations in mytoilet as would prepare me for the evening and my inevitable callers. 

"Amelia, " said I to myself, as I encountered my anything but satisfiedreflection in the glass, "can it be that you ought, after all, to havebeen called Araminta? Is a momentary display of spirit on the part of ayoung man of doubtful principles, enough to make you forget the dictatesof good sense which have always governed you up to this time?"

The stern image which confronted me from the mirror made me no reply, and smitten with sudden disgust, I left the glass and went below togreet some friends who had just ridden up in their carriage. 

They remained one hour, and they discussed one subject: Howard VanBurnam and his probable connection with the crime which had taken placenext door. But though I talked some and listened more, as is proper fora woman in her own house, I said nothing and heard nothing which had notbeen already said and heard in numberless homes that night. Whateverthoughts I had which in any way differed from those generally expressed, I kept to myself, --whether guided by discretion or pride, I cannot say;probably by both, for I am not deficient in either quality. 

Arrangements had already been made for the burial of Mrs. Van Burnamthat night, and as the funeral ceremony was to take place next door, many of my guests came just to sit in my windows and watch the comingand going of the few people invited to the ceremony. 

But I discouraged this. I have no patience with idle curiosity. Consequently by nine I was left alone to give the affair such realattention as it demanded; something which, of course, I could not havedone with a half dozen gossiping friends leaning over my shoulder. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote B: _As was asserted by her husband in his sworn examination. _]

XVII. 

BUTTERWORTH VERSUS GRYCE. 

The result of this attention can be best learned from the conversation Iheld with Mr. Gryce the next morning. 

He came earlier than usual, but he found me up and stirring. 

"Well, " he cried, accosting me with a smile as I entered the parlorwhere he was seated, "it is all right this time, is it not? No troublein identifying the gentleman who entered your neighbor's house lastnight at a quarter to twelve?"

Resolved to probe this man's mind to the bottom, I put on my sternestair. 

"I had not expected any one to enter there so late last night, " said I. "Mr. Van Burnam declared so positively at the inquest that he was theperson we have been endeavoring to identify, that I did not suppose youwould consider it necessary to bring him to the house for me to see. "

"And so you were not in the window?"

"I did not say that; I am always where I have promised to be, Mr. Gryce. "

"Well, then?" he inquired sharply. 

I was purposely slow in answering him--I had all the longer time tosearch his face. But its calmness was impenetrable, and finally Ideclared:

"The man you brought with you last night--you were the person whoaccompanied him, were you not--was _not_ the man I saw alight there fournights ago. "

He may have expected it; it may have been the very assertion he desiredfrom me, but his manner showed displeasure, and the quick "How?" heuttered was sharp and peremptory. 

"I do not ask who it was, " I went on, with a quiet wave of my hand thatimmediately restored him to himself, "for I know you will not tell me. But what I do hope to know is the name of the man who entered that samehouse at just ten minutes after nine. He was one of the funeral guests, and he arrived in a carriage that was immediately preceded by a coachfrom which four persons alighted, two ladies and two gentlemen. "

"I do not know the gentleman, ma'am, " was the detective's half-surprisedand half-amused retort. "I did not keep track of every guest thatattended the funeral. "

"Then you didn't do your work as well as I did mine, " was my rather dryreply. "For I noted every one who went in; and that gentleman, whoeverhe was, was more like the person I have been trying to identify than anyone I have seen enter there during my four midnight vigils. "

Mr. Gryce smiled, uttered a short "_Indeed!_" and looked more than everlike a sphinx. I began quietly to hate him, under my calm exterior. 

"Was Howard at his wife's funeral?" I asked. 

"He was, ma'am. "

"And did he come in a carriage?"

"He did, ma'am. "

"Alone?"

"He thought he was alone; yes, ma'am. "

"Then may it not have been he?"

"I can't say, ma'am. "

Mr. Gryce was so obviously out of his element under thiscross-examination that I could not suppress a smile even while Iexperienced a very lively indignation at his reticence. He may have seenme smile and he may not, for his eyes, as I have intimated, were alwaysbusy with some object entirely removed from the person he addressed; butat all events he rose, leaving me no alternative but to do the same. 

"And so you didn't recognize the gentleman I brought to the neighboringhouse just before twelve o'clock, " he quietly remarked, with a calmignoring of my last question which was a trifle exasperating. 

"No. "

"Then, ma'am, " he declared, with a quick change of manner, meant, Ishould judge, to put me in my proper place, "I do not think we candepend upon the accuracy of your memory;" and he made a motion as if toleave. 

As I did not know whether his apparent disappointment was real or not, Ilet him move to the door without a reply. But once there I stopped him. 

"Mr. Gryce, " said I, "I don't know what you think about this matter, norwhether you even wish my opinion upon it. But I am going to express it, for all that. _I_ do not believe that Howard killed his wife with ahat-pin. "

"No?" retorted the old gentleman, peering into his hat, with an ironicalsmile which that inoffensive article of attire had certainly notmerited. "And why, Miss Butterworth, why? You must have substantialreasons for any opinion you would form. "

"I have an intuition, " I responded, "backed by certain reasons. Theintuition won't impress you very deeply, but the reasons may not bewithout some weight, and I am going to confide them to you. "

"Do, " he entreated in a jocose manner which struck me as inappropriate, but which I was willing to overlook on account of his age and veryfatherly manner. 

"Well, then, " said I, "this is one. If the crime was a premeditated one, if he hated his wife and felt it for his interest to have her out of theway, a man of Mr. Van Burnam's good sense would have chosen any otherspot than his father's house to kill her in, knowing that her identitycould not be hidden if once she was associated with the Van Burnam name. If, on the contrary, he took her there in good faith, and her death wasthe unexpected result of a quarrel between them, then the means employedwould have been simpler. An angry man does not stop to perform adelicate surgical operation when moved to the point of murder, but useshis hands or his fists, just as Mr. Van Burnam himself suggested. "

"Humph!" grunted the detective, staring very hard indeed into his hat. 

"You must not think me this young man's friend, " I went on, with a wellmeant desire to impress him with the impartiality of my attitude. "Inever have spoken to him nor he to me, but I am the friend of justice, and I must declare that there was a note of surprise in the emotion heshowed at sight of his wife's hat, that was far too natural to beassumed. "

The detective failed to be impressed. I might have expected this, knowing his sex and the reliance such a man is apt to place upon his ownpowers. 

"Acting, ma'am, acting!" was his laconic comment. "A very uncommoncharacter, that of Mr. Howard Van Burnam. I do not think you do it fulljustice. "

"Perhaps not, but see that you don't slight mine. I do not expect you toheed these suggestions any more than you did those I offered you inconnection with Mrs. Boppert, the scrub-woman; but my conscience iseased by my communication, and that is much to a solitary woman likemyself who is obliged to spend many a long hour alone with no othercompanion. "

"Something has been accomplished, then, by this delay, " he observed. Then, as if ashamed of this momentary display of irritation, he added inthe genial tones more natural to him: "I don't blame you for your goodopinion of this interesting, but by no means reliable, young man, MissButterworth. A woman's kind heart stands in the way of her properjudgment of criminals. "

"You will not find its instincts fail even if you do its judgment. "

His bow was as full of politeness as it was lacking in conviction. 

"I hope you won't let your instincts lead you into any unnecessarydetective work, " he quietly suggested. 

"That I cannot promise. If you arrest Howard Van Burnam for murder, Imay be tempted to meddle with matters which don't concern me. "

An amused smile broke through his simulated seriousness. 

"Pray accept my congratulations, then, in advance, ma'am. My health hasbeen such that I have long anticipated giving up my profession; but if Iam to have such assistants as you in my work, I shall be inclined toremain in it some time longer. "

"When a man as busy as you stops to indulge in sarcasm, he is in more orless good spirits. Such a condition, I am told, only prevails withdetectives when they have come to a positive conclusion concerning thecase they are engaged upon. "

"I see you already understand the members of your future profession. "

"As much as is necessary at this juncture, " I retorted. Then seeing himabout to repeat his bow, I added sharply: "You need not trouble yourselfto show me too much politeness. If I meddle in this matter at all itwill not be as your coadjutor, but as your rival. "

"My rival?"

"Yes, your rival; and rivals are never good friends until one of them ishopelessly defeated. "

"Miss Butterworth, I see myself already at your feet. "

And with this sally and a short chuckle which did more than anything hehad said towards settling me in my half-formed determination to do as Ihad threatened, he opened the door and quietly disappeared. 

XVIII. 

THE LITTLE PINCUSHION. 

The verdict rendered by the Coroner's jury showed it to be a morediscriminating set of men than I had calculated upon. It was murderinflicted by a hand unknown. 

I was so gratified by this that I left the court-room in quite anagitated frame of mind, so agitated, indeed, that I walked through onedoor instead of another, and thus came unexpectedly upon a group formedalmost exclusively of the Van Burnam family. 

Starting back, for I dislike anything that looks like intrusion, especially when no great end is to be gained by it, I was about toretrace my steps when I felt two soft arms about my neck. 

"Oh, Miss Butterworth, isn't it a mercy that this dreadful thing isover! I don't know when I have ever felt anything so keenly. "

It was Isabella Van Burnam. 

Startled, for the embraces bestowed on me are few, I gave a subdued sortof grunt, which nevertheless did not displease this young lady, for herarms tightened, and she murmured in my ear: "You dear old soul! I likeyou _so_ much. "

"We are going to be very good neighbors, " cooed a still sweeter voice inmy other ear. "Papa says we must call on you soon. " And Caroline'sdemure face looked around into mine in a manner some would have thoughtexceedingly bewitching. 

"Thank you, pretty poppets!" I returned, freeing myself as speedily aspossible from embraces the sincerity of which I felt open to question. "My house is always open to you. " And with little ceremony, I walkedsteadily out and betook myself to the carriage awaiting me. 

I looked upon this display of feeling as the mere gush of twoover-excited young women, and was therefore somewhat astonished when Iwas interrupted in my afternoon nap by an announcement that the twoMisses Van Burnam awaited me in the parlor. 

Going down, I saw them standing there hand in hand and both as white asa sheet. 

"O Miss Butterworth!" they cried, springing towards me, "Howard has beenarrested, and we have no one to say a word of comfort to us. "

"Arrested!" I repeated, greatly surprised, for I had not expected it tohappen so soon, if it happened at all. 

"Yes, and father is just about prostrated. Franklin, too, but he keepsup, while father has shut himself into his room and won't see anybody, not even us. O, I don't know how we are to bear it! Such a disgrace, andsuch a wicked, wicked shame! For Howard never had anything to do withhis wife's death, had he, Miss Butterworth?"

"No, " I returned, taking my ground at once, and vigorously, for I reallybelieved what I said. "He is innocent of her death, and I would like thechance of proving it. "

They evidently had not expected such an unqualified assertion from me, for they almost smothered me with kisses, and called me _their onlyfriend_! and indeed showed so much real feeling this time that I neitherpushed them away nor tried to withdraw myself from their embraces. 

When their emotions were a little exhausted I led them to a sofa and satdown before them. They were motherless girls, and my heart, if hard, isnot made of adamant or entirely unsusceptible to the calls of pity andfriendship. 

"Girls, " said I, "if you will be calm, I should like to ask you a fewquestions. "

"Ask us anything, " returned Isabella; "nobody has more right to ourconfidence than you. "

This was another of their exaggerated expressions, but I was so anxiousto hear what they had to tell, I let it pass. So instead of rebukingthem, I asked where their brother had been arrested, and found it hadbeen at his rooms and in presence of themselves and Franklin. So Iinquired further and learned that, so far as they knew, nothing had beendiscovered beyond what had come out at the inquest except that Howard'strunks had been found packed, as if he had been making preparations fora journey when interrupted by the dreadful event which had put him intothe hands of the police. As there was a certain significance in this, the girls seemed almost as much impressed by it as I was, but we did notdiscuss it long, for I suddenly changed my manner, and taking them bothby the hand, asked if they could keep a secret. 

"Secret?" they gasped. 

"Yes, a secret. You are not the girls I should confide in ordinarily;but this trouble has sobered you. "

"O, we can do anything, " began Isabella; and "Only try us, " murmuredCaroline. 

But knowing the volubility of the one and the weakness of the other, Ishook my head at their promises, and merely tried to impress them withthe fact that their brother's safety depended upon their discretion. Atwhich they looked very determined for poppets, and squeezed my hands sotightly that I wished I had left off some of my rings before engaging inthis interview. 

When they were quiet again and ready to listen I told them my plans. They were surprised, of course, and wondered how I could do anythingtowards finding out the real murderer of their sister-in-law; but seeinghow resolved I looked, changed their tone and avowed with much feelingtheir perfect confidence in me and in the success of anything I mightundertake. 

This was encouraging, and ignoring their momentary distrust, I proceededto say:

"But for me to be successful in this matter, no one must know myinterest in it. You must pay me no visits, give me no confidences, nor, if you can help it, mention my name before _any one_, not even beforeyour father and brother. So much for precautionary measures, my dears;and now for the active ones. I have no curiosity, as I think you mustsee, but I shall have to ask you a few questions which under othercircumstances would savor more or less of impertinence. Had yoursister-in-law any special admirers among the other sex?"

"Oh, " protested Caroline, shrinking back, while Isabella's eyes grewround as a frightened child's. "None that we ever heard of. She wasn'tthat kind of a woman, was she, Belle? It wasn't for any such reasonpapa didn't like her. "

"No, no, _that_ would have been too dreadful. It was her family weobjected to, that's all. "

"Well, well, " I apologized, tapping their hands reassuringly, "I onlyasked--let me now say--from curiosity, though I have not a particle ofthat quality, I assure you. "

"Did you think--did you have any idea--" faltered Caroline, "that----"

"Never mind, " I interrupted. "You must let my words go in one ear andout of the other after you have answered them. I wish"--here I assumed abrisk air--"that I could go through your parlors again before everytrace of the crime perpetrated there has been removed. "

"Why, you can, " replied Isabella. 

"There is no one in them now, " added Caroline, "Franklin went out justbefore we left. "

At which I blandly rose, and following their leadership, soon foundmyself once again in the Van Burnam mansion. 

My first glance upon re-entering the parlors was naturally directedtowards the spot where the tragedy had taken place. The cabinet had beenreplaced and the shelves set back upon it; but the latter were empty, and neither on them nor on the adjacent mantel-piece did I see theclock. This set me thinking, and I made up my mind to have another lookat that clock. By dint of judicious questions I found that it had beencarried into the third room, where we soon found it lying on a shelf ofthe same closet where the hat had been discovered by Mr. Gryce. Franklinhad put it there, fearing that the sight of it might affect Howard, andfrom the fact that the hands stood as I had left them, I gathered thatneither he nor any of the family had discovered that it was in runningcondition. 

Assured of this, I astonished them by requesting to have it taken downand set up on the table, which they had no sooner done than it startedto tick just as it had done under my hand a few nights before. 

The girls, greatly startled, surveyed each other wonderingly. 

"Why, it's going!" cried Caroline. 

"Who could have wound it!" marvelled Isabella. 

"Hark!" I cried. The clock had begun to strike. 

It gave forth five clear notes. 

"Well, it's a mystery!" Isabella exclaimed. Then seeing no astonishmentin my face, she added: "Did you know about this, Miss Butterworth?"

"My dear girls, " I hastened to say, with all the impressivenesscharacteristic of me in my more serious moments. "I do not expect you toask me for any information I do not volunteer. This is hard, I know; butsome day I will be perfectly frank with you. Are you willing to acceptmy aid on these terms?"

"O yes, " they gasped, but they looked not a little disappointed. 

"And now, " said I, "leave the clock where it is, and when your brothercomes home, show it to him, and say that having the curiosity to examineit you were surprised to find it going, and that you had left it therefor him to see. He will be surprised also, and as a consequence willquestion first you and then the police to find out who wound it. If theyacknowledge having done it, you must notify me at once, for that's whatI want to know. Do you understand, Caroline? And, Isabella, do you feelthat you can go through all this without dropping a word concerning meand my interest in this matter?"

Of course they answered yes, and of course it was with so mucheffusiveness that I was obliged to remind them that they must keep acheck on their enthusiasm, and also to suggest that they should not cometo my house or send me any notes, but simply a blank card, signifying:"No one knows who wound the clock. "

"How delightfully mysterious!" cried Isabella. And with this girlishexclamation our talk in regard to the clock closed. 

The next object that attracted our attention was a paper-covered novel Idiscovered on a side-table in the same room. 

"Whose is this?" I asked. 

"Not mine. "

"Not mine. "

"Yet it was published this summer, " I remarked. 

They stared at me astonished, and Isabella caught up the book. It wasone of those summer publications intended mainly for railroaddistribution, and while neither ragged nor soiled, bore evidence ofhaving been read. 

"Let me take it, " said I. 

Isabella at once passed it into my hands. 

"Does your brother smoke?" I asked. 

"Which brother?"

"Either of them. "

"Franklin sometimes, but Howard, never. It disagrees with him, Ibelieve. "

"There is a faint odor of tobacco about these pages. Can it have beenbrought here by Franklin?"

"O no, he never reads novels, not such novels as this, at all events. Heloses a lot of pleasure, we think. "

I turned the pages over. The latter ones were so fresh I could almostput my finger on the spot where the reader had left off. Feeling like abloodhound who has just run upon a trail, I returned the book toCaroline, with the injunction to put it away; adding, as I saw her airof hesitation: "If your brother Franklin misses it, it will show that hebrought it here, and then I shall have no further interest in it. " Whichseemed to satisfy her, for she put it away at once on a high shelf. 

Perceiving nothing else in these rooms of a suggestive character, I ledthe way into the hall. There I had a new idea. 

"Which of you was the first to go through the rooms upstairs?" Iinquired. 

"Both of us, " answered Isabella. "We came together. Why do you ask, MissButterworth?"

"I was wondering if you found everything in order there?"

"We did not notice anything wrong, did we, Caroline? Do you think thatthe--the person who committed that awful crime went _up-stairs_? Icouldn't sleep a wink if I thought so. "

"Nor I, " Caroline put in. "O, don't say that he went up-stairs, MissButterworth!"

"I do not know it, " I rejoined. 

"But you asked----"

"And I ask again. Wasn't there some little thing out of its usualplace? I was up in your front chamber after water for a minute, but Ididn't touch anything but the mug. "

"We missed the mug, but--O Caroline, the pin-cushion! Do you supposeMiss Butterworth means the pin-cushion?"

I started. Did she refer to the one I had picked up from the floor andplaced on a side-table?

"What about the pin-cushion?" I asked. 

"O nothing, but we did not know what to make of its being on the table. You see, we had a little pin-cushion shaped like a tomato which alwayshung at the side of our bureau. It was tied to one of the brackets andwas never taken off; Caroline having a fancy for it because it kept herfavorite black pins out of the reach of the neighbor's children whenthey came here. Well, this cushion, this sacred cushion which none of usdared touch, was found by us on a little table by the door, with theribbon hanging from it by which it had been tied to the bureau. Some onehad pulled it off, and very roughly too, for the ribbon was all raggedand torn. But there is nothing in a little thing like that to interestyou, is there, Miss Butterworth?"

"No, " said I, not relating my part in the affair; "not if our neighbor'schildren were the marauders. "

"But none of them came in for days before we left. "

"Are there pins in the cushion?"

"When we found it, do you mean? No. "

I did not remember seeing any, but one cannot always trust to one'smemory. 

"But you had left pins in it?"

"Possibly, I don't remember. Why should I remember such a thing asthat?"

I thought to myself, "I would know whether I left pins on my pin-cushionor not, " but every one is not as methodical as I am, more's the pity. 

"Have you anywhere about you a pin like those you keep on that cushion?"I inquired of Caroline. 

She felt at her belt and neck and shook her head. 

"I may have upstairs, " she replied. 

"Then get me one. " But before she could start, I pulled her back. "Dideither of you sleep in that room last night?"

"No, we were going to, " answered Isabella, "but afterwards Caroline tooka freak to sleep in one of the rooms on the third floor. She said shewanted to get away from the parlors as far as possible. "

"Then I should like a peep at the one overhead. "

The wrenching of the pin-cushion from its place had given me an idea. 

They looked at me wistfully as they turned to mount the stairs, but Idid not enlighten them further. What would an idea be worth shared bythem!

Their father undoubtedly lay in the back room, for they moved verysoftly around the head of the stairs, but once in front they let theirtongues run loose again. I, who cared nothing for their babble when itcontained no information, walked slowly about the room and finallystopped before the bed. 

It had a fresh look, and I at once asked them if it had been lately madeup. They assured me that it had not, saying that they always kept theirbeds spread during their absence, as they did so hate to enter a roomdisfigured by bare mattresses. 

I could have read them a lecture on the niceties of housekeeping, but Irefrained; instead of that I pointed to a little dent in the smoothsurface of the bed nearest the door. 

"Did either of you two make that?" I asked. 

They shook their heads in amazement. 

"What is there in that?" began Caroline; but I motioned her to bring methe little cushion, which she no sooner did than I laid it in the littledent, which it fitted to a nicety. 

"You wonderful old thing!" exclaimed Caroline. "How ever did youthink----"

But I stopped her enthusiasm with a look. I may be wonderful, but I amnot old, and it is time they knew it. 

"Mr. _Gryce_ is _old_, " said I; and lifting the cushion, I placed it ona perfectly smooth portion of the bed. "Now take it up, " said I, when, lo! a second dent similar to the first. 

"You see where that cushion has lain before being placed on the table, "I remarked, and reminding Caroline of the pin I wanted, I took my leaveand returned to my own house, leaving behind me two girls as much filledwith astonishment as the giddiness of their pates would allow. 

XIX. 

A DECIDED STEP FORWARD. 

I felt that I had made an advance. It was a small one, no doubt, but itwas an advance. It would not do to rest there, however, or to drawdefinite conclusions from what I had seen without further facts to guideme. Mrs. Boppert could supply these facts, or so I believed. AccordinglyI decided to visit Mrs. Boppert. 

Not knowing whether Mr. Gryce had thought it best to put a watch over mymovements, but taking it for granted that it would be like him to do so, I made a couple of formal calls on the avenue before I started eastward. I had learned Mrs. Boppert's address before leaving home, but I did notride directly to the tenement where she lived. I chose, instead, to getout at a little fancy store I saw in the neighborhood. 

It was a curious place. I never saw so many or such variety of things inone small spot in my life, but I did not waste any time upon this quaintinterior, but stepped immediately up to the good woman I saw leaningover the counter. 

"Do you know a Mrs. Boppert who lives at 803?" I asked. 

The woman's look was too quick and suspicious for denial; but she wasabout to attempt it, when I cut her short by saying:

"I wish to see Mrs. Boppert very much, but not in her own rooms. I willpay any one well who will assist me to five minutes' conversation withher in such a place, say, as that I see behind the glass door at the endof this very shop. "

The woman, startled by so unexpected a proposition, drew back a step, and was about to shake her head, when I laid on the counter before her(shall I say how much? Yes, for it was not thrown away) a five-dollarbill, which she no sooner saw than she gave a gasp of delight. 

"Will you give me _that_?" she cried. 

For answer I pushed it towards her, but before her fingers could clutchit, I resolutely said:

"Mrs. Boppert must not know there is anybody waiting here to see her, orshe will not come. I have no ill-will towards her, and mean her onlygood, but she's a timid sort of person, and----"

"I know she's timid, " broke in the good woman, eagerly. "And she's hadenough to make her so! What with policemen drumming her up at night, andinnocent-looking girls and boys luring her into corners to tell themwhat she saw in that grand house where the murder took place, she'sgrown that feared of her shadow you can hardly get her out aftersundown. But I think I can get her here; and if you mean her no harm, why, ma'am----" Her fingers were on the bill, and charmed with the feelof it, she forgot to finish her sentence. 

"Is there any one in the room back there?" I asked, anxious to recallher to herself. 

"No, ma'am, no one at all. I am a poor widder, and not used to suchcompany as you; but if you will sit down, I will make myself look morefit and have Mrs. Boppert over here in a minute. " And calling to someone of the name of Susie to look after the shop, she led the way towardsthe glass door I have mentioned. 

Relieved to find everything working so smoothly and determined to getthe worth of my money out of Mrs. Boppert when I saw her, I followed thewoman into the most crowded room I ever entered. The shop was nothing toit; there you could move without hitting anything; here you could not. There were tables against every wall, and chairs where there were notables. Opposite me was a window-ledge filled with flowering plants, andat my right a grate and mantel-piece covered, that is the latter, withinnumerable small articles which had evidently passed a long and forlornprobation on the shop shelves before being brought in here. While I waslooking at them and marvelling at the small quantity of dust I found, the woman herself disappeared behind a stack of boxes, for which therewas undoubtedly no room in the shop. Could she have gone for Mrs. Boppert already, or had she slipped into another room to hide the moneywhich had come so unexpectedly into her hands?

I was not long left in doubt, for in another moment she returned with aflower-bedecked cap on her smooth gray head, that transformed her into afigure at once so complacent and so ridiculous that, had my nerves notbeen made of iron, I should certainly have betrayed my amusement. Withit she had also put on her company manner, and what with the smiles shebestowed upon me and her perfect satisfaction with her own appearance, Ihad all I could do to hold my own and keep her to the matter in hand. Finally she managed to take in my anxiety and her own duty, and sayingthat Mrs. Boppert could never refuse a cup of tea, offered to send heran invitation to supper. As this struck me favorably, I nodded, at whichshe cocked her head on one side and insinuatingly whispered:

"And would you pay for the tea, ma'am?"

I uttered an indignant "No!" which seemed to surprise her. Immediatelybecoming humble again, she replied it was no matter, that she had teaenough and that the shop would supply cakes and crackers; to all ofwhich I responded with a look which awed her so completely that shealmost dropped the dishes with which she was endeavoring to set one ofthe tables. 

"She does so hate to talk about the murder that it will be a perfectgodsend to her to drop into good company like this with no pryingneighbors about. Shall I set a chair for you, ma'am?"

I declined the honor, saying that I would remain seated where I was, adding, as I saw her about to go:

"Let her walk straight in, and she will be in the middle of the roombefore she sees me. That will suit her and me too; for after she hasonce seen me, she won't be frightened. _But you are not to listen at thedoor. _"

This I said with great severity, for I saw the woman was becoming verycurious, and having said it, I waved her peremptorily away. 

She didn't like it, but a thought of the five dollars comforted her. Casting one final look at the table, which was far from uninvitinglyset, she slipped out and I was left to contemplate the dozen or sophotographs that covered the walls. I found them so atrocious and theirarrangement so distracting to my bump of order, which is of a pronouncedcharacter, that I finally shut my eyes on the whole scene, and in thisattitude began to piece my thoughts together. But before I had proceededfar, steps were heard in the shop, and the next moment the door flewopen and in popped Mrs. Boppert, with a face like a peony in fullblossom. She stopped when she saw me and stared. 

"Why, if it isn't the lady----"

"Hush! Shut the door. I have something very particular to say to you. "

"O, " she began, looking as if she wanted to back out. But I was tooquick for her. I shut the door myself and, taking her by the arm, seatedher in the corner. 

"You don't show much gratitude, " I remarked. 

I did not know what she had to be grateful to me for, but she had soplainly intimated at our first interview that she regarded me as havingdone her some favor, that I was disposed to make what use of it I could, to gain her confidence. 

"I know, ma'am, but if you could see how I've been harried, ma'am. It'sthe murder, and nothing but the murder all the time; and it was to getaway from the talk about it that I came here, ma'am, and now it's you Isee, and you'll be talking about it too, or why be in such a place asthis, ma'am?"

"And what if I do talk about it? You know I'm your friend, or I neverwould have done you that good turn the morning we came upon the poorgirl's body. "

"I know, ma'am, and grateful I am for it, too; but I've never understoodit, ma'am. Was it to save me from being blamed by the wicked police, orwas it a dream you had, and the gentleman had, for I've heard what hesaid at the inquest, and it's muddled my head till I don't know whereI'm standing. "

What I had said and what the gentleman had said! What did the poor thingmean? As I did not dare to show my ignorance, I merely shook my head. 

"Never mind what caused us to speak as we did, as long as we helped_you_. And we did help you? The police never found out what you had todo with this woman's death, did they?"

"No, ma'am, O no, ma'am. When such a respectable lady as you said thatyou saw the young lady come into the house in the middle of the night, how was they to disbelieve it. They never asked me if I knew anydifferent. "

"No, " said I, almost struck dumb by my success, but letting no hint ofmy complacency escape me. "And I did not mean they should. You are adecent woman, Mrs. Boppert, and should not be troubled. "

"Thank you, ma'am. But how did you know she had come to the house beforeI left. Did you see her?"

I hate a lie as I do poison, but I had to exercise all my Christianprinciples not to tell one then. 

"No, " said I, "I didn't see her, but I don't always have to use my eyesto know what is going on in my neighbor's houses. " Which is true enough, if it is somewhat humiliating to confess it. 

"O ma'am, how smart you are, ma'am! I wish I had some smartness in me. But my husband had all that. He was a man--O what's that?"

"Nothing but the tea-caddy; I knocked it over with my elbow. "

"How I do jump at everything! I'm afraid of my own shadow ever since Isaw that poor thing lying under that heap of crockery. "

"I don't wonder. "

"She must have pulled those things over herself, don't you think so, ma'am? No one went in there to murder her. But how came she to havethose clothes on. She was dressed quite different when I let her in. Isay it's all a muddle, ma'am, and it will be a smart man as can explainit. "

"Or a smart woman, " I thought. 

"Did I do wrong, ma'am? That's what plagues me. She begged so hard tocome in, I didn't know how to shut the door on her. Besides her name wasVan Burnam, or so she told me. "

Here was a coil. Subduing my surprise, I remarked:

"If she asked you to let her in, I do not see how you could refuse her. Was it in the morning or late in the afternoon she came?"

"Don't you know, ma'am? I thought you knew all about it from the way youtalked. "

Had I been indiscreet? Could she not bear questioning? Eying her withsome severity, I declared in a less familiar tone than any I had yetused:

"Nobody knows more about it than I do, but I do not know just the hourat which this lady came to the house. But I do not ask you to tell me ifyou do not want to. "

"O ma'am, " she humbly remonstrated, "I am sure I am willing to tell youeverything. It was in the afternoon while I was doing the front basementfloor. "

"And she came to the basement door?"

"Yes, ma'am. "

"And asked to be let in?"

"Yes, ma'am. "

"Young Mrs. Van Burnam?"

"Yes, ma'am. "

"Dressed in a black and white plaid silk, and wearing a hat covered withflowers?"

"Yes, ma'am, or something like that. I know it was very bright andbecoming. "

"And why did she come to the basement door--a lady dressed like that?"

"Because she knew I couldn't open the front door; that I hadn't the key. O she talked beautiful, ma'am, and wasn't proud with me a bit. She mademe let her stay in the house, and when I said it would be dark after awhile and that I hadn't done nothing to the rooms upstairs, she laughedand said she didn't care, that she wasn't afraid of the dark and hadjust as lieve as not stay in the big house alone all night, for she hada book--Did you say anything, ma'am?"

"No, no, go on, she had a book. "

"Which she could read till she got sleepy. I never thought anythingwould happen to her. "

"Of course not, why should you? And so you let her into the house andleft her there when you went out of it? Well, I don't wonder you wereshocked to see her lying dead on the floor next morning. "

"Awful, ma'am. I was afraid they would blame me for what had happened. But I didn't do nothing to make her die. I only let her stay in thehouse. Do you think they will do anything to me if they know it?"

"No, " said I, trying to understand this woman's ignorant fears, "theydon't punish such things. More's the pity!"--this in confidence tomyself. "How could you know that a piece of furniture would fall on herbefore morning. Did you lock her in when you left the house?"

"Yes, ma'am. She told me to. "

Then she was a prisoner. 

Confounded by the mystery of the whole affair, I sat so still the womanlooked up in wonder, and I saw I had better continue my questions. 

"What reason did she give for wanting to stay in the house all night?"

"What reason, ma'am? I don't know. Something about her having to bethere when Mr. Van Burnam came home. I didn't make it out, and I didn'ttry to. I was too busy wondering what she would have to eat. "

"And what did she have?"

"I don't know, ma'am. She said she had something, but I didn't see it. "

"Perhaps you were blinded by the money she gave you. She gave you some, of course?"

"O, not much, ma'am, not much. And I wouldn't have taken a cent if ithad not seemed to make her so happy to give it. The pretty, prettything! A real lady, whatever they say about her!"

"And happy? You said she was happy, cheerful-looking, and pretty. "

"O yes, ma'am; _she_ didn't know what was going to happen. I even heardher sing after she went up-stairs. "

I wished that my ears had been attending to their duty that day, and Imight have heard her sing too. But the walls between my house and thatof the Van Burnams are very thick, as I have had occasion to observemore than once. 

"Then she went up-stairs before you left?"

"To be sure, ma'am; what would she do in the kitchen?"

"And you didn't see her again?"

"No, ma'am; but I heard her walking around. "

"In the parlors, you mean?"

"Yes, ma'am, in the parlors. "

"You did not go up yourself?"

"No, ma'am, I had enough to do below. "

"Didn't you go up when you went away?"

"No, ma'am; I didn't like to. "

"When did you go?"

"At five, ma'am; I always go at five. "

"How did you know it was five?"

"The kitchen clock told me; I wound it, ma'am and set it when thewhistles blew at twelve. "

"Was that the only clock you wound?"

"Only clock? Do you think I'd be going around the house winding anyothers?"

Her face showed such surprise, and her eyes met mine so frankly, that Iwas convinced she spoke the truth. Gratified--I don't know why, --Ibestowed upon her my first smile, which seemed to affect her, for herface softened, and she looked at me quite eagerly for a minute beforeshe said:

"You don't think so very bad of me, do you, ma'am?"

But I had been struck by a thought which made me for the momentoblivious to her question. _She_ had wound the clock in the kitchen forher own uses, and why may not the lady above have wound the one in theparlor for hers? Filled with this startling idea, I remarked:

"The young lady wore a watch, of course?"

But the suggestion passed unheeded. Mrs. Boppert was as much absorbed inher own thoughts as I was. 

"Did young Mrs. Van Burnam wear a watch?" I persisted. 

Mrs. Boppert's face remained a blank. 

Provoked at her impassibility, I shook her with an angry hand, imperatively demanding:

"What are you thinking of? Why don't you answer my questions?"

She was herself again in an instant. 

"O ma'am, I beg your pardon. I was wondering if you meant the parlorclock. "

I calmed myself, looked severe to hide my more than eager interest, andsharply cried:

"Of course I mean the parlor clock. Did you wind it?"

"O no, no, no, I would as soon think of touching gold or silver. But theyoung lady did, I'm sure, ma'am, for I heard it strike when she wassetting of it. "

Ah! If my nature had not been an undemonstrative one, and if I had notbeen bred to a strong sense of social distinctions, I might havebetrayed my satisfaction at this announcement in a way that would havemade this homely German woman start. As it was I sat stock-still, andeven made her think I had not heard her. Venturing to rouse _me_ a bit, she spoke again after a minute's silence. 

"She might have been lonely, you know, ma'am; and the ticking of a clockis such company. "

"Yes, " I answered with more than my accustomed vivacity, for she jumpedas if I had struck her. "You have hit the nail on the head, Mrs. Boppert, and are a much smarter woman than I thought. But when did shewind the clock?"

"At five o'clock, ma'am; just before I left the house. "

"O, and did she know you were going?"

"I think so, ma'am, for I called up, just before I put on my bonnet, that it was five o'clock and that I was going. "

"O, you did. And did she answer back?"

"Yes, ma'am. I heard her step in the hall and then her voice. She askedif I was sure it was five, and I told her yes, because I had set thekitchen clock at twelve. She didn't say any more, but just after that Iheard the parlor clock begin to strike. "

O, thought I, what cannot be got out of the most stupid and unwillingwitness by patience and a judicious use of questions. To know that thisclock was started after five o'clock, that is, after the hour at whichthe hands pointed when it fell, and that it was set correctly instarting, and so would give indisputable testimony of the hour when theshelves fell, were points of the greatest importance. I was so pleased Igave the woman another smile. 

Instantly she cried:

"But you won't say anything about it, will you, ma'am? They might makeme pay for all the things that were broke. "

My smile this time was not one of encouragement simply. But it mighthave been anything for all effect it had on her. The intricacies of theaffair had disturbed her poor brain again, and all her powers of mindwere given up to lament. 

"O, " she bemoaned, "I wish I had never seen her! My head wouldn't acheso with the muddle of it. Why, ma'am, her husband said he came to thehouse at midnight with his wife! How could he when she was inside of itall the time. But then perhaps he said that, just as you did, to save meblame. But why should a gentleman like him do that?"

"It isn't worth while for you to bother your head about it, " Iexpostulated. "It is enough that _my_ head aches over it. "

I don't suppose she understood me or tried to. Her wits had been sorelytried and my rather severe questioning had not tended to clear them. Atall events she went on in another moment as if I had not spoken:

"But what became of her pretty dress? I was never so astonished in mylife as when I saw that dark skirt on her. "

"She might have left her fine gown upstairs, " I ventured, not wishing togo into the niceties of evidence with this woman. 

"So she might, so she might, and that may have been her petticoat wesaw. " But in another moment she saw the impossibility of this, for sheadded: "But I saw her petticoat, and it was a brown silk one. She showedit when she lifted her skirt to get at her purse. I don't understand it, ma'am. "

As her face by this time was almost purple, I thought it a mercy toclose the interview; so I uttered some few words of a soothing andencouraging nature, and then seeing that something more tangible wasnecessary to restore her to any proper condition of spirits, I took outmy pocket-book and bestowed on her some of my loose silver. 

This was something she _could_ understand. She brightened immediately, and before she was well through her expressions of delight, I hadquitted the room and in a few minutes later the shop. 

I hope the two women had their cup of tea after that. 

XX. 

MISS BUTTERWORTH'S THEORY. 

I was so excited when I entered my carriage that I rode all the way homewith my bonnet askew and never knew it. When I reached my room and sawmyself in the glass, I was shocked, and stole a glance at Lena, who wassetting out my little tea-table, to see if she noticed what a ridiculousfigure I cut. But she is discretion itself, and for a girl with twoundeniable dimples in her cheeks, smiles seldom--at least when I amlooking at her. She was not smiling now, and though, for the reasongiven above, this was not as comforting as it may appear, I chose not toworry myself any longer about such a trifle when I had matters of somuch importance on my mind. 

Taking off my bonnet, whose rakish appearance had given me such a shock, I sat down, and for half an hour neither moved nor spoke. I wasthinking. A theory which had faintly suggested itself to me at theinquest was taking on body with these later developments. Two hats hadbeen found on the scene of the tragedy, and two pairs of gloves, and nowI had learned that there had been two women there, the one whom Mrs. Boppert had locked into the house on leaving it, and the one whom I hadseen enter at midnight with Mr. Van Burnam. Which of the two hadperished? We had been led to think, and Mr. Van Burnam had himselfacknowledged, that it was his wife; but his wife had been dressed quitedifferently from the murdered woman, and was, as I soon began to see, much more likely to have been the assassin than the victim. Would youlike to know my reasons for this extraordinary statement? If so, theyare these:

I had always seen a woman's hand in this work, but having no reason tobelieve in the presence of any other woman on the scene of crime thanthe victim, I had put this suspicion aside as untenable. But now that Ihad found the second woman, I returned to it. 

But how connect her with the murder? It seemed easy enough to do so ifthis other woman was her rival. We have heard of no rival, but she mayhave known of one, and this knowledge may have been at the bottom of herdisagreement with her husband and the half-crazy determination sheevinced to win his family over to her side. Let us say, then, that thesecond woman was Mrs. Van Burnam's rival. That he brought her there notknowing that his wife had effected an entrance into the house; broughther there after an afternoon spent at the Hotel D----, during which hehad furnished her with a new outfit of less pronounced type, perhaps, than that she had previously worn. The use of the two carriages and thecare they took to throw suspicion off their track, may have been part ofa scheme of future elopement, for I had no idea they meant to remain inMr. Van Burnam's house. For what purpose, then, did they go there? Tomeet Mrs. Van Burnam and kill her, that their way might be clearer forflight? No; I had rather think that they went to the house without athought of whom they would encounter, and that only after they hadentered the parlors did he realize that the two women he least wished tosee together had been brought by his folly face to face. 

The presence in the third room of Mrs. Van Burnam's hat, gloves, andnovel seemed to argue that she had spent the evening in reading by thedining-room table, but whether this was so or not, the stopping of acarriage in front and the opening of the door by an accustomed handundoubtedly assured her that either the old gentleman or some othermember of the family had unexpectedly arrived. She was, therefore, in ornear the parlor-door when they entered, and the shock of meeting herhated rival in company with her husband, under the very roof where shehad hoped to lay the foundations of her future happiness, must have beengreat, if not maddening. Accusations, recriminations even, did notsatisfy her. She wanted to kill; but she had no weapon. Suddenly hereyes fell on the hat-pin which her more self-possessed rival had drawnfrom her hat, possibly before their encounter, and she conceived a planwhich seemed to promise her the very revenge she sought. How she carriedit out; by what means she was enabled to approach her victim and inflictwith such certainty the fatal stab which laid her enemy at her feet, canbe left to the imagination. But that she, a woman, and not Howard, aman, drove this woman's weapon into the stranger's spine, I will yetprove, or lose all faith in my own intuitions. 

But if this theory is true, how about the shelves that fell at daybreak, and how about her escape from the house without detection? A littlethought will explain all that. The man, horrified, no doubt, at theresult of his imprudence, and execrating the crime to which it had led, left the house almost immediately. But the woman remained there, possibly because she had fainted, possibly because he would have nothingto do with her; and coming to herself, saw her victim's face staring upat her with an accusing beauty she found it impossible to meet. Whatshould she do to escape it? Where should she go? She hated it so shecould have trampled on it, but she restrained her passions tilldaybreak, when in one wild burst of fury and hatred she drew down thecabinet upon it, and then fled the scene of horror she had herselfcaused. This was at five, or, to be exact, three minutes before thathour, as shown by the clock she had carelessly set in her lightermoments. 

She escaped by the front door, which her husband had mercifully forborneto lock; and she had not been discovered by the police, because herappearance did not tally with the description which had been given them. How did I know this? Remember the discoveries I had made in Miss VanBurnam's room, and allow them to assist you in understanding myconclusions. 

Some one had gone into that room; some one who wanted pins; and keepingthis fact before my eyes, I saw through the motive and actions of theescaping woman. She had on a dress separated at the waist, and finding, perhaps, a spot of blood on the skirt, she conceived the plan ofcovering it with her petticoat, which was also of silk and undoubtedlyas well made as many women's dresses. But the skirt of the gown waslonger than the petticoat and she was obliged to pin it up. Having nopins herself, and finding none on the parlor floor, she went up-stairsto get some. The door at the head of the stairs was locked, but thefront room was open, so she entered there. Groping her way to thebureau, for the place was very dark, she found a pin-cushion hangingfrom a bracket. Feeling it to be full of pins, and knowing that shecould see nothing where she was, she tore it away and carried it towardsthe door. Here there was some light from the skylight over the stairs, so setting the cushion down on the bed, she pinned up the skirt of hergown. 

When this was done she started away, brushing the cushion off the bed inher excitement, and fearing to be traced by her many-colored hat, orhaving no courage remaining for facing again the horror in the parlor, she slid out without one and went, God knows whither, in her terror andremorse. 

So much for my theory; now for the facts standing in the way of itscomplete acceptance. They were two: the scar on the ankle of the deadgirl, which was a peculiarity of Louise Van Burnam, and the mark of therings on her fingers. But who had identified the scar? Her husband. Noone else. And if the other woman had, by some strange freak of chance, ascar also on her left foot, then the otherwise unaccountable apathy hehad shown at being told of this distinctive mark, as well as histemerity in afterwards taking it as a basis for his falseidentification, becomes equally consistent and natural; and as for themarks of the rings, it would be strange if such a woman did not wearrings and plenty of them. 

Howard's conduct under examination and the contradiction between hisfirst assertions and those that followed, all become clear in the lightof this new theory. He had seen his wife kill a defenceless womanbefore his eyes, and whether influenced by his old affection for her orby his pride in her good name, he could not but be anxious to concealher guilt even at the cost of his own truthfulness. As long then ascircumstances permitted, he preserved his indifferent attitude, anddenied that the dead woman was his wife. But when driven to the wall bythe indisputable proof which was brought forth of his wife having beenin the place of murder, he saw, or thought he did, that a continueddenial on his part of Louise Van Burnam being the victim might leadsooner or later to the suspicion of her being the murderer, andinfluenced by this fear, took the sudden resolution of profiting by allthe points which the two women had in common by acknowledging, whateverybody had expected him to acknowledge from the first, that the womanat the Morgue was his wife. This would exonerate her, rid him of anyapprehension he may have entertained of her ever returning to be adisgrace to him, and would (and perhaps this thought influenced himmost, for who can understand such men or the passions that sway them)insure the object of his late devotion a decent burial in a Christiancemetery. To be sure, the risk he ran was great, but the emergency wasgreat, and he may not have stopped to count the cost. At all events, thefact is certain that he perjured himself when he said that it was hiswife he brought to the house from the Hotel D----, and if he perjuredhimself in this regard, he probably perjured himself in others, and histestimony is not at all to be relied upon. 

Convinced though I was in my own mind that I had struck a truth whichwould bear the closest investigation, I was not satisfied to act uponit till I had put it to the test. The means I took to do this weredaring, and quite in keeping with the whole desperate affair. Theypromised, however, a result important enough to make Mr. Gryce blush forthe disdain with which he had met my threats of interference. 

XXI. 

A SHREWD CONJECTURE. 

The test of which I speak was as follows:

I would advertise for a person dressed as I believed Mrs. Van Burnam tohave been when she left the scene of crime. If I received news of such aperson, I might safely consider my theory established. 

I accordingly wrote the following advertisement:

 "Information wanted of a woman who applied for lodgings on the morning of the eighteenth inst. , dressed in a brown silk skirt and a black and white plaid blouse of fashionable cut. She was without a hat, or if a person so dressed wore a hat, then it was bought early in the morning at some store, in which case let shopkeepers take notice. The person answering this description is eagerly sought for by her relatives, and to any one giving positive information of the same, a liberal reward will be paid. Please address, T. W. Alvord, ---- Liberty Street. "

I purposely did not mention her personal appearance, for fear ofattracting the attention of the police. 

This done, I wrote the following letter:

 "DEAR MISS FERGUSON:

 "One clever woman recognizes another. I am clever and am not ashamed to own it. You are clever and should not be ashamed to be told so. I was a witness at the inquest in which you so notably distinguished yourself, and I said then, 'There is a woman after my own heart!' But a truce to compliments! What I want and ask of you to procure for me is a photograph of Mrs. Van Burnam. I am a friend of the family, and consider them to be in more trouble than they deserve. If I had her picture I would show it to the Misses Van Burnam, who feel great remorse at their treatment of her, and who want to see how she looked. Cannot you find one in their rooms? The one in Mr. Howard's room here has been confiscated by the police. [C]

 "Hoping that you will feel disposed to oblige me in this--and I assure you that my motives in making this request are most excellent--I remain, "Cordially yours, "AMELIA BUTTERWORTH. 

 "P. S. --Address me, if you please, at 564 ---- Avenue. Care of J. H. Denham. "

This was my grocer, with whom I left word the next morning to deliverthis package in the next bushel of potatoes he sent me. 

My smart little maid, Lena, carried these two communications to the eastside, where she posted the letter herself and entrusted theadvertisement to a lover of hers who carried it to the _Herald_ office. While she was gone I tried to rest by exercising my mind in otherdirections. But I could not. I kept going over Howard's testimony in thelight of my own theory, and remarking how the difficulty he experiencedin maintaining the position he had taken, forced him intoinconsistencies and far-fetched explanations. With his wife for acompanion at the Hotel D----, his conduct both there and on the road tohis father's house was that of a much weaker man than his words andappearance led one to believe; but if, on the contrary, he had with hima woman with whom he was about to elope (and what did the packing up ofall his effects mean, if not that?), all the precautions they tookseemed reasonable. 

Later, my mind fixed itself on one point. If it was his wife who waswith him, as he said, then the bundle they dropped at the old woman'sfeet contained the much-talked of plaid silk. If it was not, then it wasa gown of some different material. Now, could this bundle be found? Ifit could, then why had not Mr. Gryce produced it? The sight of Mrs. VanBurnam's plaid silk spread out on the Coroner's table would have had agreat effect in clinching the suspicion against her husband. But noplaid silk had been found (because it was not dropped in the bundle, butworn away on the murderess's back), and no old woman. I thought I knewthe reason of this too. There was no old woman to be found, and thebundle they carried had been got rid of some other way. What way? Iwould take a walk down that same block and see, and I would take it atthe midnight hour too, for only so could I judge of the possibilitiesthere offered for concealing or destroying such an article. 

Having made this decision, I cast about to see how I could carry it intoeffect. I am not a coward, but I have a respectability to maintain, andwhat errand could Miss Butterworth be supposed to have in the streets attwelve o'clock at night! Fortunately, I remembered that my cook hadcomplained of toothache when I gave her my orders for breakfast, andgoing down at once into the kitchen, where she sat with her cheekpropped up in her hand waiting for Lena, I said with an asperity whichadmitted of no reply:

"You have a dreadful tooth, Sarah, and you must have something done forit at once. When Lena comes home, send her to me. I am going to thedrug-store for some drops, and I want Lena to accompany me. "

She looked astounded, of course, but I would not let her answer me. "Don't speak a word, " I cried, "it will only make your toothache worse;and don't look as if some hobgoblin had jumped up on the kitchen table. I guess I know my duty, and just what kind of a breakfast I will have inthe morning, if you sit up all night groaning with the toothache. " And Iwas out of the room before she had more than begun to say that it wasnot so bad, and that I needn't trouble, and all that, which was trueenough, no doubt, but not what I wanted to hear at that moment. 

When Lena came in, I saw by the brightness of her face that she hadaccomplished her double errand. I therefore signified to her that I wassatisfied, and asked if she was too tired to go out again, saying quiteperemptorily that Sarah was ill, and that I was going to the drug-storefor some medicine, and did not wish to go alone. 

Lena's round-eyed wonder was amusing; but she is very discreet, as Ihave said before, and she ventured nothing save a meek, "It's very late, Miss Butterworth, " which was an unnecessary remark, as she soon saw. 

I do not like to obtrude my aristocratic tendencies too much into thisnarrative, but when I found myself in the streets alone with Lena, Icould not help feeling some secret qualms lest my conduct savored ofimpropriety. But the thought that I was working in the cause of truthand justice came to sustain me, and before I had gone two blocks, I feltas much at home under the midnight skies as if I were walking home fromchurch on a Sunday afternoon. 

There is a certain drug-store on Third Avenue where I like to deal, andtowards this I ostensibly directed my steps. But I took pains to go bythe way of Lexington Avenue and Twenty-seventh Street, and upon reachingthe block where this mysterious couple were seen, gave all my attentionto the possible hiding-places it offered. 

Lena, who had followed me like my shadow, and who was evidently toodumfounded at my freak to speak, drew up to my side as we were half-waydown it and seized me tremblingly by the arm. 

"Two men are coming, " said she. 

"I am not afraid of men, " was my sharp rejoinder. But I told a mostabominable lie; for I am afraid of them in such places and under suchcircumstances, though not under ordinary conditions, and never where thetongue is likely to be the only weapon employed. 

The couple who were approaching us now seemed to be in a merry mood. Butwhen they saw us keep to our own side of the way, they stopped theirchaffing and allowed us to go by, with just a mocking word or two. 

"Sarah ought to be very much obliged to you, " whispered Lena. 

At the corner of Third Avenue I paused. I had seen nothing so far butbare stoops and dark area-ways. Nothing to suggest a place for thedisposal of such cumbersome articles as these persons had made way with. Had the avenue anything better to offer? I stopped under the gas-lamp atthe corner to consider, notwithstanding Lena's gentle pull towards thedrug-store. Looking to left and right and over the muddy crossings, Isought for inspiration. An almost obstinate belief in my own theory ledme to insist in my own mind that they had encountered no old woman, andconsequently had not dropped their bundles in the open street. I evenentered into an argument about it, standing there with the cable carswhistling by me and Lena tugging away at my arm. "If, " said I to myself, "the woman with him had been his wife and the whole thing nothing morethan a foolish escapade, they might have done this; but she was not hiswife, and the game they were playing was serious, if they did laugh overit, and so their disposal of these tell-tale articles would be seriousand such as would protect their secret. Where, then, could they havethrust them?"

My eyes, as I muttered this, were on the one shop in my line of visionthat was still open and lighted. It was the den of a Chinese laundryman, and through the windows in front I could see him still at work, ironing. 

"Ah!" thought I, and made such a start across the street that Lenagasped in dismay and almost fell to the ground in her frightened attemptto follow me. 

"Not that way!" she called. "Miss Butterworth, you are going wrong. "

But I kept right on, and only stopped when I reached the laundry. 

"I have an errand here, " I explained. "Wait in the doorway, Lena, anddon't act as if you thought me crazy, for I was never saner in my life. "

I don't think this reassured her much, lunatics not being supposed to bevery good judges of their own mental condition, but she was soaccustomed to obey, that she drew back as I opened the door before meand entered. The surprise on the face of the poor Chinaman when heturned and saw before him a lady of years and no ordinary appearance, daunted me for an instant. But another look only showed me that his verysurprise was inoffensive, and gathering courage from the unexpectednessof my own position, I inquired with all the politeness I could show oneof his abominable nationality:

"Didn't a gentleman and a heavily veiled lady leave a package with you afew days ago at about the same hour of night as this?"

"Some lalee clo' washee? Yes, ma'am. No done. She tellee me no calleefor one week. "

"Then that's all right; the lady has died very suddenly, and thegentleman gone away; you will have to keep the clothes a long time. "

"Me wantee money, no wantee clo'!"

"I'll pay you for them; I don't care about them being ironed. "

"Givee tickee, givee clo'! No givee tickee, no givee clo'!"

This was a poser! But as I did not want the clothes so much as a look atthem, I soon got the better of this difficulty. 

"I don't want them to-night, " said I. "I only wanted to make sure youhad them. What night were these people here?"

"Tuesday night, velly late; nicee man, nicee lalee. She wantee talk. Nicee man he pullee she; I no hear if muchee stasch. All washee, see!"he went on, dragging a basket out of the corner, "him no ilon. "

I was in such a quiver; so struck with amazement at my own perspicacityin surmising that here was a place where a bundle of underclothing couldbe lost indefinitely, that I just stared while he turned over theclothes in the basket. For by means of the quality of the articles hewas preparing to show me, the question which had been agitating me forhours could be definitely decided. If they proved to be fine and offoreign manufacture, then Howard's story was true and all my fine-spuntheories must fall to the ground. But if, on the contrary, they weresuch as are usually worn by American women, then my own idea as to theidentity of the woman who left them here was established, and I couldsafely consider her as the victim and Louise Van Burnam as themurderess, unless further facts came to prove that he was the guiltyone, after all. 

The sight of Lena's eyes staring at me with great anxiety through thepanes of the door distracted my attention for a moment, and when Ilooked again, he was holding up two or three garments before me. Thearticles thus revealed told their story in a moment. They were far fromfine, and had even less embroidery on them than I expected. 

"Are there any marks on them?" I asked. 

He showed me two letters stamped in indelible ink on the band of askirt. I did not have my glasses with me, but the ink was black, and Iread O. R. "The minx's initials, " thought I. 

When I left the place my complacency was such that Lena did not knowwhat to make of me. She has since informed me that I looked as if Iwanted to shout Hurrah! but I cannot believe I so far forgot myself asthat. But pleased as I was, I had only discovered how one bundle hadbeen disposed of. The dress and outside fixings still had to beaccounted for, and I was the woman to do it. 

We had mechanically moved in the direction of the drug-store and werenear the curb-stone when I reached this point in my meditations. It hadrained a little while before, and a small stream was running down thegutter and emptying itself into the sewer opening. The sight of itsharpened my wits. 

If I wanted to get rid of anything of a damaging character, I would dropit at the mouth of one of these holes and gently thrust it into thesewer with my foot, thought I. And never doubting that I had found anexplanation of the disappearance of the second bundle, I walked on, deciding that if I had the police at my command I would have the sewersearched at those four corners. 

We rode home after visiting the drug-store. I was not going to subjectLena or myself to another midnight walk through Twenty-seventh Street. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote C: This was _so_ probable, it cannot be considered anuntruth. --A. B. ]

XXII. 

A BLANK CARD. 

The next day at noon Lena brought me up a card on her tray. It was aperfectly blank one. 

"Miss Van Burnam's maid said you sent for this, " was her demureannouncement. 

"Miss Van Burnam's maid is right, " said I, taking the card and with it afresh installment of courage. 

Nothing happened for two days, then there came word from the kitchenthat a bushel of potatoes had arrived. Going down to see them, I drewfrom their midst a large square envelope, which I immediately carried tomy room. It failed to contain a photograph; but there was a letter in itcouched in these terms:

 "DEAR MISS BUTTERWORTH:

 "The esteem which you are good enough to express for me is returned. I regret that I cannot oblige you. There are no photographs to be found in Mrs. Van Burnam's rooms. Perhaps this fact may be accounted for by the curiosity shown in those apartments by a very spruce new boarder we have had from New York. His taste for that particular quarter of the house was such that I could not keep him away from it except by lock and key. If there was a picture there of Mrs. Van Burnam, he took it, for he departed very suddenly one night. I am glad he took nothing more with him. The talks he had with my servant-girl have almost led to my dismissing her. 

 "Praying your pardon for the disappointment I am forced to give you, I remain, "Yours sincerely, "SUSAN FERGUSON. "

So! so! balked by an emissary of Mr. Gryce. Well, well, we would dowithout the photograph! Mr. Gryce might need it, but not AmeliaButterworth. 

This was on a Thursday, and on the evening of Saturday the long-desiredclue was given me. It came in the shape of a letter brought me by Mr. Alvord. 

Our interview was not an agreeable one. Mr. Alvord is a clever man andan adroit one, or I should not persist in employing him as my lawyer;but he never understood _me_. At this time, and with this letter in hishand, he understood me less than ever, which naturally called out mypowers of self-assertion and led to some lively conversation between us. But that is neither here nor there. He had brought me an answer to myadvertisement and I was presently engrossed by it. It was an uneducatedwoman's epistle and its chirography and spelling were dreadful; so Iwill just mention its contents, which were highly interesting inthemselves, as I think you will acknowledge. 

She, that is, the writer, whose name, as nearly as I could make out, wasBertha Desberger, knew such a person as I described, and could give menews of her if I would come to her house in West Ninth Street at fouro'clock Sunday afternoon. 

If I would! I think my face must have shown my satisfaction, for Mr. Alvord, who was watching me, sarcastically remarked:

"You don't seem to find any difficulties in that communication. Now, what do you think of this one?"

He held out another letter which had been directed to him, and which hehad opened. Its contents called up a shade of color to my cheek, for Idid not want to go through the annoyance of explaining myself again:

 "DEAR SIR:

 "From a strange advertisement which has lately appeared in the _Herald_, I gather that information is wanted of a young woman who on the morning of the eighteenth inst. Entered my store without any bonnet on her head, and saying she had met with an accident, bought a hat which she immediately put on. She was pale as a girl could be and looked so ill that I asked her if she was well enough to be out alone; but she gave me no reply and left the store as soon as possible. That is all I can tell you about her. "

With this was enclosed his card:

 PHINEAS COX, _Millinery_, _Trimmed and Untrimmed Hats_, ---- Sixth Avenue. 

"Now, what does this mean?" asked Mr. Alvord. "The morning of theeighteenth was the morning when the murder was discovered in which youhave shown such interest. "

"It means, " I retorted with some spirit, for simple dignity was thrownaway on this man, "that I made a mistake in choosing your office as amedium for my business communications. "

This was to the point and he said no more, though he eyed the letter inmy hand very curiously, and seemed more than tempted to renew thehostilities with which we had opened our interview. 

Had it not been Saturday, and late in the day at that, I would havevisited Mr. Cox's store before I slept, but as it was I felt obliged towait till Monday. Meanwhile I had before me the still more importantinterview with Mrs. Desberger. 

As I had no reason to think that my visiting any number in Ninth Streetwould arouse suspicion in the police, I rode there quite boldly the nextday, and with Lena at my side, entered the house of Mrs. BerthaDesberger. 

For this trip I had dressed myself plainly, and drawn over my eyes--andthe puffs which I still think it becoming in a woman of my age towear--a dotted veil, thick enough to conceal my features, withoutrobbing me of that aspect of benignity necessary to the success of mymission. Lena wore her usual neat gray dress, and looked the picture ofall the virtues. 

A large brass door-plate, well rubbed, was the first sign vouchsafed usof the respectability of the house we were about to enter; and theparlor, when we were ushered into it, fully carried out the promise thusheld forth on the door-step. It was respectable, but in wretched tasteas regards colors. I, who have the nicest taste in such matters, lookedabout me in dismay as I encountered the greens and blues, the crimsonsand the purples which everywhere surrounded me. 

But I was not on a visit to a temple of art, and resolutely shutting myeyes to the offending splendor about me--worsted splendor, youunderstand, --I waited with subdued expectation for the lady of thehouse. 

She came in presently, bedecked in a flowered gown that was an epitomeof the blaze of colors everywhere surrounding us; but her face was agood one, and I saw that I had neither guile nor over-much shrewdness tocontend with. 

She had seen the coach at the door, and she was all smiles and flutter. 

"You have come for the poor girl who stopped here a few days ago, " shebegan, glancing from my face to Lena's with an equally inquiring air, which in itself would have shown her utter ignorance of socialdistinctions if I had not bidden Lena to keep at my side and hold herhead up as if she had business there as well as myself. 

"Yes, " returned I, "we have. Lena here, has lost a relative (which wastrue), and knowing no other way of finding her, I suggested theinsertion of an advertisement in the paper. You read the descriptiongiven, of course. Has the person answering it been in this house?"

"Yes; she came on the morning of the eighteenth. I remember it becausethat was the very day my cook left, and I have not got another one yet. "She sighed and went on. "I took a great interest in that unhappy youngwoman--Was she your sister?" This, somewhat doubtfully, to Lena, whoperhaps had too few colors on to suit her. 

"No, " answered Lena, "she wasn't my sister, but----"

I immediately took the words out of her mouth. 

"At what time did she come here, and how long did she stay? We want tofind her very much. Did she give you any name, or tell where she wasgoing?"

"She said her name was Oliver. " (I thought of the O. R. On the clothesat the laundry. ) "But I knew this wasn't so; and if she had not lookedso very modest, I might have hesitated to take her in. But, lor! I can'tresist a girl in trouble, and she was in trouble, if ever a girl was. And then she had money--Do you know what her trouble was?" This again toLena, and with an air at once suspicious and curious. But Lena has agood face, too, and her frank eyes at once disarmed the weak andgood-natured woman before us. 

"I thought"--she went on before Lena could answer--"that whatever itwas, _you_ had nothing to do with it, nor this lady either. "

"No, " answered Lena, seeing that I wished her to do the talking. "And wedon't know" (which was true enough so far as Lena went) "just what hertrouble was. Didn't she tell you?"

"She told nothing. When she came she said she wanted to stay with me alittle while. I sometimes take boarders----" She had twenty in the houseat that minute, if she had one. Did she think I couldn't see the lengthof her dining-room table through the crack of the parlor door? "'I canpay, ' she said, which I had not doubted, for her blouse was a veryexpensive one; though I thought her skirt looked queer, and her hat--DidI say she had a hat on? You seemed to doubt that fact in youradvertisement. Goodness me! if she had had no hat on, she wouldn't havegot as far as my parlor mat. But her blouse showed her to be alady--and then her face--it was as white as your handkerchief there, madam, but so sweet--I thought of the Madonna faces I had seen inCatholic churches. "

I started; inwardly commenting: "Madonna-like, _that_ woman!" But aglance at the room about me reassured me. The owner of such hideoussofas and chairs and of the many pictures effacing or rather defacingthe paper on the walls, could not be a judge of Madonna faces. 

"You admire everything that is good and lovely, " I suggested, for Mrs. Desberger had paused at the movement I made. 

"Yes, it is my nature to do so, ma'am. I love the beautiful, " and shecast a half-apologetic, half-proud look about her. "So I listened to thegirl and let her sit down in my parlor. She had had nothing to eat thatmorning, and though she didn't ask for it, I went to order her a cup oftea, for I knew she couldn't get up-stairs without it. Her eyes followedme when I went out of the room in a way that haunted me, and when I cameback--I shall never forget it, ma'am--there she lay stretched out on thefloor with her face on the ground and her hands thrown out. Wasn't ithorrible, ma'am? I don't wonder you shudder. "

Did I shudder? If I did, it was because I was thinking of that otherwoman, the victim of this one, whom I had seen, with her face turnedupward and her arms outstretched, in the gloom of Mr. Van Burnam'shalf-closed parlor. 

"She looked as if she was dead, " the good woman continued, "but just asI was about to call for help, her fingers moved and I rushed to lifther. She was neither dead nor had she fainted; she was simply dumb withmisery. What could have happened to her? I have asked myself a hundredtimes. "

My mouth was shut very tight, but I shut it still tighter, for thetemptation was great to cry: "She had just committed murder!" As it was, no sound whatever left my lips, and the good woman doubtless thought meno better than a stone, for she turned with a shrug to Lena, repeatingstill more wistfully than before:

"_Don't_ you know what her trouble was?"

But, of course, poor Lena had nothing to say, and the woman went on witha sigh:

"Well, I suppose I shall never know what had used that poor creature upso completely. But whatever it was, it gave me enough trouble, though Ido not want to complain of it, for why are we here, if not to help andcomfort the miserable. It was an hour, ma'am; it was an hour, miss, before I could get that poor girl to speak; but when I did succeed, andhad got her to drink the tea and eat a bit of toast, then I felt quiterepaid by the look of gratitude she gave me and the way she clung to mysleeve when I tried to leave her for a minute. It was this sleeve, ma'am, " she explained, lifting a cluster of rainbow flounces and ribbonswhich but a minute before had looked little short of ridiculous in myeyes, but which in the light of the wearer's kind-heartedness had lostsome of their offensive appearance. 

"Poor Mary!" murmured Lena, with what I considered most admirablepresence of mind. 

"What name did you say?" cried Mrs. Desberger, eager enough to learn allshe could of her late mysterious lodger. 

"I had rather not tell her name, " protested Lena, with a timid air thatadmirably fitted her rather doll-like prettiness. "_She_ didn't tell youwhat it was, and _I_ don't think I ought to. "

Good for little Lena! And she did not even know for whom or what she wasplaying the _rôle_ I had set her. 

"I thought you said Mary. But I won't be inquisitive with you. I wasn'tso with her. But where was I in my story? Oh, I got her so she couldspeak, and afterwards I helped her up-stairs; but she didn't stay therelong. When I came back at lunch time--I have to do my marketing nomatter what happens--I found her sitting before a table with her head onher hands. She had been weeping, but her face was quite composed now andalmost hard. 

"'O you good woman!' she cried as I came in. 'I want to thank you. ' ButI wouldn't let her go on wasting words like that, and presently she wassaying quite wildly: 'I want to begin a new life. I want to act as if Ihad never had a yesterday. I have had trouble, overwhelming trouble, butI will get something out of existence yet. I _will_ live, and in orderto do so, I will work. Have you a paper, Mrs. Desberger, I want to lookat the advertisements?' I brought her a _Herald_ and went to preside atmy lunch table. When I saw her again she looked almost cheerful. 'I havefound just what I want, ' she cried, 'a companion's place. But I cannotapply in this dress, ' and she looked at the great puffs of her silkblouse as if they gave her the horrors, though why, I cannot imagine, for they were in the latest style and rich enough for a millionaire'sdaughter, though as to colors I like brighter ones myself. 'Wouldyou'--she was very timid about it--'buy me some things if I gave you themoney?'

"If there is one thing more than another that I like, it is to shop, soI expressed my willingness to oblige her, and that afternoon I set outwith a nice little sum of money to buy her some clothes. I should haveenjoyed it more if she had let me do my own choosing--I saw theloveliest pink and green blouse--but she was very set about what shewanted, and so I just got her some plain things which I think even you, ma'am, would have approved of. I brought them home myself, for shewanted to apply immediately for the place she had seen advertised, but, O dear, when I went up to her room----"

"Was she gone?" burst in Lena. 

"O no, but there was such a smudge in it, and--and I could cry when Ithink of it--there in the grate were the remains of her beautiful silkblouse, all smoking and ruined. She had tried to burn it, and she hadsucceeded too. I could not get a piece out as big as my hand. "

"But you got some of it!" blurted out Lena, guided by a look which Igave her. 

"Yes, scraps, it was so handsome. I think I have a bit in my work-basketnow. "

"O get it for me, " urged Lena. "I want it to remember her by. "

"My work-basket is here. " And going to a sort of _etagère_ covered witha thousand knick-knacks picked up at bargain counters, she opened alittle cupboard and brought out a basket, from which she presentlypulled a small square of silk. It was, as she said, of the richestweaving, and was, as I had not the least doubt, a portion of the dressworn by Mrs. Van Burnam from Haddam. 

"Yes, it was hers, " said Lena, reading the expression of my face, andputting the scrap away very carefully in her pocket. 

"Well, I would have given her five dollars for that blouse, " murmuredMrs. Desberger, regretfully. "But girls like her are so improvident. "

"And did she leave that day?" I asked, seeing that it was hard for thiswoman to tear her thoughts away from this coveted article. 

"Yes, ma'am. It was late, and I had but little hopes of her getting thesituation she was after. But she promised to come back if she didn't;and as she did not come back I decided that she was more successful thanI had anticipated. "

"And don't you know where she went? Didn't she confide in you at all?"

"No; but as there were but three advertisements for a lady-companion inthe _Herald_ that day, it will be easy to find her. Would you like tosee those advertisements? I saved them out of curiosity. "

I assented, as you may believe, and she brought us the clippings atonce. Two of them I read without emotion, but the third almost took mybreath away. It was an advertisement for a lady-companion accustomed tothe typewriter and of some taste in dressmaking, and the address givenwas that of Miss Althorpe. 

If this woman, steeped in misery and darkened by crime, should be there!

As I shall not mention Mrs. Desberger again for some time, I will heresay that at the first opportunity which presented itself I sent Lena tothe shops with orders to buy and have sent to Mrs. Desberger the ugliestand most flaunting of silk blouses that could be found on Sixth Avenue;and as Lena's dimples were more than usually pronounced on her return, Ihave no doubt she chose one to suit the taste and warm the body of theestimable woman, whose kindly nature had made such a favorableimpression upon me. 

XXIII. 

RUTH OLIVER. 

From Mrs. Desberger's I rode immediately to Miss Althorpe's, for thepurpose of satisfying myself at once as to the presence there of theunhappy fugitive I was tracing. 

Six o'clock Sunday night is not a favorable hour for calling at a younglady's house, especially when that lady has a lover who is in the habitof taking tea with the family. But I was in a mood to transgress allrules and even to forget the rights of lovers. Besides, much is forgivena woman of my stamp, especially by a person of the good sense andamiability of Miss Althorpe. 

That I was not mistaken in my calculations was evident from the greetingI received. Miss Althorpe came forward as graciously and with as littlesurprise in her manner as any one could expect under the circumstances, and for a moment I was so touched by her beauty and the unaffected charmof her manners that I forgot my errand and only thought of the pleasureof meeting a lady who fairly comes up to the standard one has secretlyset for one's self. Of course she is much younger than I--some say sheis only twenty-three; but a lady is a lady at any age, and EllaAlthorpe might be a model for a much older woman than myself. 

The room in which we were seated was a large one, and though I couldhear Mr. Stone's voice in the adjoining apartment, I did not fear tobroach the subject I had come to discuss. 

"You may think this intrusion an odd one, " I began, "but I believe youadvertised a few days ago for a young lady-companion. Have you beensuited, Miss Althorpe?"

"O yes; I have a young person with me whom I like very much. "

"Ah, you are supplied! Is she any one you know?"

"No, she is a stranger, and what is more, she brought no recommendationswith her. But her appearance is so attractive and her desire for theplace was so great, that I consented to try her. And she is verysatisfactory, poor girl! very satisfactory indeed!"

Ah, here was an opportunity for questions. Without showing too mucheagerness and yet with a proper show of interest, I smilingly remarked:

"No one can be called poor long who remains under your roof, MissAlthorpe. But perhaps she has lost friends; so many nice girls arethrown upon their own resources by the death of relatives?"

"She does not wear mourning; but she is in some great trouble for allthat. But this cannot interest you, Miss Butterworth; have you some_protégé_ whom you wished to recommend for the position?"

I heard her, but did not answer at once. In fact, I was thinking how toproceed. Should I take her into my confidence, or should I continue inthe ambiguous manner in which I had begun. Seeing her smile, I becameconscious of the awkward silence. 

"Pardon me, " said I, resuming my best manner, "but there is something Iwant to say which may strike you as peculiar. "

"O no, " said she. 

"I _am_ interested in the girl you have befriended, and for verydifferent reasons from those you suppose. I fear--I have great reason tofear--that she is not just the person you would like to harbor underyour roof. "

"Indeed! Why, what do you know about her? Anything bad, MissButterworth?"

I shook my head, and prayed her first to tell me how the girl looked andunder what circumstances she came to her; for I was desirous of makingno mistake concerning her identity with the person of whom I was insearch. 

"She is a sweet-looking girl, " was the answer I received; "notbeautiful, but interesting in expression and manner. She has brownhair, "--I shuddered, --"brown eyes, and a mouth that would be lovely ifit ever smiled. In fact, she is very attractive and so lady-like that Ihave desired to make a companion of her. But while attentive to all herduties, and manifestly grateful to me for the home I have given her, sheshows so little desire for company or conversation that I have desistedfor the last day or so from urging her to speak at all. But you asked meunder what circumstances she came to me?"

"Yes, on what day, and at what time of day? Was she dressed well, or didher clothes look shabby?"

"She came on the very day I advertised; the eighteenth--yes, it was theeighteenth of this month; and she was dressed, so far as I noticed, veryneatly. Indeed, her clothes appeared to be new. They needed to havebeen, for she brought nothing with her save what was contained in asmall hand-bag. "

"Also new?" I suggested. 

"Very likely; I did not observe. "

"O Miss Althorpe!" I exclaimed, this time with considerable vehemence, "I fear, or rather I hope, she is the woman I want. "

"_You_ want!"

"Yes, _I_; but I cannot tell you for what just yet. I must be sure, forI would not subject an innocent person to suspicion any more than youwould. "

"Suspicion! She is not honest, then? That would worry me, MissButterworth, for the house is full now, as you know, of weddingpresents, and--But I cannot believe such a thing of _her_. It is someother fault she has, less despicable and degrading. "

"I do not say she has any faults; I only said I feared. What name doesshe go by?"

"Oliver; Ruth Oliver. "

Again I thought of the O. R. On the clothes at the laundry. 

"I wish I could see her, " I ventured. "I would give anything for a peepat her face unobserved. "

"I don't know how I can manage _that_; she is very shy, and never showsherself in the front of the house. She even dines in her own room, having begged for that privilege till after I was married and thehousehold settled on a new basis. But you can go to her room with me. Ifshe is all right, she can have no objection to a visitor; and if she is_not_, it would be well for me to know it at once. "

"Certainly, " said I, and rose to follow her, turning over in my mind howI should account to this young woman for my intrusion. I had justarrived at what I considered a sensible conclusion, when Miss Althorpe, leaning towards me, said with a whole-souled impetuosity for which Icould not but admire her:

"The girl is very nervous, she looks and acts like a person who has hadsome frightful shock. Don't alarm her, Miss Butterworth, and don'taccuse her of anything wrong too suddenly. Perhaps she is innocent, andperhaps if she is not innocent, she has been driven into evil by verygreat temptations. I am sorry for her, whether she is simply unhappy ordeeply remorseful. For I never saw a sweeter face, or eyes with suchboundless depths of misery in them. "

Just what Mrs. Desberger had said! Strange, but I began to feel acertain sort of sympathy for the wretched being I was hunting down. 

"I will be careful, " said I. "I merely want to satisfy myself that sheis the same girl I heard of last from a Mrs. Desberger. "

Miss Althorpe, who was now half-way up the rich staircase which makesher house one of the most remarkable in the city, turned and gave me aquick look over her shoulder. 

"I don't know Mrs. Desberger, " she remarked. 

At which I smiled. Did she think Mrs. Desberger in society?

At the end of an upper passage-way we paused. 

"This is the door, " whispered Miss Althorpe. "Perhaps I had better go infirst and see if she is at all prepared for company. "

I was glad to have her do so, for I felt as if I needed to preparemyself for encountering this young girl, over whom, in my mind, hungthe dreadful suspicion of murder. 

But the time between Miss Althorpe's knock and her entrance, short as itwas, was longer than that which elapsed between her going in and herhasty reappearance. 

"You can have your wish, " said she. "She is lying on her bed asleep, andyou can see her without being observed. But, " she entreated, with apassionate grip of my arm, which proclaimed her warm nature, "doesn't itseem a little like taking advantage of her?"

"Circumstances justify it in this case, " I replied, admiring theconsideration of my hostess, but not thinking it worth while to emulateit. And with very little ceremony I pushed open the door and entered theroom of the so-called Ruth Oliver. 

The hush and quiet which met me, though nothing more than I had reasonto expect, gave me my first shock, and the young figure outstretched ona bed of dainty whiteness, my second. Everything about me was sopeaceful, and the delicate blue and white of the room so expressive ofinnocence and repose, that my feet instinctively moved more softly overthe polished floor and paused, when they did pause, before that dimlyshrouded bed, with something like hesitation in their usually emphatictread. 

The face of that bed's occupant, which I could now plainly see, may havehad an influence in producing this effect. It was so rounded withhealth, and yet so haggard with trouble. Not knowing whether MissAlthorpe was behind me or not, but too intent upon the sleeping girl tocare, I bent over the half-averted features and studied them carefully. 

They were indeed Madonna-like, something which I had not expected, notwithstanding the assurances I had received to that effect, and whiledistorted with suffering, amply accounted for the interest shown in herby the good-hearted Mrs. Desberger and the cultured Miss Althorpe. 

Resenting this beauty, which so poorly accommodated itself to thecharacter of the woman who possessed it, I leaned nearer, searching forsome defect in her loveliness, when I saw that the struggle and anguishvisible in her expression were due to some dream she was having. 

Moved, even against my will, by the touching sight of her tremblingeyelids and working mouth, I was about to wake her when I was stopped bythe gentle touch of Miss Althorpe on my shoulder. 

"Is she the girl you are looking for?"

I gave one quick glance around the room, and my eyes lighted on thelittle blue pin-cushion on the satin-wood bureau. 

"Did you put those pins there?" I asked, pointing to a dozen or moreblack pins grouped in one corner. 

"_I_ did not, no; and I doubt if Crescenze did. Why?"

I drew a small black pin from my belt where I had securely fastened it, and carrying it over to the cushion, compared it with those I saw. Theywere identical. 

"A small matter, " I inwardly decided, "but it points in the rightdirection"; then, in answer to Miss Althorpe, added aloud: "I fear sheis. At least I have seen no reason yet for doubting it. But I must makesure. Will you allow me to wake her?"

"O it seems cruel! She is suffering enough already. See how she twistsand turns!"

"It will be a mercy, it seems to me, to rouse her from dreams so full ofpain and trouble. "

"Perhaps, but I will leave you alone to do it. What will you say to her?How account for your intrusion?"

"O I will find means, and they won't be too cruel either. You had betterstand back by the bureau and listen. I think I had rather not have theresponsibility of doing this thing alone. "

Miss Althorpe, not understanding my hesitation, and only halfcomprehending my errand, gave me a doubtful look but retreated to thespot I had mentioned, and whether it was the rustle of her silk dress orwhether the dream of the girl we were watching had reached its climax, amomentary stir took place in the outstretched form before me, and nextmoment she was flinging up her hands with a cry. 

"O how can I touch her! She is dead, and I have never touched a deadbody. "

I fell back breathing hard, and Miss Althorpe's eyes, meeting mine, grewdark with horror. Indeed she was about to utter a cry herself, but Imade an imperative motion, and she merely shrank farther away towardsthe door. 

Meantime I had bent forward and laid my hand on the trembling figurebefore me. 

"Miss Oliver, " I said, "rouse yourself, I pray. I have a message for youfrom Mrs. Desberger. "

She turned her head, looked at me like a person in a daze, then slowlymoved and sat up. 

"Who are you?" she asked, surveying me and the space about her witheyes which seemed to take in nothing till they lit upon Miss Althorpe'sfigure standing in an attitude of mingled shame and sympathy by thehalf-open door. 

"Oh, Miss Althorpe!" she entreated, "I pray you to excuse me. I did notknow you wanted me. I have been asleep. "

"It is this lady who wants you, " answered Miss Althorpe. "She is afriend of mine and one in whom you can confide. "

"Confide!" This was a word to rouse her. She turned livid, and in hereyes as she looked my way both terror and surprise were visible. "Whyshould you think I had anything to confide? If I had, I should not passby you, Miss Althorpe, for another. "

There were tears in her voice, and I had to remember the victim justlaid away in Woodlawn, not to bestow much more compassion on this womanthan she rightfully deserved. She had a magnetic voice and a magneticpresence, but that was no reason why I should forget what she had done. 

"No one asks for your confidence, " I protested, "though it might nothurt you to accept a friend whenever you can get one. I merely wish, asI said before, to give you a message from Mrs. Desberger, under whoseroof you stayed before coming here. "

"I am obliged to you, " she responded, rising to her feet, and tremblingvery much. "Mrs. Desberger is a kind woman; what does she want of me?"

So I was on the right track; she acknowledged Mrs. Desberger. 

"Nothing but to return you this. It fell out of your pocket while youwere dressing. " And I handed her the little red pin-cushion I had takenfrom the Van Burnams' front room. 

She looked at it, shrunk violently back, and with difficulty preventedherself from showing the full depth of her feelings. 

"I don't know anything about it. It is not mine, I don't know it!" Andher hair stirred on her forehead as she gazed at the small object lyingin the palm of my hand, proving to me that she saw again before her allthe horrors of the house from which it had been taken. 

"Who are _you_?" she suddenly demanded, tearing her eyes from thissimple little cushion and fixing them wildly on my face. "Mrs. Desbergernever sent me this. I----"

"You are right to stop there, " I interposed, and then paused, feelingthat I had forced a situation which I hardly knew how to handle. 

The instant's pause she had given herself seemed to restore herself-possession. Leaving me, she moved towards Miss Althorpe. 

"I don't know who this lady is, " said she, "or what her errand here withme may mean. But I hope that it is nothing that will force me to leavethis house which is my only refuge. "

Miss Althorpe, too greatly prejudiced in favor of this girl to hear thisappeal unmoved, notwithstanding the show of guilt with which she had metmy attack, smiled faintly as she answered:

"Nothing short of the best reasons would make me part from you now. Ifthere are such reasons, you will spare me the pain of making use ofthem. I think I can so far trust you, Miss Oliver. "

No answer; the young girl looked as if she could not speak. 

"Are there any reasons why I should not retain you in my house, MissOliver?" the gentle mistress of many millions went on. "If there are, you will not wish to stay, I know, when you consider how near mymarriage day is, and how undisturbed my mind should be by any caresunattending my wedding. "

And still the girl was silent, though her lips moved slightly as if shewould have spoken if she could. 

"But perhaps you are only unfortunate, " suggested Miss Althorpe, with analmost angelic look of pity--I don't often see angels in women. "If thatis so, God forbid that you should leave my protection or my house. Whatdo you say, Miss Oliver?"

"That you are God's messenger to me, " burst from the other, as if hertongue had been suddenly loosed. "That misfortune, and not wickedness, has driven me to your doors; and that there is no reason why I shouldleave you unless my secret sufferings make my presence unwelcome toyou. "

Was this the talk of a frivolous woman caught unawares in the meshes ofa fearful crime? If so, she was a more accomplished actress than we hadbeen led to expect even from her own words to her disgusted husband. 

"You look like one accustomed to tell the truth, " proceeded MissAlthorpe. "Do you not think you have made some mistake, MissButterworth?" she asked, approaching me with an ingenuous smile. 

I had forgotten to caution her not to make use of my name, and when itfell from her lips I looked to see her unhappy companion recoil from mewith a scream. 

But strange to say she evinced no emotion, and seeing this, I becamemore distrustful of her than ever; for, for her to hear without apparentinterest the name of the chief witness in the inquest which had beenheld over the remains of the woman with whose death she had been more orless intimately concerned, argued powers of duplicity such as are onlyassociated with guilt or an extreme simplicity of character. And she wasnot simple, as the least glance from her deep eyes amply showed. 

Recognizing, therefore, that open measures would not do with this woman, I changed my manner at once, and responding to Miss Althorpe, with agracious smile, remarked with an air of sudden conviction:

"Perhaps I have made some mistake. Miss Oliver's words sound veryingenuous, and I am disposed, if you are, to take her at her word. It isso easy to draw false conclusions in this world. " And I put back thepin-cushion into my pocket with an air of being through with the matter, which seemed to impose upon the young woman, for she smiled faintly, showing a row of splendid teeth as she did so. 

"Let me apologize, " I went on, "if I have intruded upon Miss Oliveragainst her wishes. " And with one comprehensive look about the roomwhich took in all that was visible of her simple wardrobe and humblebelongings, I led the way out. Miss Althorpe immediately followed. 

"This is a much more serious affair than I have led you to suppose, " Iconfided to her as soon as we were at a suitable distance from MissOliver's door. "If she is the person I think her, she is amenable tolaw, and the police will have to be notified of her whereabouts. "

"She _has_ stolen, then?"

"Her fault is a very grave one, " I returned. 

Miss Althorpe, deeply troubled, looked about her as if for guidance. I, who could have given it to her, made no movement to attract herattention to myself, but waited calmly for her own decision in thismatter. 

"I wish you would let me consult Mr. Stone, " she ventured at last. "Ithink his judgment might help us. "

"I had rather take no one into our confidence, --especially no man. Hewould consider your welfare only and not hers. "

I did not consider myself obliged to acknowledge that the work uponwhich I was engaged could not be shared by one of the male sex withoutlessening my triumph over Mr. Gryce. 

"Mr. Stone is very just, " she remarked, "but he might be biased in amatter of this kind. What way do you see out of the difficulty?"

"Only this. To settle at once and unmistakably, whether she is theperson who carried certain articles from the house of a friend of mine. If she is, there will be some evidence of the fact visible in her roomor on her person. She has not been out, I believe?"

"Not since she came into the house. "

"And has remained for the most part in her own apartment?"

"Always, except when I have summoned her to my assistance. "

"Then what I want to know I can learn there. But how can I make myinvestigations without offence?"

"What do you want to know, Miss Butterworth?"

"Whether she has in her keeping some half dozen rings of considerablevalue. "

"Oh! she could conceal rings so easily. "

"She does conceal them; I have no more doubt of it than I have of mystanding here; but I must know it before I shall feel ready to call theattention of the police to her. "

"Yes, we should both know it. Poor girl! poor girl! to be suspected of acrime! How great must have been her temptation!"

"_I_ can manage this matter, Miss Althorpe, if you will entrust it tome. "

"How, Miss Butterworth?"

"The girl is ill; let me take care of her. "

"Really ill?"

"Yes, or will be so before morning. There is fever in her veins; she hasworried herself ill. Oh, I will be good to her. "

This in answer to a doubtful look from Miss Althorpe. 

"This is a difficult problem you have set me, " that lady remarked aftera moment's thought. "But anything seems better than sending her away, orsending for the police. But do you suppose she will allow you in herroom?"

"I think so; if her fever increases she will not notice much that goeson about her, and I think it will increase; I have seen enough ofsickness to be something of a judge. "

"And you will search her while she is unconscious?"

"Don't look so horrified, Miss Althorpe. I have promised you I will notworry her. She may need assistance in getting to bed. While I am givingit to her I can judge if there is anything concealed upon her person. "

"Yes, perhaps. "

"At all events, we shall know more than we do now. Shall I venture, MissAlthorpe?"

"I cannot say no, " was the hesitating answer; "you seem so very much inearnest. "

"And I am in earnest. I have reasons for being; consideration for you isone of them. "

"I do not doubt it. And now will you come down to supper, MissButterworth?"

"No, " I replied. "My duty is here. Only send word to Lena that she is todrive home and take care of my house in my absence. I shall wantnothing, so do not worry about me. Join your lover now, dear; and do notbestow another thought upon this self-styled Miss Oliver or what I amabout to do in her room. "

XXIV. 

A HOUSE OF CARDS. 

I did not return immediately to my patient. I waited till her suppercame up. Then I took the tray, and assured by the face of the girl whobrought it that Miss Althorpe had explained my presence in her housesufficiently for me to feel at my ease before her servants, I carried inthe dainty repast she had provided and set it down on the table. 

The poor woman was standing where we had left her; but her whole figureshowed languor, and she more than leaned against the bedpost behind her. As I looked up from the tray and met her eyes, she shuddered and seemedto be endeavoring to understand who I was and what I was doing in herroom. My premonitions in regard to her were well based. She was in araging fever, and was already more than half oblivious to hersurroundings. 

Approaching her, I spoke as gently as I could, for her hapless conditionappealed to me in spite of my well founded prejudices against her; andseeing she was growing incapable of response, I drew her up on the bedand began to undress her. 

I half expected her to recoil at this, or at least to make some show ofalarm, but she submitted to my ministrations almost gratefully, andneither shrank nor questioned me till I laid my hands upon her shoes. Then indeed she quivered, and drew her feet away with such an appearanceof terror that I was forced to desist from my efforts or drive her intoviolent delirium. 

This satisfied me that Louise Van Burnam lay before me. The scarconcerning which so much had been said in the papers would be everpresent in the thoughts of this woman as the tell-tale mark by which shemight be known, and though at this moment she was on the borders ofunconsciousness, the instinct of self-preservation still remained insufficient force to prompt her to make this effort to protect herselffrom discovery. 

I had told Miss Althorpe that my chief reason for intruding upon MissOliver, was to determine if she had in her possession certain ringssupposed to have been taken from a friend of mine; and while this was ina measure true--the rings being an important factor in the proof I wasaccumulating against her, --I was not so anxious to search for them atthis time as to find the scar which would settle at once the question ofher identity. 

When she drew her foot away from me then, so violently, I saw that Ineeded to search no farther for the evidence required, and could givemyself up to making her comfortable. So I bathed her temples, nowthrobbing with heat, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing her fallinto a deep and uneasy slumber. Then I tried again to draw off hershoes, but the start she gave and the smothered cry which escaped herwarned me that I must wait yet longer before satisfying my curiosity; soI desisted at once, and out of pure compassion left her to get what goodshe might from the lethargy into which she had fallen. 

Being hungry, or at least feeling the necessity of some slight alimentto help me sustain the fatigues of the night, I sat down now at thetable and partook of some of the dainties with which Miss Althorpe hadkindly provided me. After which I made out a list of such articles aswere necessary to my proper care of the patient who had so strangelyfallen into my hands, and then, feeling that I had a right at last toindulge in pure curiosity, I turned my attention to the clothing I hadtaken from the self-styled Miss Oliver. 

The dress was a simple gray one, and the skirts and underclothing allwhite. But the latter was of the finest texture, and convinced me, before I had given them more than a glance, that they were the propertyof Howard Van Burnam's wife. For, besides the exquisite quality of thematerial, there were to be seen, on the edges of the bands and sleeves, the marks of stitches and clinging threads of lace, where the trimminghad been torn off, and in one article especially, there were tucks suchas you see come from the hands of French needlewomen only. 

This, taken with what had gone before, was proof enough to satisfy methat I was on the right track, and after Crescenze had come and gonewith the tray and all was quiet in this remote part of the house, Iventured to open a closet door at the foot of the bed. A brown silkskirt was hanging within, and in the pocket of that skirt I found apurse so gay and costly that all doubt vanished as to its being theproperty of Howard's luxurious wife. 

There were several bills in this purse, amounting to about fifteendollars in money, but no change and no memoranda, which latter seemed apity. Restoring the purse to its place and the skirt to its peg, I camesoftly back to the bedside and examined my patient still more carefullythan I had done before. She was asleep and breathing heavily, but evenwith this disadvantage her face had its own attraction, an attractionwhich evidently had more or less influenced men, and which, for thereason perhaps that I have something masculine in my nature, Idiscovered to be more or less influencing me, notwithstanding my hatredof an intriguing character. 

However, it was not her beauty I came to study, but her hair, hercomplexion, and her hands. The former was brown, the brown of that samelock I remembered to have seen in the jury's hands at the inquest; andher skin, where fever had not flushed it, was white and smooth. So wereher hands, and yet they were not a lady's hands. That I noticed when Ifirst saw her. The marks of the rings she no longer wore, were notenough to blind me to the fact that her fingers lacked the distinctiveshape and nicety of Miss Althorpe's, say, or even of the Misses VanBurnam; and though I do not object to this, for I like strong-looking, capable hands myself, they served to help me understand the face, whichotherwise would have looked too spiritual for a woman of the peevish andself-satisfied character of Louise Van Burnam. On this innocent andappealing expression she had traded in her short and none too happycareer. And as I noted it, I recalled a sentence in Miss Ferguson'stestimony, in which she alluded to Mrs. Van Burnam's confidential remarkto her husband upon the power she exercised over people when she raisedher eyes in entreaty towards them. "Am I not pretty, " she had said, "when I am in distress and looking up in this way?" It was thesuggestion of a scheming woman, but from what I had seen and was seeingof the woman before me, I could imagine the picture she would thus make, and I do not think she overrated its effects. 

Withdrawing from her side once more, I made a tour of the room. Nothingescaped my eyes; nothing was too small to engage my attention. But whileI failed to see anything calculated to shake my confidence in theconclusions I had come to, I saw but little to confirm them. This wasnot strange; for, apart from a few toilet articles and someknitting-work on a shelf, she appeared to have no belongings; everythingelse in sight being manifestly the property of Miss Althorpe. Even thebureau drawers were empty, and her bag, found under a small table, hadnot so much in it as a hair-pin, though I searched it inside and out forher rings, which I was positive she had with her, even if she dared notwear them. 

When every spot was exhausted I sat down and began to brood over whatlay before this poor being, whose flight and the great efforts she madeat concealment proved only too conclusively the fatal part she hadplayed in the crime for which her husband had been arrested. I hadreached her arraignment before a magistrate, and was already imaginingher face with the appeal in it which such an occasion would call forth, when there came a low knock at the door, and Miss Althorpe re-entered. 

She had just said good-night to her lover, and her face recalled to me atime when my own cheek was round and my eye was bright and--Well! whatis the use of dwelling on matters so long buried in oblivion! Amaiden-woman, as independent as myself, need not envy any girl thedoubtful blessing of a husband. I chose to be independent, and I am, andwhat more is there to be said about it? Pardon the digression. 

"Is Miss Oliver any better?" asked Miss Althorpe; "and have youfound----"

I put up my finger in warning. Of all things, it was most necessary thatthe sick woman should not know my real reason for being there. 

"She is asleep, " I answered quietly, "and I _think_ I have found outwhat is the matter with her. "

Miss Althorpe seemed to understand. She cast a look of solicitudetowards the bed and then turned towards me. 

"I cannot rest, " said she, "and will sit with you for a little while, ifyou don't mind. "

I felt the implied compliment keenly. 

"You can do me no greater favor, " I returned. 

She drew up an easy-chair. "That is for you, " she smiled, and sat downin a little low rocker at my side. 

But she did not talk. Her thoughts seemed to have recurred to some verynear and sweet memory, for she smiled softly to herself and looked sodeeply happy that I could not resist saying:

"These are delightful days for you, Miss Althorpe. "

She sighed softly--how much a sigh can reveal!--and looked up at mebrightly. I think she was glad I spoke. Even such reserved natures ashers have their moments of weakness, and she had no mother or sister toappeal to. 

"Yes, " she replied, "I am very happy; happier than most girls are, Ithink, just before marriage. It is such a revelation to me--thisdevotion and admiration from one I love. I have had so little of it inmy life. My father----"

She stopped; I knew why she stopped. I gave her a look of encouragement. 

"People have always been anxious for my happiness, and have warned meagainst matrimony since I was old enough to know the difference betweenpoverty and wealth. Before I was out of short dresses I was warnedagainst fortune-seekers. It was not good advice; it has stood in the wayof my happiness all my life, made me distrustful and unnaturallyreserved. But now--ah, Miss Butterworth, Mr. Stone is so estimable aman, so brilliant and so universally admired, that all my doubts ofmanly worth and disinterestedness have disappeared as if by magic. Itrust him implicitly, and--Do I talk too freely? Do you object to suchconfidences as these?"

"On the contrary, " I answered. I liked Miss Althorpe so much and agreedwith her so thoroughly in her opinion of this man, that it was a realpleasure to me to hear her speak so unreservedly. 

"We are not a foolish couple, " she went on, warming with the charm ofher topic till she looked beautiful in the half light thrown upon her bythe shaded lamp. "We are interested in people and things, and get halfour delight from the perfect congeniality of our natures. Mr. Stone hasgiven up his club and all his bachelor pursuits since he knew me, and----"

O love, if at any time in my life I have despised thee, I did notdespise thee then! The look with which she finished this sentence wouldhave moved a cynic. 

"Forgive me, " she prayed. "It is the first time I have poured out myheart to any one of my own sex. It must sound strange to you, but itseemed natural while I was doing it, for you looked as if you couldunderstand. "

This to me, to _me_, Amelia Butterworth, of whom men have said I had nomore sentiment than a wooden image. I looked my appreciation, and she, blushing slightly, whispered in a delicious tone of mingled shyness andpride:

"Only two weeks now, and I shall have some one to stand between me andthe world. _You_ have never needed any one, Miss Butterworth, for you donot fear the world, but it awes and troubles me, and my whole heartglows with the thought that I shall be no longer alone in my sorrows ormy joys, my perplexities or my doubts. Am I to blame for anticipatingthis with so much happiness?"

I sighed. It was a less eloquent sigh than hers, but it was a distinctone and it had a distinct echo. Lifting my eyes, for I sat so as to facethe bed, I was startled to observe my patient leaning towards us fromher pillows, and staring upon us with eyes too hollow for tears butfilled with unfathomable grief and yearning. 

She had heard this talk of love, she, the forsaken and crime-stainedone. I shuddered and laid my hand on Miss Althorpe's. 

But I did not seek to stop the conversation, for as our looks met, thesick woman fell back and lapsed, or seemed to lapse, into immediateinsensibility again. 

"Is Miss Oliver worse?" inquired Miss Althorpe. 

I rose and went to the bedside, renewed the bandages on my patient'shead, and forced a drop or two of medicine between her half-shut lips. 

"No, " I returned, "I think her fever is abating. " And it was, thoughthe suffering on her face was yet heart-rendingly apparent. 

"Is she asleep?"

"She seems to be. "

Miss Althorpe made an effort. 

"I am not going to talk any more about myself. " Then as I came back andsat down by her side, she quietly asked:

"What do you think of the Van Burnam murder?"

Dismayed at the introduction of this topic, I was about to put my handover her mouth, when I noticed that her words had made no evidentimpression upon my patient, who lay quietly and with a more composedexpression than when I left her bedside. This assured me, as nothingelse could have done, that she was really asleep, or in that lethargicstate which closes the eyes and ears to what is going on. 

"I think, " said I, "that the young man Howard stands in a veryunfortunate position. Circumstances certainly do look very black againsthim. "

"It is dreadful, unprecedently dreadful. I do not know what to think ofit all. The Van Burnams have borne so good a name, and Franklinespecially is held in such high esteem. I don't think anything moreshocking has ever happened in this city, do you, Miss Butterworth? Yousaw it all, and should know. Poor, poor Mrs. Van Burnam!"

"She is to be pitied!" I remarked, my eyes fixed on the immovable faceof my patient. 

"When I heard that a young woman had been found dead in the Van Burnammansion, " Miss Althorpe pursued with such evident interest in this newtheme that I did not care to interrupt her unless driven to it by sometoken of consciousness on the part of my patient, "my thoughts flewinstinctively to Howard's wife. Though why, I cannot say, for I neverhad any reason to expect so tragic a termination to their marriagerelations. And I cannot believe now that he killed her, can you, MissButterworth? Howard has too much of the gentleman in him to do a brutalthing, and there was brutality as well as adroitness in the perpetrationof this crime. Have you thought of that, Miss Butterworth?"

"Yes, " I nodded, "I have looked at the crime on all sides. "

"Mr. Stone, " said she, "feels dreadfully over the part he was forced toplay at the inquest. But he had no choice, the police would have histestimony. "

"That was right, " I declared. 

"It has made us doubly anxious to have Howard free himself. But he doesnot seem able to do so. If his wife had only known----"

Was there a quiver in the lids I was watching? I half raised my hand andthen I let it drop again, convinced that I had been mistaken. MissAlthorpe at once continued:

"She was not a bad-hearted woman, only vain and frivolous. She had sether heart on ruling in the great leather-merchant's house, and she didnot know how to bear her disappointment. I have sympathy for her myself. When I saw her----"

Saw her! I started, upsetting a small work-basket at my side which foronce I did not stop to pick up. 

"You have seen her!" I repeated, dropping my eyes from the patient tofix them in my unbounded astonishment on Miss Althorpe's face. 

"Yes, more than once. She was--if she were living I would not repeatthis--a nursery governess in a family where I once visited. That wasbefore her marriage; before she had met either Howard or Franklin VanBurnam. "

I was so overwhelmed, that for once I found difficulty in speaking. Iglanced from her to the white form in the shrouded bed, and back againin ever-growing astonishment and dismay. 

"You have seen her!" I at last reiterated in what I meant to be awhisper, but which fell little short of being a cry, "and you took inthis girl?"

Her surprise at this burst was almost equal to mine. 

"Yes, why not; what have they in common?"

I sank back, my house of cards was trembling to its foundations. 

"Do they--do they not look alike?" I gasped. "I thought--I imagined----"

"Louise Van Burnam look like that girl! O no, they were very differentsort of women. What made you think there was any resemblance betweenthem?"

I did not answer her; the structure I had reared with such care andcircumspection had fallen about my ears and I lay gasping under theruins. 

XXV. 

"THE RINGS! WHERE ARE THE RINGS?"

Had Mr. Gryce been present, I would have instantly triumphed over mydisappointment, bottled up my chagrin, and been the inscrutable AmeliaButterworth before he could say, "Something has gone wrong with thiswoman!" But Mr. Gryce was not present, and though I did not betray thehalf I felt. I yet showed enough emotion for Miss Althorpe to remark:

"You seemed surprised by what I have told you. Has any one said thatthese two women were alike?"

Having to speak, I became myself again in a trice, and noddedvigorously. 

"Some one was so foolish, " I remarked. 

Miss Althorpe looked thoughtful. While she was interested she was not sointerested as to take the subject in fully. Her own concerns made herabstracted, and I was very glad of it. 

"Louise Van Burnam had a sharp chin and a very cold blue eye. Yet herface was a fascinating one to some. "

"Well, it was a dreadful tragedy!" I observed, and tried to turn thesubject aside, which fortunately I was able to do after a short effort. 

Then I picked the basket up, and perceiving the sick woman's lipsfaintly moving, I went over to her and found her murmuring to herself. 

As Miss Althorpe had risen when I did, I did not dare to listen to thesemurmurs, but when my charming hostess had bidden me good-night, withmany injunctions not to tire myself, and to be sure and remember that adecanter and a plate of biscuits stood on a table outside, I hastenedback to the bedside, and leaning over my patient, endeavored to catchthe words as they fell from her lips. 

As they were simple and but the echo of those running at that verymoment through my own brain, I had no difficulty in distinguishing them. 

"Van Burnam!" she was saying, "Van Burnam!" varied by a short "Howard!"and once by a doubtful "Franklin!"

"Ah, " thought I, with a sudden reaction, "she is the woman I seek, ifshe is not Louise Van Burnam. " And unheeding the start she gave, Ipulled off the blanket I had spread over her, and willy-nilly drew offher left shoe and stocking. 

Her bare ankle showed no scar, and covering it quickly up I took up hershoe. Immediately the trepidation she had shown at the approach of astranger's hand towards that article of clothing was explained. In thelining around the top were sewn bills of no ordinary amount, and as theother shoe was probably used as a like depository, she naturally feltconcern at any approach which might lead to a discovery of her littlefortune. 

Amazed at a mystery possessing so many points of interest, I tucked theshoe in under the bedclothes and sat down to review the situation. 

The mistake I had made was in concluding that because the fugitive whosetraces I had followed had worn the clothes of Louise Van Burnam, shemust necessarily be that unfortunate lady. Now I saw that the murderedwoman was Howard's wife after all, and this patient of mine her probablerival. 

But this necessitated an entire change in my whole line of reasoning. Ifthe rival and not the wife lay before me, then which of the twoaccompanied him to the scene of tragedy? He had said it was his wife; Ihad proven to myself that it was the rival; was he right, or was Iright, or were neither of us right?

Not being able to decide, I fixed my mind upon another query. When didthe two women exchange clothes, or rather, when did this woman procurethe silk habiliments and elaborate adornments of her more opulent rival?Was it before either of them entered Mr. Van Burnam's house? Or was itafter their encounter there?

Running over in my mind certain little facts of which I had hithertoattempted no explanation, I grouped them together and sought amongstthem for inspiration. 

These are the facts:

1. One of the garments found on the murdered woman had been torn downthe back. As it was a new one, it had evidently been subjected to somequick strain, not explainable by any appearance of struggle. 

2. The shoes and stockings found on the victim were the only articlesshe wore which could not be traced back to Altman's. In the re-dressingof the so-called Mrs. James Pope, these articles had not been changed. Could not that fact be explained by the presence of a considerable sumof money in her shoes?

3. The going out bareheaded of a fugitive, anxious to avoid observation, leaving hat and gloves behind her in a dining-room closet. 

I had endeavored to explain this last anomalous action by her fear ofbeing traced by so conspicuous an article as this hat; but it was not asatisfactory explanation to me then and much less so now. 

4. And last, and most vital of all, the words which I had heard fallfrom this half-conscious girl: "_O how can I touch her! She is dead, andI have never touched a dead body!_"

Could inspiration fail me before such a list? Was it not evident thatthe change had been made after death, and by this seemingly sensitivegirl's own hands?

It was a horrible thought and led to others more horrible. For the verycommission of such a revolting act argued a desire for concealment onlyto be explained by great guilt. She had been the offender and the wifethe victim; and Howard--Well, his actions continued to be a mystery, butI would not admit his guilt even now. On the contrary, I saw hisinnocence in a still stronger light. For if he had openly or evencovertly connived at his wife's death, would he have so immediatelyforsaken the accomplice of his guilt, to say nothing of leaving to herthe dreadful task of concealing the crime? No, I would rather think thatthe tragedy took place after his departure, and that his action indenying his wife's identity, as long as it was possible to do so, was tobe explained by the fact of his ignorance in regard to his wife'spresence in the house where he had supposed himself to have simply lefther rival. As the exchange made in the clothing worn by the two womencould only have taken place later, and as he naturally judged thevictim by her clothing, perhaps he was really deceived himself as to heridentity. It was certainly not an improbable supposition, and accountedfor much that was otherwise inexplicable in Mr. Van Burnam's conduct. 

But the rings? Why could I not find the rings? If my present reasoningwere correct, this woman should have those evidences of guilt about her. But had I not searched for them in every available place withoutsuccess? Annoyed at my failure to fix this one irrefutable proof ofguilt upon her, I took up the knitting-work I saw in Miss Oliver'sbasket, and began to ply the needles by way of relief to my thoughts. But I had no sooner got well under way than some movement on the part ofmy patient drew my attention again to the bed, and I was startled bybeholding her sitting up again, but this time with a look of fear ratherthan of suffering on her features. 

"Don't!" she gasped, pointing with an unsteady hand at the work in myhand. "The click, click of the needles is more than I can stand. Putthem down, pray; put them down!"

Her agitation was so great and her nervousness so apparent that Icomplied at once. However much I might be affected by her guilt, I wasnot willing to do the slightest thing to worry her nerves even at theexpense of my own. As the needles fell from my hand, she sank back and aquick, short sigh escaped her lips. Then she was again quiet, and Iallowed my thoughts to return to the old theme. The rings! the rings!Where were the rings, and was it impossible for me to find them?

XXVI. 

A TILT WITH MR. GRYCE. 

At seven o'clock the next morning my patient was resting so quietly thatI considered it safe to leave her for a short time. So I informed MissAlthorpe that I was obliged to go down-town on an important errand, andrequested Crescenze to watch over the sick girl in my absence. As sheagreed to this, I left the house as soon as breakfast was over and wentimmediately in search of Mr. Gryce. I wished to make sure that he knewnothing about the rings. 

It was eleven o'clock before I succeeded in finding him. As I wascertain that a direct question would bring no answer, I dissembled myreal intention as much as my principles would allow, and accosted himwith the eager look of one who has great news to impart. 

"O, Mr. Gryce!" I impetuously cried, just as if I were really the weakwoman he thought me, "I have found something; something in connectionwith the Van Burnam murder. You know I promised to busy myself about itif you arrested Howard Van Burnam. "

His smile was tantalizing in the extreme. "Found something?" herepeated. "And may I ask if you have been so good as to bring it withyou?"

He was playing with me, this aged and reputable detective. I subdued myanger, subdued my indignation even, and smiling much in his own way, answered briefly:

"I never carry valuables on my person. A half-dozen expensive ringsstand for too much money for me to run any undue risk with them. "

He was caressing his watch-chain as I spoke, and I noticed that hepaused in this action for just an infinitesimal length of time as I saidthe word rings. Then he went on as before, but I knew I had caught hisattention. 

"Of what rings do you speak, madam? Of those missing from Mrs. VanBurnam's hands?"

I took a leaf from his book, and allowed myself to indulge in a littlebanter. 

"O, no, " I remonstrated, "not those rings, of course. The Queen ofSiam's rings, any rings but those in which we are specially interested. "

This meeting him on his own ground evidently puzzled him. 

"You are facetious, madam. What am I to gather from such levity? Thatsuccess has crowned your efforts, and that you have found a guiltierparty than the one now in custody?"

"Possibly, " I returned, limiting my advance by his. "But it would begoing too fast to mention that yet. What I want to know is whether _you_have found the rings belonging to Mrs. Van Burnam?"

My triumphant tone, the almost mocking accent I purposely gave to theword _you_, accomplished its purpose. He never dreamed I was playingwith him; he thought I was bursting with pride; and casting me a sharpglance (the first, by the way, I had received from him), he inquiredwith perceptible interest:

"Have _you?_"

Instantly convinced that the whereabouts of these jewels was as littleknown to him as to me, I rose and prepared to leave. But seeing that hewas not satisfied, and that he expected an answer, I assumed amysterious air and quietly remarked:

"If you will come to my house to-morrow I will explain myself. I am notprepared to more than intimate my discoveries to-day. "

But he was not the man to let one off so easily. 

"Excuse me, " said he, "but matters of this kind do not admit of delay. The grand jury sits within the week, and any evidence worth presentingthem must be collected at once. I must ask you to be frank with me, MissButterworth. "

"And I will be, to-morrow. "

"To-day, " he insisted, "to-day. "

Seeing that I should gain nothing by my present course, I reseatedmyself, bestowing upon him a decidedly ambiguous smile as I did so. 

"You acknowledge then, " said I, "that the old maid can tell yousomething after all. I thought you regarded all my efforts in the lightof a jest. What has made you change your mind?"

"Madam, I decline to bandy words. Have you found those rings, or haveyou not?"

"I have _not_, " said I, "but neither have you, and as that is what Iwanted to make sure of, I will now take my leave without furtherceremony. "

Mr. Gryce is not a profane man, but he allowed a word to slip from himwhich was not entirely one of blessing. He made amends for it nextmoment, however, by remarking:

"Madam, I once said, as you will doubtless remember, that the day wouldcome when I should find myself at your feet. That day has arrived. Andnow is there any other little cherished fact known to the police whichyou would like to have imparted to you?"

I took his humiliation seriously. 

"You are very good, " I rejoined, "but I will not trouble you for any_facts_, --_those_ I am enabled to glean for myself; but what I shouldlike you to tell me is this: Whether if you came upon those rings in thepossession of a person known to have been on the scene of crime at thetime of its perpetration, you would not consider them as anincontrovertible proof of guilt?"

"Undoubtedly, " said he, with a sudden alteration in his manner whichwarned me that I must muster up all my strength if I would keep mysecret till I was quite ready to part with it. 

"Then, " said I, with a resolute movement towards the door, "that's thewhole of my business for to-day. Good-morning, Mr. Gryce; to-morrow Ishall expect you. "

He made me stop though my foot had crossed the threshold; not by word orlook but simply by his fatherly manner. 

"Miss Butterworth, " he observed, "the suspicions which you haveentertained from the first have within the last few days assumed adefinite form. In what direction do they point?--tell me. "

Some men and most women would have yielded to that imperative _tell me_!But there was no yielding in Amelia Butterworth. Instead of that Itreated him to a touch of irony. 

"Is it possible, " I asked, "that you think it worth while to consult_me_? I thought your eyes were too keen to seek assistance from mine. You are as confident as I am that Howard Van Burnam is innocent of thecrime for which you have arrested him. "

A look that was dangerously insinuating crossed his face at this. Hecame forward rapidly and, joining me where I stood, said smilingly:

"Let us join forces, Miss Butterworth. You have from the first refusedto consider the younger son of Silas Van Burnam as guilty. Your reasonsthen were slight and hardly worth communicating. Have you any betterones to advance now? It is not too late to mention them, if you have. "

"It will not be too late to-morrow, " I retorted. 

Convinced that I was not to be moved from my position, he gave me one ofhis low bows. 

"I forgot, " said he, "that it was as a rival and not as a coadjutor youmeddled in this matter. " And he bowed again, this time with a sarcasticair I felt too self-satisfied to resent. 

"To-morrow, then?" said I. 

"To-morrow. "

At that I left him. 

I did not return immediately to Miss Althorpe. I visited Cox's millinerystore, Mrs. Desberger's house, and the offices of the various cityrailways. But I got no clue to the rings; and finally satisfied thatMiss Oliver, as I must now call her, had not lost or disposed of them onher way from Gramercy Park to her present place of refuge, I returned toMiss Althorpe's with even a greater determination than before to searchthat luxurious home till I found them. 

But a decided surprise awaited me. As the door opened I caught aglimpse of the butler's face, and noticing its embarrassed expression, Iat once asked what had happened. 

His answer showed a strange mixture of hesitation and bravado. 

"Not much, ma'am; only Miss Althorpe is afraid you may not be pleased. Miss Oliver is gone, ma'am; she ran away while Crescenze was out of theroom. "

XXVII. 

FOUND. 

I gave a low cry and rushed down the steps. 

"Don't go!" I called out to the driver. "I shall want you in tenminutes. " And hurrying back, I ran up-stairs in a condition of mind suchas I have no reason to be proud of. Happily Mr. Gryce was not there tosee me. 

"Gone? Miss Oliver gone?" I cried to the maid whom I found trembling ina corner of the hall. 

"Yes, ma'am; it was my fault, ma'am. She was in bed so quiet, I thoughtI might step out for a minute, but when I came back her clothes weremissing and she was gone. She must have slipped out at the front doorwhile Dan was in the back hall. I don't see how ever she had thestrength to do it. "

Nor did I. But I did not stop to reason about it; there was too much tobe done. Rushing on, I entered the room I had left in such high hopes afew hours before. Emptiness was before me, and I realized what it was tobe baffled at the moment of success. But I did not waste an instant ininactivity. I searched the closets and pulled open the drawers; foundher coat and hat gone, but not Mrs. Van Burnam's brown skirt, though thepurse had been taken out of the pocket. 

"Is her bag here?" I asked. 

Yes, it was in its old place under the table; and on the wash-stand andbureau were the simple toilet articles I had been told she had broughtthere. In what haste she must have fled to leave these necessitiesbehind her!

But the greatest shock I received was the sight of the knitting-work, with which I had so inconsiderately meddled the evening before, lying inravelled heaps on the table, as if torn to bits in a frenzy. This was aproof that the fever was yet on her; and as I contemplated this fact Itook courage, thinking that one in her condition would not be allowed torun the streets long, but would be picked up and put in some hospital. 

In this hope I began my search. Miss Althorpe, who came in just as I wasabout to leave the house, consented to telephone to Police Headquartersa description of the girl, with a request to be notified if such aperson should be found in the streets or on the docks or at any of thestation-houses that night. "Not, " I assured her, as we left thetelephone and I prepared to say good-bye for the day, "that you needexpect her to be brought back to this house, for I do not mean that sheshall ever darken your doors again. So let me know if they find her, andI will relieve you of all further responsibility in the matter. "

Then I started out. 

To name the streets I traversed or the places I visited that day, wouldtake more space than I would like to devote to the subject. Dusk came, and I had failed in obtaining the least clue to her whereabouts; eveningfollowed, and still no trace of the fugitive. What was I to do? Take Mr. Gryce into my confidence after all? That would be galling to my pride, but I began to fear I should have to submit to this humiliation when Ihappened to think of the Chinaman. To think of him once was to think ofhim twice, and to think of him twice was to be conscious of anirresistible desire to visit his place and find out if any one butmyself had been there to inquire after the lost one's clothes. 

Accompanied by Lena, I hurried away to Third Avenue. The laundry wasnear Twenty-seventh Street. As we approached I grew troubled andunaccountably expectant. When we reached it I understood my excitementand instantly became calm. For there stood Miss Oliver, gazing like oneunder a spell through the lighted window-panes into the narrow shopwhere the owner bent over his ironing. She had evidently stood theresome time, for a small group of half-grown lads were watching her withevery symptom of being about to break into a mischievous display ofcuriosity. Her hands, which were without gloves, were pressed againstthe glass, and her whole attitude showed an intensity of fatigue whichwould have laid her on the ground had she not been sustained by an equalintensity of purpose. 

Sending Lena for a carriage, I approached the poor creature and drew herforcibly from the window. 

"Do you want anything here?" I asked. "I will go in with you if you do. "

She surveyed me with strange apathy, and yet with a certain sort ofrelief too. Then she slowly shook her head. 

"I don't know anything about it. My head swims and everything looksqueer, but some one or something sent me to this place. "

"Come in, " I urged, "come in for a minute. " And half supporting her, half dragging her, I managed to get her across the threshold and intothe Chinaman's shop. 

Immediately a dozen faces were pressed where hers had been. 

The Chinaman, a stolid being, turned as he heard the little bell tinklewhich announced a customer. 

"Is this the lady who left the clothes here a few nights ago?" I asked. 

He stopped and stared, recognizing me slowly, and remembering by degreeswhat had passed between us at our last interview. 

"You tellee me lalee die; how him lalee when lalee die?"

"The lady is not dead; I made a mistake. Is this the lady?"

"Lalee talk; I no see face, I hear speak. "

"Have you seen this man before?" I inquired of my nearly insensiblecompanion. 

"I think so in a dream, " she murmured, trying to recall her poorwandering wits back from some region into which they had strayed. 

"Him lalee!" cried the Chinaman, overjoyed at the prospect of gettinghis money. "Pletty speak, I knowee him. Lalee want clo?"

"Not to-night. The lady is sick; see, she can hardly stand. " Andoverjoyed at this seeming evidence that the police had failed to getwind of my interest in this place, I slipped a coin into the Chinaman'shand, and drew Miss Oliver away towards the carriage I now saw drawingup before the shop. 

Lena's eyes when she came up to help me were a sight to see. Theyseemed to ask who this girl was and what I was going to do with her. Ianswered the look by a very brief and evidently wholly unexpectedexplanation. 

"This is your cousin who ran away, " I remarked. "Don't you recognizeher?"

Lena gave me up then and there; but she accepted my explanation, andeven lied in her desire to carry out my whim. 

"Yes, ma'am, " said she, "and glad I am to see her again. " And with adeft push here and a gentle pull there, she succeeded in getting thesick woman into the carriage. 

The crowd, which had considerably increased by this time, was beginningto flock about us with shouts of no little derision. Escaping it as bestI could, I took my seat by the poor girl's side, and bade Lena give theorder for home. When we left the curb-stone behind, I felt that the lastpage in my adventures as an amateur detective had closed. 

But I counted without my cost. Miss Oliver, who was in an advanced stageof fever, lay like a dead weight on my shoulder during the drive downthe avenue, but when we entered the Park and drew near my house, shebegan to show such signs of violent agitation that it was withdifficulty that the united efforts of Lena and myself could prevent herfrom throwing herself out of the carriage door which she had somehowmanaged to open. 

As the carriage stopped she grew worse, and though she made no furtherefforts to leave it, I found her present impulses even harder to contendwith than the former. For now she would not be pushed out or draggedout, but crouched back moaning and struggling, her eyes fixed on thestoop, which is not unlike that of the adjoining house; till with asudden realization that the cause of her terror lay in her fear ofre-entering the scene of her late terrifying experiences, I bade thecoachman drive on, and reluctantly, I own, carried her back to the houseshe had left in the morning. 

And this is how I came to spend a second night in Miss Althorpe'shospitable mansion. 

XXVIII. 

TAKEN ABACK. 

One incident more and this portion of my story is at an end. My poorpatient, sicker than she had been the night before, left me but littleleisure for thought or action disconnected with my care for her. Buttowards morning she grew quieter, and finding in an open drawer thosetangled threads of yarn of which I have spoken, I began to rewind them, out of a natural desire to see everything neat and orderly about me. Ihad nearly finished my task when I heard a strange noise from the bed. It was a sort of gurgling cry which I found hard to interpret, but whichonly stopped when I laid my work down again. Manifestly this sick girlhad very nervous fancies. 

When I went down to breakfast the next morning, I was in that complacentstate of mind natural to a woman who feels that her abilities haveasserted themselves and that she would soon receive a recognition of thesame at the hands of the one person for whose commendation she hadchiefly been working. The identification of Miss Oliver by the Chinamanwas the last link in the chain connecting her with the Mrs. James Popewho had accompanied Mr. Van Burnam to his father's house in GramercyPark, and though I would fain have had the murdered woman's rings toshow, I was contented enough with the discoveries I had made to wish forthe hour which would bring me face to face with the detective. 

But a surprise awaited me at the breakfast table in the shape of acommunication from that gentleman. It had just been brought from myhouse by Lena, and it ran thus:

 "DEAR MISS BUTTERWORTH:

 "Pardon our interference. _We_ have found the rings which you think so conclusive an evidence of guilt against the person secreting them; and, _with your permission_ [this was basely underlined], Mr. Franklin Van Burnam will be in custody to-day. 

 "I will wait upon you at ten. 

 "Respectfully yours, "EBENEZAR GRYCE. "

_Franklin Van Burnam!_ Was I dreaming? _Franklin_ Van Burnam accused ofthis crime and in custody! What did it mean? I had found no evidenceagainst Franklin Van Burnam. 

_BOOK III_. 

THE GIRL IN GRAY. 

XXIX. 

AMELIA BECOMES PEREMPTORY. 

"Madam, I hope I see you satisfied?"

This was Mr. Gryce's greeting as he entered my parlor on that memorablemorning. 

"Satisfied?" I repeated, rising and facing him with what he afterwardsdescribed as a stony glare. 

"Pardon me! I suppose you would have been still more satisfied if we hadwaited for _you_ to point out the guilty man to _us_. But you must makesome allowances for professional egotism, Miss Butterworth. We reallycould not allow you to take the initiatory step in a matter of suchimportance. "

"Oh!" was my sole response; but he has since told me that there was agreat deal in that _oh_; so much, that even he was startled by it. 

"You set to-day for a talk with me, " he went on; "probably relying uponwhat you intended to assure yourself of yesterday. But our discovery atthe same time as yourself of the rings in Mr. Van Burnam's office, neednot interfere with your giving us your full confidence. The work youhave done has been excellent, and we are disposed to give youconsiderable credit for it. "

"Indeed!"

I had no choice but to thus indulge in ejaculations. The communicationhe had just made was so startling, and his assumption of my completeunderstanding of and participation in the discovery he professed to havemade, so puzzling, that I dared not venture beyond these simpleexclamations, lest he should see the state of mind into which he hadthrown me, and shut up like an oyster. 

"We have kept counsel over what we have found, " the wary old detectivecontinued, with a smile, which I wish I could imitate, but whichunhappily belongs to him alone. "I hope that you, or your maid, I shouldsay, have been equally discreet. "

My maid!

"I see you are touched; but women find it so hard to keep a secret. Butit does not matter. To-night the whole town will know that the older andnot the younger brother has had these rings in his keeping. "

"It will be nuts for the papers, " I commented; then making an effort, Iremarked: "You are a most judicious man, Mr. Gryce, and must have otherreasons than the discovery of these rings for your threatened arrest ofa man of such excellent repute as Silas Van Burnam's eldest son. Ishould like to hear them, Mr. Gryce. I should like to hear them verymuch. "

My attempt to seem at ease under these embarrassing conditions must havegiven a certain sharpness to my tone; for, instead of replying, heremarked, with well simulated concern and a fatherly humoring of myfolly peculiarly exasperating to one of my temperament: "You aredispleased, Miss Butterworth, because we did not let _you_ find therings. "

"Perhaps; but we were engaged in an open field. I could not expect thepolice to stand aside for me. "

"Exactly! Especially when you have the secret satisfaction of having putthe police on the track of these jewels. "

"How?"

"We were simply fortunate in laying our hands on them first. You, oryour maid rather, showed us where to look for them. "

Lena again. 

I was so dumfounded by this last assertion, I did not attempt to reply. Fortunately, he misinterpreted my silence and the "stony glare" withwhich it was accompanied. 

"I know that it must seem to you altogether too bad, to be tripped up atthe moment of your anticipated triumph. But if apologies will suffice toexpress our sense of presumption, then I pray you to accept them, MissButterworth, both on my own part and on that of the Superintendent ofPolice. "

I did not understand in the least what he was talking about, but Irecognized the sarcasm of his final expression, and had spirit enough toreply:

"The subject is too important for any more nonsense. Whereabouts inFranklin Van Burnam's desk were these rings found, and how do you knowthat his brother did not put them there?"

"Your ignorance is refreshing, Miss Butterworth. If you will ask acertain young girl dressed in gray, upon what object connected with Mr. Van Burnam's desk she laid her hands yesterday morning, you will havean answer to your first question. The second one is still more easilyanswered. Mr. Howard Van Burnam did not conceal the rings in the DuaneStreet office for the reason that he has not been in that office sincehis wife was killed. Regarding this fact we are as well advised asyourself. Now you change color, Miss Butterworth. But there is nonecessity. For an amateur you have made less trouble and fewer mistakesthan were to be expected. "

Worse and worse! He was patronizing me now, and for results I had donenothing to bring about. I surveyed him in absolute amazement. Was heamusing himself with me, or was he himself deceived as to the nature andtrend of my late investigations. This was a question to settle, and atonce; and as duplicity had hitherto proved my best weapon in dealingwith Mr. Gryce, I concluded to resort to it in this emergency. Clearingmy brow, I regarded with a more amenable air the little Hungarian vasehe had taken up on entering the room, and into which he had been talkingever since he thought it worth while to compliment its owner. 

"I do not wish, " said I, "to be published to the world as the discovererof Franklin Van Burnam's guilt. But I do want credit with the police, ifonly because one of their number has chosen to look upon my efforts withdisdain. I mean you, Mr. Gryce; so, if you are in earnest"--he smiled atthe vase most genially--"I will accept your apologies just so far as youhonor me with your confidence. I know you are anxious to hear whatevidence I have collected, or you would not be wasting time on me thisbusy morning. "

"Shrewd!" was the short ejaculation he shot into the mouth of the vasehe was handling. 

"If that term of admiration is intended for me, " I remarked, "I am sureI am only too sensible of the honor. But flattery has never succeeded inmaking me talk against my better judgment. I may be shrewd, but a foolcould see what you are after this morning. Compliment me when I havedeserved it. I can wait. "

"I begin to think that what you withhold so resolutely has more thancommon value, Miss Butterworth. If this is so, I must not be the onlyone to listen to your explanations. Is not that a carriage I hearstopping? I am expecting Inspector Z----. If that is he you have beenwise to delay your communications till he came. "

A carriage _was_ stopping, and it was the Inspector who alighted fromit. I began to feel my importance in a way that was truly gratifying, and cast my eyes up at the portrait of my father with a secret longingthat its original stood by to witness the verification of his prophecy. 

But I was not so distracted by these thoughts as not to make one attemptto get something from Mr. Gryce before the Inspector joined us. 

"Why do you speak to me of my maid in one breath and of a girl in grayin another? Did you think Lena----"

"Hush!" he enjoined, "we will have ample opportunities to discuss thissubject later. "

"Will we?" thought I. "We will discuss nothing till I know morepositively what you are aiming at. "

But I showed nothing of this determination in my face. On the contrary, I became all affability as the Inspector entered, and I did the honorsof the house in a way I hope my father would have approved of, had hebeen alive and present. 

Mr. Gryce continued to stare into the vase. 

"Miss Butterworth, "--it was the Inspector who was speaking, --"I havebeen told that you take great interest in the Van Burnam murder, andthat you have even gone so far as to collect some facts in connectionwith it which you have not as yet given to the police. "

"You have heard correctly, " I returned. "I have taken a deep interest inthis tragedy, and have come into possession of some facts in referenceto it which as yet I have imparted to no living soul. "

Mr. Gryce's interest in my poor little vase increased marvellously. Seeing this, I complacently continued:

"I could not have accomplished so much had I indulged in a confidant. Such work as I have attempted depends for its success upon the secrecywith which it is carried on. That is why amateur work is sometimes moreeffective than professional. No one suspected me of making inquiries, unless it was this gentleman, and he was forewarned of my possibleinterference. I told him that in case Howard Van Burnam was put underarrest, I should take it upon myself to stir up matters; and I have. "

"Then you do not believe in Mr. Van Burnam's guilt? Not even in hiscomplicity, I suppose?" ventured the Inspector. 

"I do not know anything about his complicity; but I do not believe thestroke given to his wife came from his hand. "

"I see, I see. You believe it the work of his brother. "

I stole a look at Mr. Gryce before replying. He had turned the vaseupside down, and was intently studying its label; but he could notconceal his expectation of an affirmative answer. Greatly relieved, Iimmediately took the position I had resolved upon, and calmly butvigorously observed:

"What I believe, and what I have learned in support of my belief, willsound as well in your ears ten minutes hence as now. Before I give youthe result of such inquiries as I have been enabled to make, I requireto know what evidence you have yourself collected against the gentlemanyou have just named, and in what respect it is as criminating as thatagainst his brother?"

"Is not that peremptory, Miss Butterworth? And do you think us calledupon to part with all or any of the secrets of our office? We haveinformed you that we have new and startling evidence against the olderbrother; should not that be sufficient for you?"

"Perhaps so if I were an assistant of yours, or even in your employ. ButI am neither; I stand alone, and although I am a woman and unused tothis business, I have earned, as I think you will acknowledge later, theright to some consideration on your part. I cannot present the facts Ihave to relate in a proper manner till I know just how the case stands. "

"It is not curiosity that troubles Miss Butterworth--Madam, I said itwas not curiosity--but a laudable desire to have the whole matterarranged with precision, " dropped now in his dryest tones from thedetective's lips. 

"Mr. Gryce has a most excellent understanding of my character, " Igravely observed. 

The Inspector looked nonplussed. He glanced at Mr. Gryce and he glancedat me, but the smile of the former was inscrutable, and my expression, if I showed any, must have betrayed but little relenting. 

"If called as a witness, Miss Butterworth, "--this was how he sought tomanage me, --"you will have no choice in the matter. You will becompelled to speak or show contempt of court. "

"That is true, " I acknowledged. "But it is not what I might feel myselfcalled upon to say then, but what I can say now, that is of interest toyou at this present moment. So be generous, gentlemen, and satisfy mycuriosity, for such Mr. Gryce considers it, in spite of his assertionsto the contrary. Will it not all come out in the papers a few hourshence, and have I not earned as much at your hands as the reporters?"

"The reporters are our bane. Do not liken yourself to the reporters. "

"Yet they sometimes give you a valuable clue. "

Mr. Gryce looked as if he would like to disclaim this, but he was ajudicious soul, and merely gave a twist to the vase which I thoughtwould cost me that small article of vertu. 

"Shall we humor Miss Butterworth?" asked the Inspector. 

"We will do better, " answered Mr. Gryce, setting the vase down with aprecision that made me jump; for I am a worshipper of _bric-à-brac_, andprize the few articles I own, possibly beyond their real value. "We willtreat her as a coadjutor, which, by the way, she says she is not, and bythe trust we place in her, secure that discretionary use of ourconfidence which she shows with so much spirit in regard to her own. "

"Begin then, " said I. 

"I will, " said he, "but first allow me to acknowledge that you are theperson who first put us on the track of Franklin Van Burnam. "

XXX. 

THE MATTER AS STATED BY MR. GRYCE. 

I had exhausted my wonder, so I accepted this statement with no moredisplay of surprise than a grim smile. 

"When you failed to identify Howard Van Burnam as the man whoaccompanied his wife into the adjacent house, I realized that I mustlook elsewhere for the murderer of Louise Van Burnam. You see I had moreconfidence in the excellence of your memory than you had yourself, somuch indeed that I gave you more than one chance to exercise it, having, by certain little methods I sometimes employ, induced different moods inMr. Van Burnam at the time of his several visits, so that his bearingmight vary, and you have every opportunity to recognize him for the manyou had seen on that fatal night. "

"Then it was he you brought here each time?" I broke in. 

"It was he. "

"Well!" I ejaculated. 

"The Superintendent and some others whom I need not mention, "--here Mr. Gryce took up another small object from the table, --"believed implicitlyin his guilt; conjugal murder is so common and the causes which lead toit so frequently puerile. Therefore I had to work alone. But this didnot cause me any concern. _Your_ doubts emphasized mine, and when youconfided to me that you had seen a figure similar to the one we weretrying to identify, enter the adjoining house on the evening of thefuneral, I made immediate inquiries and discovered that the gentlemanwho had entered the house right after the four persons described by youwas _Franklin Van Burnam_. This gave me a definite clue, and this is whyI say that it was you who gave me my first start in this matter. "

"Humph!" thought I to myself, as with a sudden shock I remembered thatone of the words which had fallen from Miss Oliver's lips during herdelirium had been this very name of Franklin. 

"I had had my doubts of this gentleman before, " continued the detective, warming gradually with his subject. "A man of my experience doubts everyone in a case of this kind, and I had formed at odd times a sort of sidetheory, so to speak, into which some little matters which came up duringthe inquest seemed to fit with more or less nicety; but I had no realjustification for suspicion till the event of which I speak. That youhad evidently formed the same theory as myself and were bound to enterinto the lists with me, put me on my mettle, madam, and with yourknowledge or without it, the struggle between us began. "

"So your disdain of me, " I here put in with a triumphant air I could notsubdue, "was only simulated? I shall know what to think of youhereafter. But don't stop, go on, this is all deeply interesting to me. "

"I can understand that. To proceed then; my first duty, of course, wasto watch _you_. You had reasons of your own for suspecting this man, soby watching you I hoped to surprise them. "

"Good!" I cried, unable to entirely conceal the astonishment and grimamusement into which his continued misconception of the trend of mysuspicions threw me. 

"But you led us a chase, madam; I must acknowledge that you led us achase. Your being an amateur led me to anticipate your using anamateur's methods, but you showed skill, madam, and the man I sent tokeep watch over Mrs. Boppert against your looked-for visit there, wasfoiled by the very simple strategy you used in meeting her at aneighboring shop. "

"Good!" I again cried, in my relief that the discovery made at thatmeeting had not been shared by him. 

"We had sounded Mrs. Boppert ourselves, but she had seemed a veryhopeless job, and I do not yet see how you got any water out of thatstone--if you did. "

"No?" I retorted ambiguously, enjoying the Inspector's manifest delightin this scene as much as I did my own secret thoughts and the prospectof the surprise I was holding in store for them. 

"But your interference with the clock and the discovery you made that ithad been going at the time the shelves fell, was not unknown to us, andwe have made use of it, good use as you will hereafter see. "

"So! those girls could not keep a secret after all, " I muttered; andwaited with some anxiety to hear him mention the pin-cushion; but he didnot, greatly to my relief. 

"Don't blame the girls!" he put in (his ears evidently are as sharp asmine); "the inquiries having proceeded from Franklin, it was onlynatural for me to suspect that he was trying to mislead us by somehocus-pocus story. So _I_ visited the girls. That I had difficulty ingetting to the root of the matter is to their credit, Miss Butterworth, seeing that you had made them promise secrecy. "

"You are right, " I nodded, and forgave them on the spot. If I could notwithstand Mr. Gryce's eloquence--and it affected me at times--how couldI expect these girls to. Besides, they had not revealed the moreimportant secret I had confided to them, and in consideration of this Iwas ready to pardon them most anything. 

"That the clock was going at the time the shelves fell, and that heshould be the one to draw our attention to it would seem to thesuperficial mind proof positive that he was innocent of the deed withwhich it was so closely associated, " the detective proceeded. "But toone skilled in the subterfuges of criminals, this seemingly conclusivefact in his favor was capable of an explanation so in keeping with thesubtlety shown in every other feature of this remarkable crime, that Ibegan to regard it as a point against him rather than in his favor. Ofwhich more hereafter. 

"Not allowing myself to be deterred, then, by this momentary set-back, and rejoicing in an affair considered as settled by my superiors, Iproceeded to establish Franklin Van Burnam's connection with the crimewhich had been laid with so much apparent reason at his brother's door. 

"The first fact to be settled was, of course, whether youridentification of him as the gentleman who accompanied his victim intoMr. Van Burnam's house could be corroborated by any of the many personswho had seen the so-called Mr. James Pope at the Hotel D----. 

"As none of the witnesses who attended the inquest had presumed torecognize in either of these sleek and haughty gentlemen the shrinkingperson just mentioned, I knew that any open attempt on my part to bringabout an identification would result disastrously. So I employedstrategy--like my betters, Miss Butterworth" (here his bow wasoverpowering in its mock humility); "and rightly considering that for aperson to be satisfactorily identified with another, he must be seenunder the same circumstances and in nearly the same place, I sought outFranklin Van Burnam, and with specious promises of some great benefit tobe done his brother, induced him to accompany me to the Hotel D----. 

"Whether he saw through my plans and thought that a brave front and anassumption of candor would best serve him in this unexpected dilemma, orwhether he felt so entrenched behind the precautions he had taken as notto fear discovery under any circumstances, he made but one demur beforepreparing to accompany me. This demur was significant, however, for itwas occasioned by my advice to change his dress for one lessconspicuously fashionable, or to hide it under an ulster or mackintosh. And as a proof of his hardihood--remember, madam, that his connectionwith this crime has been established--he actually did put on the ulster, though he must have known what a difference it would make in hisappearance. 

"The result was all I could desire. As we entered the hotel, I saw acertain hackman start and lean forward to look after him. It was the onewho had driven Mr. And Mrs. Pope away from the hotel. And when we passedthe porter, the wink which I gave him was met by a lift of his eyelidswhich he afterwards interpreted into 'Like! very like!'

"But it was from the clerk I received the most unequivocal proof of hisidentity. On entering the office I had left Mr. Van Burnam as near aspossible to the spot where Mr. Pope had stood while his so-called wifewas inscribing their names in the register, and bidding him to remain inthe background while I had a few words at the desk, all in his brother'sinterests of course, I succeeded in secretly directing Mr. Henshaw'sattention towards him. The start which he gave and the exclamation heuttered were unequivocal. 'Why, there's the man now!' he cried, happilyin a whisper. 'Anxious look, drooping head, brown moustache, everythingbut the duster. ' 'Bah!' said I; 'that's Mr. _Franklin_ Van Burnam youare looking at! What are you thinking of?' 'Can't help it, ' said he; 'Isaw both of the brothers at the inquest, and saw nothing in them then toremind me of our late mysterious guest. But as he stands there, he's a---- sight more like James Pope than the other one is, and don't youforget it. ' I shrugged my shoulders, told him he was a fool, and thatfools had better keep their follies to themselves, and came away with myman, outwardly disgusted but inwardly in most excellent trim forpursuing an investigation which had opened so auspiciously. 

"Whether this man possessed any motive for a crime so seemingly out ofaccordance with his life and disposition was, of course, the next pointto settle. His conduct at the inquest certainly showed no decidedanimosity toward his brother's wife, nor was there on the surface ofaffairs any token of the mortal hatred which alone could account for acrime at once so deliberate and so brutal. But we detectives plungebelow the surface, and after settling the question of Franklin'sidentity with the so-called Mr. Pope of the Hotel D----, I left New Yorkand its interests--among which I reckoned your efforts at detectivework, Miss Butterworth--to a young man in my office, who, I am afraid, did not quite understand the persistence of your character; for he hadnothing to tell me concerning you on my return, save that you had beencultivating Miss Althorpe, which, of course, was such a natural thingfor you to do, I wonder he thought it necessary to mention it. 

"My destination was Four Corners, the place where Howard first met hisfuture wife. In relating what I learned there, I shall doubtless repeatfacts with which you are acquainted, Miss Butterworth. "

"That is of no consequence, " I returned, with almost brazen duplicity;for I not only was ignorant of what he was going to say, but had everyreason to believe that it would bear as remote a connection as possibleto the secret then laboring in my breast. "A statement of the case fromyour lips, " I pursued, "will emphasize what I know. Do not stint any ofyour disclosures, then, I beg. I have an ear for all. " This was truerthan my rather sarcastic tone would convey, for might not his storyafter all prove to have some unexpected relation with the facts I hadmyself gathered together. 

"It is a pleasure, " said he, "to think I am capable of giving anyinformation to Miss Butterworth, and as I did not run across you or yourvery nimble and pert little maid during my stay at Four Corners, I shalltake it for granted that you confined your inquiries to the city and thesociety of which you are such a shining light. "

This in reference to my double visit at Miss Althorpe's, no doubt. 

"Four Corners is a charming town in Southern Vermont, and here, threeyears ago, Howard Van Burnam first met Miss Stapleton. She was living ina gentleman's family at that time as travelling companion to his invaliddaughter. "

Ah, now I could see what explanation this wary old detective gavehimself of my visits to Miss Althorpe, and began to hug myself inanticipation of my coming triumph over him. 

"The place did not fit her, for Miss Stapleton only shone in the societyof men; but Mr. Harrison had not yet discovered this specialidiosyncrasy of hers, and as his daughter was able to see a few friends, and in fact needed some diversion, the way was open to her companion forthat acquaintance with Mr. Van Burnam which has led to such disastrousresults. 

"The house at which their meeting took place was a private one, and Isoon found out many facts not widely known in this city. First, that shewas not so much in love with Howard as he was with her. _He_ succumbedto her fascinations at once, and proposed, I believe, within two weeksafter seeing her; but though she accepted him, few of those who saw themtogether thought her affections very much engaged till Franklin suddenlyappeared in town, when her whole manner underwent a change, and shebecame so sparklingly and irresistibly beautiful that her avowed loverbecame doubly enslaved, and Franklin--Well, there is evidence to provethat he was not insensible to her charms either; that, in spite of herengagement to his brother and the attitude which honor bade him holdtowards his prospective sister-in-law, he lost his head for a shorttime at least, and under her seductions I do not doubt, for she was adouble-faced woman according to general repute, went so far as toexpress his passion in a letter of which I heard much before I was sofortunate as to obtain a sight of it. This was three years ago, and Ithink Miss Stapleton would have been willing to have broken with Howardand married Franklin if the latter had had the courage to meet hisbrother's reproaches. But he evidently was deficient in this quality. His very letter, which is a warm one, but which holds out no hope to herof any closer bond between them than that offered by her prospectiveunion with his brother, shows that he still retained some sense ofhonor, and as he presently left Four Corners and did not appear againwhere they were till just before their marriage, it is probable that allwould have gone well if the woman had shared this sentiment with him. But she was made up of mean materials, and while willing to marry Howardfor what he could give her or what she thought he could give her, sheyet cherished an implacable grudge against Franklin for his weakness, asshe called it, in not following the dictates of his heart. Being sly aswell as passionate, she hid her feelings from every one but a venial, though apparently devoted confidante, a young girl named----"

"Oliver, " I finished in my own mind. 

But the name he mentioned was quite different. 

"Pigot, " he said, looking at the filigree basket he held in his hand asif he picked this word out from one of its many interstices. "She wasFrench, and after once finding her, I had but little difficulty inlearning all she had to tell. She had been Miss Harrison's maid, butshe was not above serving Miss Stapleton in many secret and dishonorableways. As a consequence, she could give me the details of an interviewwhich that lady had held with Franklin Van Burnam on the evening of herwedding. It took place in Mr. Harrison's garden, and was supposed to bea secret one, but the woman who arranged the meeting was not the personto keep away from it when it occurred, and consequently I have beenenabled to learn with more or less accuracy what took place betweenthem. It was not to Miss Stapleton's credit. Mr. Van Burnam merelywanted his letter back, but she refused to return it unless he wouldpromise her a complete recognition by his family of her marriage andensure her a reception in his father's house as Howard's wife. This wasmore than he could engage himself to perform. He had already, accordingto his own story, made every effort possible to influence the oldgentleman in her favor, but had only succeeded in irritating him againsthimself. It was an acknowledgment which would have satisfied most women, but it did not satisfy her. She declared her intention of keeping theletter for fear he would cease his exertions; and heedless of the effectproduced upon him by the barefaced threat, proceeded to inveigh againsthis brother for the very love which made her union with him possible;and as if this was not bad enough, showed at the same time such adisposition to profit by whatever worldly good the match promised, thatFranklin lost all regard for her, and began to hate her. 

"As he made no effort to conceal his feelings, she must have becomeimmediately aware of the change which had taken place in them. Buthowever affected by this, she gave no sign of relenting in her purpose. On the contrary, she persisted in her determination to retain hisletter, and when he remonstrated with her and threatened to leave townbefore her marriage, she retorted by saying that, if he did so, shewould show his letter to his brother as soon as the minister had madethem one. This threat seemed to affect Franklin deeply, and while itintensified his feeling of animosity towards her, subjected him for themoment to her whim. He stayed in Four Corners till the ceremony wasperformed, but was such a gloomy guest that all united in saying that hedid the occasion no credit. 

"So much for my work in Four Corners. "

I had by this time become aware that Mr. Gryce was addressing himselfchiefly to the Inspector, being gratified no doubt at this opportunityof presenting his case at length before that gentleman. But true to hisspecial habits, he looked at neither of us, but rather at the frettedbasket, upon the handle of which he tapped out his arguments as hequickly proceeded:

"The young couple spent the first months of their married life inYonkers; so to Yonkers I went next. There I learned that Franklin hadvisited the place twice; both times, as I judge, upon a peremptorysummons from her. The result was mutual fret and heartburning, for shehad made no progress in her endeavors to win recognition from the VanBurnams; and even had had occasion to perceive that her husband's love, based as it was upon her physical attributes, had begun to feel thestress of her uneasiness and dissatisfaction. She became more anxiousthan ever for social recognition and distinction, and when the familywent to Europe, consented to accompany her husband into the quietretreat he thought best calculated to win the approbation of his father, only upon the assurance of better times in the fall and a possible visitto Washington in the winter. But the quiet to which she was subjectedhad a bad effect upon her. Under it she grew more and more restless, andas the time approached for the family's return, conceived so many plansfor conciliating them that her husband could not restrain his disgust. But the worst plan of all and the one which undoubtedly led to herdeath, he never knew. This was to surprise Franklin at his office and, by renewed threats of showing this old love-letter to his brother, winan absolute promise from him to support her in a fresh endeavor to winhis father's favor. You see she did not understand Silas Van Burnam'sreal character, and persisted in holding the most extravagant viewsconcerning Franklin's ascendancy over him as well as over the rest ofthe family. She even went so far as to insist in the interview, whichJane Pigot overheard, that it was Franklin himself who stood in the wayof her desires, and that if he chose he could obtain for her aninvitation to take up her abode with the rest of them in Gramercy Park. To Duane Street she therefore went before making her appearance at Mrs. Parker's; a fact which was not brought out at the inquest; Franklin notdisclosing it of course, and the clerk not recognizing her under thefalse name she chose to give. Of the details of this interview I amignorant, but as she was closeted with him some time, it is only naturalto suppose that conversation of some importance took place between them. The clerk who works in the outer office did not, as I have said, knowwho she was at the time, but he noticed her face when she came out, andhe declares that it was insolent with triumph, while Mr. Franklin, whowas polite enough or calculating enough to bow her out of the room, waspale with rage, and acted so unlike himself that everybody observed it. She held his letter in her hand, a letter easily distinguishable by theviolet-colored seal on the back, and she filliped with it in a mostaggravating way as she crossed the floor, pretending to lay it down onHoward's desk as she went by and then taking it up again with an archlook at Franklin, pretty enough to see but hateful in its effect on him. As he went back to his own room his face was full of anger, and such wasthe effect of this visit on him that he declined to see any one elsethat day. She had probably shown such determination to reveal his pastperfidy to her husband, that his fears were fully aroused at last, andhe saw he was not only likely to lose his good name but the esteem withwhich he was accustomed to be regarded by this younger and evidentlymuch-loved brother. 

"And now, considering his intense pride, as well as his affection forHoward, do you not see the motive which this seemingly good man had forputting his troublesome sister-in-law out of existence? He wanted thatletter back, and to obtain it had to resort to crime. Or such is mypresent theory of this murder, Miss Butterworth. Does it correspond withyours?"

XXXI. 

SOME FINE WORK. 

"O perfectly!" I assented, with just the shade of irony necessary to robthe assertion of its mendacity. "But go on, go on. You have not begun tosatisfy me yet. You did not stop with finding a motive for the crime Iam sure. "

"Madam, you are a female Shylock; you will have the whole of the bond ornone. "

"We are not here to draw comparisons, " I retorted. "Keep to the subject, Mr. Gryce; keep to the subject. "

He laughed; laid down the little basket he held, took it up again, andfinally resumed:

"Madam, you are right; we did not stop at finding a motive. Our nextstep was to collect evidence directly connecting him with the crime. "

"And you succeeded in this?"

My tone was unnecessarily eager, this was all so unaccountable to me;but he did not appear to notice it. 

"We did. Indeed the evidence against him is stronger than that againsthis brother. For if we ignore the latter part of Howard's testimony, which was evidently a tissue of lies, what remains against him? Threethings: his dogged persistency in not recognizing his wife in themurdered woman; the receiving of the house keys from his brother; andthe fact that he was seen on the stoop of his father's house at anunusual hour in the morning following this murder. Now what have weagainst Franklin? Many things. 

"First:

"That he can no more account for the hours between half-past eleven onTuesday morning and five o'clock on the following Wednesday morning thanhis brother can. In one breath he declares that he was shut up in hisrooms at the hotel, for which no corroborative evidence is forthcoming;and in another that he was on a tramp after his brother, which seemsequally improbable and incapable of proof. 

"Second:

"That he and not Howard was the man in a linen duster, and that he andnot Howard was in possession of the keys that night. As these areserious statements to make, I will give you my reasons for them. Theyare distinct from the recognition of his person by the inmates of theHotel D----, and added to that recognition, form a strong case againsthim. The janitor who has charge of the offices in Duane Street, happening to have a leisure moment on the morning of the day on whichMrs. Van Burnam was murdered, was making the most of it by watching theunloading of a huge boiler some four doors below the Van Burnamwarehouse. He was consequently looking intently in that direction whenHoward passed him, coming from the interview with his brother in whichhe had been given the keys. Mr. Van Burnam was walking briskly, butfinding the sidewalk blocked by the boiler to which I have alluded, paused for a moment to let it pass, and being greatly heated, took outhis handkerchief to wipe his forehead. This done, he moved on, just as aman dressed in a long duster came up behind him, stopping where hestopped and picking up from the ground something which the firstgentleman had evidently dropped. This last man's figure looked more orless familiar to the janitor, so did the duster, and later he discoveredthat the latter was the one which he had seen hanging for so long a timein the little disused closet under the warehouse stairs. Its wearer wasFranklin Van Burnam, who, as I took pains to learn, had left the officeimmediately in the wake of his brother, and the object he picked up wasthe bunch of keys which the latter had inadvertently dropped. He mayhave thought he lost them later, but it was then and there they slippedfrom his pocket. I will here add that the duster found by the hackman inhis coach has been identified as the one missing from the closet justmentioned. 

"Third:

"The keys with which Mr. Van Burnam's house was unlocked were foundhanging in their usual place by noon of the next day. They could nothave been taken there by Howard, for he was not seen at the office afterthe murder. By whom then were they returned, if not by Franklin?

"Fourth:

"The letter, for the possession of which I believe this crime to havebeen perpetrated, was found by us in a supposedly secret drawer of thisgentleman's desk. It was much crumpled, and bore evidences of havingbeen rather rudely dealt with since it was last seen in Mrs. VanBurnam's hand in that very office. 

"But the fact which is most convincing, and which will tell most heavilyagainst him, is the unexpected discovery of the murdered lady's rings, also in this same desk. How _you_ became aware that anything of suchimportance could be found there, knowing even the exact place in whichthey were secreted, I will not stop to ask at this moment. Enough thatwhen your maid entered the Van Burnam offices and insisted with so muchingenuousness that she was expected by Mr. Van Burnam and would wait forhis return, the clerk most devoted to my interests became distrustful ofher intentions, having been told to be on the look-out for a girl ingray or a lady in black with puffs on each side of two very sharp eyes. You will pardon me, Miss Butterworth. He therefore kept his eyes on thegirl and presently espied her stretching out her hand towards a hook atthe side of Mr. Franklin Van Burnam's desk. As it is upon this hook thisgentleman strings his unanswered letters, the clerk rose from his placeas quickly as possible, and coming forward with every appearance ofpolite solicitude, --did she not say he was polite, MissButterworth?--inquired what she wished, thinking she was after someletter, or possibly anxious for a specimen of some one's handwriting. But she gave him no other reply than a blush and a confused look, forwhich you must rebuke her, Miss Butterworth, if you are going tocontinue to employ her as your agent in these very delicate affairs. Andshe made another mistake. She should not have left so abruptly upondetection, for that gave the clerk an opportunity to telephone for me, which he immediately did. I was at liberty, and I came at once, and, after hearing his story, decided that what was of interest to you mustbe of interest to me, and so took a look at the letters she had handled, and discovered, what she also must have discovered before she let themslip from her hand, that the five missing rings we were all in search ofwere hanging on this same hook amid the sheets of Franklin'scorrespondence. You can imagine, madam, my satisfaction, and thegratitude which I felt towards my agent, who by his quickness hadretained to me the honors of a discovery which it would have beeninjurious to my pride to have had confined entirely to yourself. "

"I can understand, " I repeated, and trusted myself to say no more, hotas my secret felt upon my lips. 

"You have read Poe's story of the filigree basket?" he now suggested, running his finger up and down the filigree work he himself held. 

I nodded. I saw what he meant at once. 

"Well, the principle involved in that story explains the presence of therings in the midst of this stack of letters. Franklin Van Burnam, if heis the murderer of his sister-in-law, is one of the subtlest villainsthis city has ever produced, and knowing that, if once suspected, everysecret drawer and professed hiding-place within his reach would besearched, he put these dangerous evidences of his guilt in a place soconspicuous, and yet so little likely to attract attention, that even soold a hand as myself did not think of looking for them there. "

He had finished, and the look he gave me was for myself alone. 

"And now, madam, " said he, "that I have stated the facts of the caseagainst Franklin Van Burnam, has not the moment come for you to showyour appreciation of my good nature by a corresponding show ofconfidence on your part?"

I answered with a distinct negative. "There is too much that isunexplained as yet in your case against Franklin, " I objected. "You haveshown that he had motive for the murder and that he was connected moreor less intimately with the crime we are considering, but you have by nomeans explained all the phenomena accompanying this tragedy. How, forinstance, do you account for Mrs. Van Burnam's whim in changing herclothing, if her brother-in-law, instead of her husband, was hercompanion at the Hotel D----?"

You see I was determined to know the whole story before introducing MissOliver's name into this complication. 

He who had seen through the devices of so many women in his day did notsee through mine, perhaps because he took a certain professionalpleasure in making his views on this subject clear to the attentiveInspector. At all events, this is the way he responded to myhalf-curious, half-ironical question:

"A crime planned and perpetrated for the purpose I have just mentioned, Miss Butterworth, could not have been a simple one under anycircumstances. But conceived as this one was by a man of more thanordinary intelligence, and carried out with a skill and precautionlittle short of marvellous, the features which it presents are of such avarying and subtle character that only by the exercise of a certainamount of imagination can they be understood at all. Such an imaginationI possess, but how can I be sure that you do?"

"By testing it, " I suggested. 

"Very good, madam, I will. Not from actual knowledge, then, but from acertain insight I have acquired in my long dealing with such matters, Ihave come to the conclusion that Franklin Van Burnam did not in thebeginning plan to kill this woman in his father's house. 

"On the contrary, he had fixed upon a hotel room as the scene of theconflict he foresaw between them, and that he might carry it on withoutendangering their good names, had urged her to meet him the next morningin the semi-disguise of a gossamer over her fine dress and a heavy veilover her striking features; making the pretence, no doubt, of this beingthe more appropriate costume for her to appear in before the oldgentleman should he so far concede to her demands as to take her to thesteamer. For himself he had planned the adoption of a disfiguring dusterwhich had been hanging for a long time in a closet on the ground-floorof the building in Duane Street. All this promised well, but when thetime came and he was about to leave his office, his brother unexpectedlyappeared and asked for the key to their father's house. Disconcerted nodoubt by the appearance of the very person he least wished to see, andastonished by a request so out of keeping with all that had hithertopassed between them, he nevertheless was in too much haste to questionhim, so gave him what he wanted and Howard went away. As soon after ashe could lock his desk and don his hat, Franklin followed, and merelystopping to cover his coat with the old duster, he went out and hastenedtowards the place of meeting. Under most circumstances all this mighthave happened without the brothers encountering each other again, but atemporary obstruction on the sidewalk having, as we know, detainedHoward, Franklin was enabled to approach him sufficiently close to seehim draw his pocket-handkerchief out of his pocket, and with it the keyswhich he had just given him. The latter fell, and as there was a greatpounding of iron going on in the building just over their heads, Howarddid not perceive his loss but went quickly on. Franklin coming up behindhim picked up the keys, and with a thought, or perhaps as yet with nothought, of the use to which they might be applied, put them in his ownpocket before proceeding on his way. 

"New York is a large place, and much can take place in it withoutcomment. Franklin Van Burnam and his sister-in-law met and went togetherto the Hotel D---- without being either recognized or suspected tilllater developments drew attention to them. That _she_ should consent toaccompany him to this place, and that after she was there should submit, as she did, to taking all the business of the scheme upon herself, wouldbe inconceivable in a woman of a self-respecting character; but LouiseVan Burnam cared for little save her own aggrandisement, and ratherenjoyed, so far as we can see, this very doubtful escapade, whose realmeaning and murderous purpose she was so far from understanding. 

"As the steamer, contrary to all expectation, had not yet been sightedoff Fire Island, they took a room and prepared to wait for it. That is, _she_ prepared to wait. He had no intention of waiting for its arrivalor of going to it when it came; he only wanted his letter. But LouiseVan Burnam was not the woman to relinquish it till she had obtained theprice she had put on it, and he becoming very soon aware of this fact, began to ask himself if he should not be obliged to resort to extrememeasures in order to regain it. One chance only remained for avoidingthese. He would seem to embrace her later and probably much-talked-ofscheme of presenting herself before his father in his own house ratherthan at the steamer; and by urging her to make its success more certainby a different style of dress from that she wore, induce a change ofclothing, during which he might come upon the letter he was more thanconfident she carried about her person. Had this plan worked; had hebeen able to seize upon this compromising bit of paper, even at the costof a scratch or two from her vigorous fingers, we should not be sittinghere at this moment trying to account for the most complicated crime onrecord. But Louise Van Burnam, while weak and volatile enough to enjoythe romantic features of this transformation scene, even going so far asto write out the order herself with the same effort at disguise she hadused in registering their assumed names at the desk, was not entirelyhis dupe, and having hidden the letter in her shoe----"

"What!" I cried. 

"_Having hidden the letter in her shoe_, " repeated Mr. Gryce, with hisfinest smile, "she had but to signify that the boots sent by Altman werea size too small, for her to retain her secret and keep the one articleshe traded upon from his envious clutch. You seem struck dumb by this, Miss Butterworth. Have I enlightened you on a point that has hithertotroubled you?"

"Don't ask me; don't look at me. " As if he ever looked at any one! "Yourperspicacity is amazing, but I will try and not show my sense of it, ifit is going to make you stop. "

He smiled; the Inspector smiled: neither understood me. 

"Very well then, I will go on; but the non-change of shoes had to beaccounted for, Miss Butterworth. "

"You are right; and it _has_ been, of course. "

"Have you any better explanation to give?"

I had, or thought I had, and the words trembled on my tongue. But Irestrained myself under an air of great impatience. "Time is flying!" Iurged, with as near a simulation of his own manner in saying the wordsas I could affect. "Go on, Mr. Gryce. "

And he did, though my manner evidently puzzled him. 

"Being foiled in this his last attempt, this smooth and diabolicalvillain hesitated no longer in carrying out the scheme which haddoubtless been maturing in his mind ever since he dropped the key of hisfather's house into his own pocket. His brother's wife must die, but notin a hotel room with him for a companion. Though scorned, detested, anda stumbling-block in the way of the whole family's future happiness andprosperity, she still was a Van Burnam, and no shadow must fall upon herreputation. Further than this, for he loved life and his own reputationalso, and did not mean to endanger either by this act ofself-preservation, she must perish as if from accident, or by some blowso undiscoverable that it would be laid to natural causes. He thought heknew how this might be brought about. He had seen her put on her hatwith a very thin and sharp pin, and he had heard how one thrust into acertain spot in the spine would effect death without a struggle. A woundlike that would be small; almost indiscernible. True it would take skillto inflict it, and it would require dissimulation to bring her into theproper position for the contemplated thrust; but he was not lacking ineither of these characteristics; and so he set himself to the task hehad promised himself, and with such success that ere long the two leftthe hotel and proceeded to the house in Gramercy Park with all thecaution necessary for preserving a secret which meant reputation to theone, and liberty, if not life, to the other. That he and not she feltthe greater need of secrecy, witness their whole conduct, and when, their goal reached, she and not he put the money into the driver's hand, the last act of this curious drama of opposing motives was reached, andonly the final catastrophe was wanting. 

"With what arts he procured her hat-pin, and by what show of simulatedpassion he was able to approach near enough to her to inflict that cooland calculating thrust which resulted in her immediate death, I leave to_your_ imagination. Enough that he compassed his ends, killing her andregaining the letter for the possession of which he had been willing totake a life. Afterwards----"

"Well, afterwards?"

"The deed he had thought so complete began to assume a different aspect. The pin had broken in the wound, and, knowing the scrutiny which thebody would receive at the hands of a Coroner's jury, he began to seewhat consequences might follow its discovery. So to hide that wound andgive to her death the wished-for appearance of accident, he went backand drew down the cabinet under which she was found. Had he done this atonce his hand in the tragedy might have escaped detection, but hewaited, and by waiting allowed the blood-vessels to stiffen and allthat phenomena to become apparent by means of which the eyes of thephysicians were opened to the fact that they must search deeper for thecause of death than the bruises she had received. Thus it is thatJustice opens loop-holes in the finest web a criminal can weave. "

"A just remark, Mr. Gryce, but in this fine-spun web of _your_ weaving, you have not explained how the clock came to be running and to stop atfive. "

"Cannot you see? A man capable of such a crime would not forget toprovide himself with an alibi. He expected to be in his rooms at five, so before pulling down the shelves at three or four, he wound the clockand set it at an hour when he could bring forward testimony to his beingin another place. Is not such a theory consistent with his character andwith the skill he has displayed from the beginning to the end of thiswoful affair?"

Aghast at the deftness with which this able detective explained everydetail of this crime by means of a theory necessarily hypothetical ifthe discoveries I had made in the matter were true, and for the momentsubjected to the overwhelming influence of his enthusiasm, I sat in amaze, asking myself if all the seemingly irrefutable evidence upon whichmen had been convicted in times gone by was as false as this. To relievemyself and to gain renewed confidence in my own views and thediscoveries I had made in this matter, I repeated the name of Howard, and asked how, in case the whole crime was conceived and perpetrated byhis brother, he came to utter such equivocations and to assume thatposition of guilt which had led to his own arrest. 

"Do you think, " I inquired, "that he was aware of his brother's part inthis affair, and that out of compassion for him he endeavored to takethe crime upon his own shoulders?"

"No, madam. Men of the world do not carry their disinterestedness sofar. He not only did not know the part his brother took in this crime, but did not even suspect it, or why acknowledge that he lost the key bywhich the house was entered?"

"I do not understand Howard's actions, even under these circumstances. They seem totally inconsistent to me. "

"Madam, they are easily explainable to one who knows the character ofhis mind. He prizes his honor above every consideration, and regarded itas threatened by the suggestion that his wife had entered his father'sempty house at midnight with another man. To save himself that shame, hewas willing not only to perjure himself, but to take upon himself theconsequences of his perjury. Quixotic, certainly, but some men areconstituted that way, and he, for all his amiable characteristics, isthe most dogged man I ever encountered. That he ran against snags in hisattempted explanations, seemed to make no difference to him. He wasbound that no one should accuse him of marrying a false woman, even ifhe must bear the opprobrium of her death. It is hard to understand sucha nature, but re-read his testimony, and see if this explanation of hisconduct is not correct. "

And still I mechanically repeated: "I do not understand. "

Mr. Gryce may not have been a patient man under all circumstances, buthe was patient with me that day. 

"It was his ignorance, Miss Butterworth, his total ignorance of thewhole affair that led him into the inconsistencies he manifested. Let mepresent his case as I already have his brother's. He knew that his wifehad come to New York to appeal to his father, and he gathered from whatshe said that she intended to do this either in his house or on thedock. To cut short any opportunity she might have for committing thefirst folly, he begged the key of the house from his brother, and, supposing that he had it all right, went to his rooms, not to ConeyIsland as he said, and began to pack up his trunks. For he meant to fleethe country if his wife disgraced him. He was tired of her caprices andmeant to cut them short as far as he was himself concerned. But thestriking of the midnight hour brought better counsel. He began to wonderwhat she had been doing in his absence. Going out, he haunted the regionof Gramercy Park for the better part of the night, and at daybreakactually mounted the steps of his father's house and prepared to enterit by means of the key he had obtained from his brother. But the key wasnot in his pocket, so he came down again and walked away, attracting theattention of Mr. Stone as he did so. The next day he heard of thetragedy which had taken place within those very walls; and though hisfirst fears led him to believe that the victim was his wife, a sight ofher clothes naturally dispelled this apprehension, for he knew nothingof her visit to the Hotel D---- or of the change in her habilimentswhich had taken place there. His father's persistent fears and the quietpressure brought to bear upon him by the police only irritated him, andnot until confronted by the hat found on the scene of death, an articleonly too well known as his wife's, did he yield to the accumulatedevidence in support of her identity. Immediately he felt the full forceof his unkindness towards her, and rushing to the Morgue had her poorbody taken to that father's house and afterwards given a decent burial. But he could not accept the shame which this acknowledgment naturallybrought with it, and, blind to all consequences, insisted, when broughtup again for examination, that he was the man with whom she came to thatlonely house. The difficulties into which this plunged him were partlyforeseen and partly prepared for, and he showed some skill insurmounting them. But falsehoods never fit like truths, and we all feltthe strain on our credulity as he met and attempted to parry theCoroner's questions. 

"And now, Miss Butterworth, let me again ask if your turn has not comeat last for adding the sum of your evidence to ours against Franklin VanBurnam?"

It had; I could not deny it, and as I realized that with it had alsocome the opportunity for justifying the pretensions I had made, I raisedmy head with suitable spirit and, after a momentary pause for thepurpose of making my words the more impressive, I asked:

"And what has made you think that _I_ was interested in fixing the guilton Franklin Van Burnam?"

XXXII. 

ICONOCLASM. 

The surprise which this very simple question occasioned, showed itselfdifferently in the two men who heard it. The Inspector, who had neverseen me before, simply stared, while Mr. Gryce, with that admirablecommand over himself which has helped to make him the most successfulman on the force, retained his impassibility, though I noticed a smallcorner drop from my filigree basket as if crushed off by an inadvertentpressure of his hand. 

"I judged, " was his calm reply, as he laid down the injured toy with anapologetic grunt, "that the clearing of Howard from suspicion meant theestablishment of another man's guilt; and so far as we can see there hasbeen no other party in the case besides these two brothers. "

"No? Then I fear a great surprise awaits you, Mr. Gryce. This crime, which you have fixed with such care and seeming probability uponFranklin Van Burnam, was not, in my judgment, perpetrated either by himor any other man. It was the act of a woman. "

"A WOMAN?"

Both men spoke: the Inspector, as if he thought me demented; Mr. Gryce, as if he would like to have considered me a fool but dared not. 

"Yes, a _woman_, " I repeated, dropping a quiet curtsey. It was a properexpression of respect when I was young, and I see no reason why itshould not be a proper expression of respect now, except that we havelost our manners in gaining our independence, something which is to beregretted perhaps. "A woman whom I know; a woman whom I can lay my handson at a half-hour's notice; a young woman, sirs; a pretty woman, theowner of one of the two hats found in the Van Burnam parlors. "

Had I exploded a bomb-shell the Inspector could not have looked moreastounded. The detective, who was a man of greater self-command, did notbetray his feelings so plainly, though he was not entirely without them, for, as I made this statement, he turned and looked at me; _Mr. Gryce_looked at me. 

"Both of those hats belonged to Mrs. Van Burnam, " he protested; "the oneshe wore from Haddam; the other was in the order from Altman's. "

"She never ordered anything from Altman's, " was my uncompromising reply. "The woman whom I saw enter next door, and who was the same who left theHotel D---- with the man in the linen duster, was not Louise Van Burnam. She was that lady's rival, and let me say it, for I dare to think it, not only her rival but the prospective taker of her life. O you need notshake your heads at each other so significantly, gentlemen. I have beencollecting evidence as well as yourselves, and what I have learned isvery much to the point; very much, indeed. "

"The deuce you have!" muttered the Inspector, turning away from me; butMr. Gryce continued to eye me like a man fascinated. 

"Upon what, " said he, "do you base these extraordinary assertions? Ishould like to hear what that evidence is. "

"But first, " said I, "I must take a few exceptions to certain points youconsider yourself to have made against Franklin Van Burnam. You believehim to have committed this crime because you found in a secret drawer ofhis desk a letter known to have been in Mrs. Van Burnam's hands the dayshe was murdered, and which you, naturally enough, I acknowledge, conceive he could only have regained by murdering her. But have you notthought of another way in which he could have obtained it, a perfectlyharmless way, involving no one either in deceit or crime? May it nothave been in the little hand-bag returned by Mrs. Parker on the morningof the discovery, and may not its crumpled condition be accounted for bythe haste with which Franklin might have thrust it into his secretdrawer at the untoward entrance of some one into his office?"

"I acknowledge that I have not thought of such a possibility, " growledthe detective, below his breath, but I saw that his self-satisfactionhad been shaken. 

"As for any proof of complicity being given by the presence of the ringson the hook attached to his desk, I grieve for your sake to be obligedto dispel that illusion also. Those rings, Mr. Gryce and Mr. Inspector, were not discovered there by the girl in gray, but taken there; and hungthere at the very moment your spy saw her hand fumbling with thepapers. "

"Taken there, and hung there by your maid! By the girl Lena, who has soevidently been working in _your_ interests! What sort of a confessionare you making, Miss Butterworth?"

"Ah, Mr. Gryce, " I gently remonstrated, for I actually pitied the oldman in his hour of humiliation, "other girls wear gray besides Lena. Itwas the woman of the Hotel D---- who played this trick in Mr. VanBurnam's office. Lena was not out of my house that day. "

I had never thought Mr. Gryce feeble, though I knew he was over seventyif not very near the octogenarian age. But he drew up a chair at thisand hastily sat down. 

"Tell me about this other girl, " said he. 

But before I repeat what I said to him, I must explain by what reasoningI had arrived at the conclusion I have just mentioned. That Ruth Oliverwas the visitor in Mr. Van Burnam's office there was but little reasonto doubt; that her errand was one in connection with the rings wasequally plain. What else would have driven her from her bed when she washardly able to stand, and sent her in a state of fever, if not delirium, down town to this office?

She feared having these rings found in her possession, and she alsocherished a desire to throw whatever suspicion was attached to them uponthe man who was already compromised. She may have thought it wasHoward's desk she approached, and she may have known it to beFranklin's. On that point I was in doubt, but the rest was clear to mefrom the moment Mr. Gryce mentioned the girl in gray; and even the spotwhere she had kept them in the interim since the murder was no longer anunsolved mystery to me. Her emotion when I touched her knitting-workand the shreds of unravelled wool I had found lying about after herdeparture, had set my wits working, and I comprehended now _that theyhad been wound up in the ball of yarn I had so carelessly handled_. 

But what had I to say to Mr. Gryce in answer to his question. Much; andseeing that further delay was injudicious, I began my story then andthere. Prefacing my tale with the suspicions I had always had of Mrs. Boppert, I told them of my interview with that woman and of the valuableclue she had given me by confessing that she had let Mrs. Van Burnaminto the house prior to the visit of the couple who entered there atmidnight. Knowing what an effect this must produce upon Mr. Gryce, utterly unprepared for it as he was, I looked for some burst of anger onhis part, or at least some expression of self-reproach. But he onlybroke a second piece off my little filigree basket, and, totallyunconscious of the demolition he was causing, cried out with trueprofessional delight:

"Well! well! I've always said this was a remarkable case, a veryremarkable case; but if we don't look out it will go ahead of that oneat Sibley. _Two_ women in the affair, and one of them in the housebefore the arrival of the so-called victim and her murderer! What do youthink of that, Inspector? Rather late for us to find out so important adetail, eh?"

"Rather, " was the dry reply. At which Mr. Gryce's face grew long and heexclaimed, half shamefacedly, half jocularly:

"Outwitted by a woman! Well, it's a new experience for me, Inspector, and you must not be surprised if it takes me a minute or so to getaccustomed to it. A scrub-woman too! It cuts, Inspector, it cuts. "

But as I went on, and he learned how I had obtained definite proof ofthe clock having been not only wound by the lady thus admitted to thehouse, but set also and that correctly, his face grew even longer, andhe gazed quite dolefully at the small figure in the carpet to which hehad transferred his attention. 

"So! so!" came in almost indistinguishable murmur from his lips. "All mypretty theory in regard to its being set by the criminal for the purposeof confirming his attempt at a false alibi was but a figment of myimagination, eh? Sad! sad! But it was neat enough to have been true, wasit not, Inspector?"

"Quite, " that gentleman good-humoredly admitted, yet with a shade ofirony in his tone that made me suspect that, for all his confidence inand evident admiration for this brilliant old detective, he felt acertain amount of pleasure at seeing him for once at fault. Perhaps itgave him more confidence in his own judgment, seeing that their ideas onthis case had been opposed from the start. 

"Well! well! I'm getting old; that's what they'll say at Headquartersto-morrow. But go on, Miss Butterworth; let us hear what followed; for Iam sure your investigations did not stop there. "

I complied with his request with as much modesty as possible. But it washard to suppress all triumph in face of the unrestrained enthusiasm withwhich he received my communication. When I told him of the doubts I hadformed in regard to the disposal of the packages brought from the HotelD----, and how to settle those doubts I had taken that midnight walkdown Twenty-seventh Street, he looked astonished, his lips worked, and Ireally expected to see him try to pluck that flower up from the carpet, he ogled it so lovingly. But when I mentioned the lighted laundry and mydiscoveries there, his admiration burst all bounds, and he cried out, seemingly to the rose in the carpet, really to the Inspector:

"Didn't I tell you she was a woman in a thousand? See now! we ought tohave thought of that laundry ourselves; but we didn't, none of us did;we were too credulous and too easily satisfied with the evidence givenat the inquest. Well, I'm seventy-seven, but I'm not too old to learn. Proceed, Miss Butterworth. "

I admired him and I was sorry for him, but I never enjoyed myself somuch in my whole life. How could I help it, or how could I preventmyself from throwing a glance now and then at the picture of my fathersmiling upon me from the opposite wall?

It was my task now to mention the advertisement I had inserted in thenewspapers, and the reflections which had led to my rather daringdescription of the wandering woman as one dressed thus and so, and_without a hat_. This seemed to strike him--as I had expected itwould, --and he interrupted me with a quick slap of his leg, for whichonly that leg was prepared. 

"Good!" he ejaculated; "a fine stroke! The work of a woman of genius! Icould not have done better myself, Miss Butterworth. And what came ofit? Something, I hope; talent like yours should not go unrewarded. "

"Two letters came of it, " said I. "One from Cox, the milliner, sayingthat a bareheaded girl had bought a hat in his shop early on the morningdesignated; and another from a Mrs. Desberger appointing a meeting atwhich I obtained a definite clue to this girl, who, notwithstanding shewore Mrs. Van Burnam's clothes from the scene of tragedy, is not Mrs. Van Burnam herself, but a person by the name of Oliver, now to be foundat Miss Althorpe's house in Twenty-first Street. "

As this was in a measure putting the matter into their hands, I saw themboth grow impatient in their anxiety to see this girl for themselves. But I kept them for a few minutes longer while I related my discovery ofthe money in her shoes, and hinted at the explanation it afforded forher not changing those articles under the influence of the man whoaccompanied her. 

This was the last blow I dealt to the pride of Mr. Gryce. He quiveredunder it, but soon recovered, and was able to enjoy what he calledanother fine point in this remarkable case. 

But the acme of his delight was reached when I informed him of myineffectual search for the rings, and my final conclusion that they hadbeen wound up in the ball of yarn attached to her knitting-work. 

Whether his pleasure lay chiefly in the talent shown by Miss Oliver inher choice of a hiding-place for these jewels, or in the acumendisplayed by myself in discovering it, I do not know; but he evinced anunbounded satisfaction in my words, crying aloud:

"Beautiful! I don't know of anything more interesting! We have not seenthe like in years! I can almost congratulate myself upon my mistakes, the features of the case they have brought out are so fine!"

But his satisfaction, great as it was, soon gave way to his anxiety tosee this girl who, if not the criminal herself, was so important afactor in this great crime. 

I was anxious myself to have him see her, though I feared her conditionwas not such as to promise him any immediate enlightenment on thedoubtful portions of this far from thoroughly mastered problem. And Ibade him interview the Chinaman also, and Mrs. Desberger, and even Mrs. Boppert, for I did not wish him to take for granted anything I had said, though I saw he had lost his attitude of disdain and was inclined toaccept my opinions quite seriously. 

He answered in quite an off-hand manner while the Inspector stood by, but when that gentleman had withdrawn towards the door, Mr. Gryceremarked with more earnestness than he had yet used:

"You have saved me from committing a folly, Miss Butterworth. If I hadarrested Franklin Van Burnam to-day, and to-morrow all these facts hadcome to light, I should never have held up my head again. As it is, there will be numerous insinuations uttered by men on the force, andmany a whisper will go about that Gryce is getting old, that Gryce hasseen his best days. "

"Nonsense!" was my vigorous rejoinder. "You didn't have the clue, thatis all. Nor did I get it through any keenness on my part, but from theforce of circumstances. Mrs. Boppert thought herself indebted to me, andso gave me her confidence. Your laurels are very safe yet. Besides, there is enough work left on this case to keep more than one greatdetective like you busy. While the Van Burnams have not been provedguilty, they are not so freed from suspicion that you can regard yourtask as completed. If Ruth Oliver committed this crime, which of thesetwo brothers was involved in it with her? The facts seem to pointtowards Franklin, but not so unerringly that no doubt is possible on thesubject. "

"True, true. The mystery has deepened rather than cleared. MissButterworth, you will accompany me to Miss Althorpe's. "

XXXIII. 

"KNOWN, KNOWN, ALL KNOWN. "

Mr. Gryce possesses one faculty for which I envy him, and that is hisskill in the management of people. He had not been in Miss Althorpe'shouse five minutes before he had won her confidence and had everythinghe wished at his command. _I_ had to talk some time before getting sofar, but _he_--a word and a look did it. 

Miss Oliver, for whom I hesitated to inquire, lest I should again findher gone or in a worse condition than when I left, was in realitybetter, and as we went up-stairs I allowed myself to hope that thequestions which had so troubled us would soon be answered and themystery ended. 

But Mr. Gryce evidently knew better, for when we reached her door heturned and said:

"Our task will not be an easy one. Go in first and attract her attentionso that I can enter unobserved. I wish to study her before addressingher; but, mind, no words about the murder; leave that to me. "

I nodded, feeling that I was falling back into my own place; andknocking softly entered the room. 

A maid was sitting with her. Seeing me, she rose and advanced, saying:

"Miss Oliver is sleeping. "

"Then I will relieve you, " I returned, beckoning Mr. Gryce to come in. 

The girl left us and we two contemplated the sick woman silently. Presently I saw Mr. Gryce shake his head. But he did not tell me what hemeant by it. 

Following the direction of his finger, I sat down in a chair at the headof the bed; he took his station at the side of it in a large arm-chairhe saw there. As he did so I saw how fatherly and kind he really looked, and wondered if he was in the habit of so preparing himself to meet theeye of all the suspected criminals he encountered. The thought made meglance again her way. She lay like a statue, and her face, naturallyround but now thinned out and hollow, looked up from the pillow inpitiful quiet, the long lashes accentuating the dark places under hereyes. 

A sad face, the saddest I ever saw and one of the most haunting. 

He seemed to find it so also, for his expression of benevolent interestdeepened with every passing moment, till suddenly she stirred; then hegave me a warning glance, and stooping, took her by the wrist and pulledout his watch. 

She was deceived by the action. Opening her eyes, she surveyed himlanguidly for a moment, then heaving a great sigh, turned aside herhead. 

"Don't tell me I am better, doctor. I do not want to live. "

The plaintive tone, the refined accent, seemed to astonish him. Layingdown her hand, he answered gently:

"I do not like to hear that from such young lips, but it assures me thatI was correct in my first surmise, that it is not medicine you need buta friend. And I can be that friend if you will but allow me. "

Moved, encouraged for the instant, she turned her head from side toside, probably to see if they were alone, and not observing me, answeredsoftly:

"You are very good, very thoughtful, doctor, but"--and here her despairreturned again--"it is useless; you can do nothing for me. "

"You think so, " remonstrated the old detective, "but you do not know me, child. Let me show you that I can be of benefit to you. " And he drewfrom his pocket a little package which he opened before her astonishedeyes. "Yesterday, in your delirium, you left these rings in an officedown-town. As they are valuable, I have brought them back to you. Wasn'tI right, my child?"

"No! no!" She started up, and her accents betrayed terror and anguish, "I do not want them; I cannot bear to see them; they do not belong to_me_; they belong to _them_. "

"To _them_? Whom do you mean by them?" queried Mr. Gryce, insinuatingly. 

"The--the Van Burnams. Is not that the name? Oh, do not make me talk; Iam so weak! Only take the rings back. "

"I will, child, I will. " Mr. Gryce's voice was more than fatherly now, it was tender, really and sincerely tender. "I will take them back; butto which of the brothers shall I return them? To"--he hesitatedsoftly--"to Franklin or to Howard?"

I expected to hear her respond, his manner was so gentle and apparentlysincere. But though feverish and on the verge of wildness, she had stillsome command over herself, and after giving him a look, the intensityof which called out a corresponding expression on his face, she falteredout:

"I--I don't care; I don't know either of the gentlemen; but to the oneyou call Howard, I think. "

The pause which followed was filled by the tap-tap of Mr. Gryce'sfingers on his knee. 

"That is the one who is in custody, " he observed at last. "The other, that is Franklin, has gone scot-free thus far, I hear. "

No answer from her close-shut lips. 

He waited. 

Still no answer. 

"If you do not know either of these gentlemen, " he insinuated at last, "how did you come to leave the rings at their office?"

"I knew their names--I inquired my way--It is all a dream now. Please, please do not ask me questions. O doctor! do you not see I cannot bearit?"

He smiled--I never could smile like that under any circumstances--andsoftly patted her hand. 

"I see it makes you suffer, " he acknowledged, "but I must make yousuffer in order to do you any good. If you would tell me all you knowabout these rings----"

She passionately turned away her head. 

"I might hope to restore you to health and happiness. You know with whatthey are associated?"

She made a slight motion. 

"And that they are an invaluable clue to the murderer of Mrs. VanBurnam?"

Another motion. 

"How then, my child, did _you_ come to have them?"

Her head, which was rolling to and fro on the pillow, stopped and shegasped, rather than uttered:

"I was _there_. "

He knew this, yet it was terrible to hear it from her lips; she was soyoung and had such an air of purity and innocence. But more heartrendingyet was the groan with which she burst forth in another moment, as ifimpelled by conscience to unburden herself from some overwhelming load:

"I took them; I could not help it; but I did not keep them; you knowthat I did not keep them. I am no thief, doctor; whatever I am, I am nothief. "

"Yes, yes, I see that. But why take them, child? What were you doing inthat house, and whom were you with?"

She threw up her arms, but made no reply. 

"Will you not tell?" he urged. 

A short silence, then a low "No, " evidently wrung from her by thedeepest anguish. 

Mr. Gryce heaved a sigh; the struggle was likely to be a more seriousone than he had anticipated. 

"Miss Oliver, " said he, "more facts are known in relation to this affairthan you imagine. Though unsuspected at first, it has secretly beenproven that the man who accompanied the woman into the house where thecrime took place, was _Franklin_ Van Burnam. "

A low gasp from the bed, and that was all. 

"You know this to be correct, don't you, Miss Oliver?"

"O must you ask?" She was writhing now, and I thought he must desist outof pure compassion. But detectives are made out of very stern stuff, andthough he looked sorry he went inexorably on. 

"Justice and a sincere desire to help you, force me, my child. Were younot the woman who entered Mr. Van Burnam's house at midnight with thisman?"

"I entered the house. "

"At midnight?"

"Yes. "

"And with this man?"

Silence. 

"You do not speak, Miss Oliver. "

Again silence. 

"It was Franklin who was with you at the Hotel D----?"

She uttered a cry. 

"And it was Franklin who connived at your change of clothing there, andadvised or allowed you to dress yourself in a new suit from Altman's?"

"Oh!" she cried again. 

"Then why should it not have been he who accompanied you to theChinaman's, and afterwards took you in a second hack to the house inGramercy Park?"

"Known, known, all known!" was her moan. 

"Sin and crime cannot long remain hidden in this world, Miss Oliver. Thepolice are acquainted with all your movements from the moment you leftthe Hotel D----. That is why I have compassion on you. I wish to saveyou from the consequences of a crime you saw committed, but in which youtook no hand. "

"O, " she exclaimed in one involuntary burst, as she half rose to herknees, "if you could save me from appearing in the matter at all! If youwould let me run away----"

But Mr. Gryce was not the man to give her hope on any such score. 

"Impossible, Miss Oliver. You are the only person who can witness forthe guilty. If _I_ should let you go, the police would not. Then why nottell at once whose hand drew the hat-pin from your hat and----"

"Stop!" she shrieked; "stop! you kill me! I cannot bear it! If you bringthat moment back to my mind I shall go mad! I feel the horror of itrising in me now! Be still! I pray you, for God's sake, to be still!"

This was mortal anguish; there was no acting in this. Even he wasstartled by the emotion he had raised, and sat for a moment withoutspeaking. Then the necessity of providing against all further mistakesby fixing the guilt where it belonged, drove him on again, and he said:

"Like many another woman before you, you are trying to shield a guiltyman at your own expense. But it is useless, Miss Oliver; the truthalways comes to light. Be advised, then, and make a confidant of one whounderstands you better than you think. "

But she would not listen to this. 

"No one understands me. I do not understand myself. I only know that Ishall make a confidant of no one; that I shall never speak. " And turningfrom him, she buried her head in the bedclothes. 

To most men her tone and the action which accompanied it would have beenfinal. But Mr. Gryce possessed great patience. Waiting for just a momenttill she seemed more composed, he murmured gently:

"Not if you must suffer more from your silence than from speaking? Notif men--I do not mean myself, child, for I am your friend--will thinkthat _you_ are to blame for the death of the woman whom you saw fallunder a cruel stab, and whose rings you have?"

"_I!_" Her horror was unmistakable; so were her surprise, her terror, and her shame, but she added nothing to the word she had uttered, and hewas forced to say again:

"The world, and by that I mean both good people and bad, will believeall this. _He_ will let them believe all this. Men have not the devotionof women. "

"Alas! alas!" It was a murmur rather than a cry, and she trembled so thebed shook visibly under her. But she made no response to the entreaty inhis look and gesture, and he was compelled to draw back unsatisfied. 

When a few heavy minutes had passed, he spoke again, this time in a toneof sadness. 

"Few men are worth such sacrifices, Miss Oliver, and a criminal never. But a woman is not moved by that thought. She should be moved by this, however. If either of these brothers is to blame in this matter, consideration for the guiltless one should lead you to mention the nameof the guilty. "

But even this did not visibly affect her. 

"I shall mention no names, " said she. 

"A sign will answer. "

"I shall make no sign. "

"Then Howard must go to his trial?"

A gasp, but no words. 

"And Franklin proceed on his way undisturbed?"

She tried not to answer, but the words would come. Pray God! I may neversee such a struggle again. 

"That is as God wills. I can do nothing in the matter. " And she sankback crushed and wellnigh insensible. 

Mr. Gryce made no further effort to influence her. 

XXXIV. 

EXACTLY HALF-PAST THREE. 

"She is more unfortunate than wicked, " was Mr. Gryce's comment as westepped into the hall. "Nevertheless, watch her closely, for she is injust the mood to do herself a mischief. In an hour, or at the most two, I shall have a woman here to help you. You can stay till then?"

"All night, if you say so. "

"That you must settle with Miss Althorpe. As soon as Miss Oliver is up Ishall have a little scheme to propose, by means of which I hope toarrive at the truth of this affair. I must know which of these two menshe is shielding. "

"Then you think she did not kill Mrs. Van Burnam herself?"

"I think the whole matter one of the most puzzling mysteries that hasever come to the notice of the New York police. We are sure that themurdered woman was Mrs. Van Burnam, that this girl was present at herdeath, and that she availed herself of the opportunity afforded by thatdeath to make the exchange of clothing which has given such acomplicated twist to the whole affair. But beyond these facts, we knowlittle more than that it was Franklin Van Burnam who took her to theGramercy Park house, and Howard who was seen in that same vicinity sometwo or four hours later. But on which of these two to fix theresponsibility of Mrs. Van Burnam's death, is the question. "

"She had a hand in it herself, " I persisted; "though it may have beenwithout evil intent. No man ever carried that thing through withoutfeminine help. To this opinion I shall stick, much as this girl drawsupon my sympathies. "

"I shall not try to persuade you to the contrary. But the point is tofind out how much help, and to whom it was given. "

"And your scheme for doing this?"

"Cannot be carried out till she is on her feet again. So cure her, MissButterworth, cure her. When she can go down-stairs, Ebenezer Gryce willbe on the scene to test his little scheme. "

I promised to do what I could, and when he was gone, I set diligently towork to soothe the child, as he had called her, and get her in trim forthe delicate meal which had been sent up. And whether it was owing to achange in my own feelings, or whether the talk with Mr. Gryce had sounnerved her that any womanly ministration was welcome, she respondedmuch more readily to my efforts than ever before, and in a little whilelay in so calm and grateful a mood that I was actually sorry to see thenurse when she came. Hoping that something might spring from aninterview with Miss Althorpe whereby my departure from the house mightbe delayed, I descended to the library, and was fortunate enough to findthe mistress of the house there. She was sorting invitations, and lookedanxious and worried. 

"You see me in a difficulty, Miss Butterworth. I had relied on MissOliver to oversee this work, as well as to assist me in a great manyother details, and I don't know of any one whom I can get on shortnotice to take her place. My own engagements are many and----"

"Let me help you, " I put in, with that cheerfulness her presenceinvariably inspires. "I have nothing pressing calling me home, and foronce in my life I should like to take an active part in weddingfestivities. It would make me feel quite young again. "

"But----" she began. 

"Oh, " I hastened to say, "you think I would be more of a hindrance toyou than a help; that I would do the work, perhaps, but in my own wayrather than in yours. Well, that would doubtless have been true of me amonth since, but I have learned a great deal in the last few weeks, --youwill not ask me how, --and now I stand ready to do your work in your way, and to take a great deal of pleasure in it too. "

"Ah, Miss Butterworth, " she exclaimed, with a burst of genuine feelingwhich I would not have lost for the world, "I always knew that you had akind heart; and I am going to accept your offer in the same spirit inwhich it is made. "

So that was settled, and with it the possibility of my spending anothernight in this house. 

At ten o'clock I stole away from the library and the delightful companyof Mr. Stone, who had insisted upon sharing my labors, and went up toMiss Oliver's room. I met the nurse at the door. 

"You want to see her, " said she. "She's asleep, but does not rest veryeasily. I don't think I ever saw so pitiful a case. She moanscontinually, but not with physical pain. Yet she seems to have couragetoo; for now and then she starts up with a loud cry. Listen. "

I did so, and this is what I heard:

"I do not want to live; doctor, I do not want to live; why do you try tomake me better?"

"That is what she is saying all the time. Sad, isn't it?"

I acknowledged it to be so, but at the same time wondered if the girlwere not right in wishing for death as a relief from her troubles. 

Early the next morning I inquired at her door again. Miss Oliver wasbetter. Her fever had left her, and she wore a more natural look than atany time since I had seen her. But it was not an untroubled one, and itwas with difficulty I met her eyes when she asked if they were comingfor her that day, and if she could see Miss Althorpe before she left. Asshe was not yet able to leave her bed I could easily answer her firstquestion, but I knew too little of Mr. Gryce's intentions to be able toreply to the second. But I was easy with this suffering woman, veryeasy, more easy than I ever supposed I could be with any one sointimately associated with crime. 

She seemed to accept my explanations as readily as she already had mypresence, and I was struck again with surprise as I considered that myname had never aroused in her the least emotion. 

"Miss Althorpe has been so good to me I should like to thank her; frommy despairing heart, I should like to thank her, " she said to me as Istood by her side before leaving. "Do you know"--she went on, catchingme by the dress as I was turning away--"what kind of a man she is goingto marry? She has such a loving heart, and marriage is such a fearfulrisk. "

"Fearful?" I repeated. 

"Is it not fearful? To give one's whole soul to a man and be met by--Imust not talk of it; I must not think of it--But is he a good man? Doeshe love Miss Althorpe? Will she be happy? I have no right to ask, perhaps, but my gratitude towards her is such that I wish her every joyand pleasure. "

"Miss Althorpe has chosen well, " I rejoined. "Mr. Stone is a man in tenthousand. "

The sigh that answered me went to my heart. 

"I will pray for her, " she murmured; "that will be something to livefor. "

I did not know what reply to make to this. Everything which this girlsaid and did was so unexpected and so convincing in its sincerity, Ifelt moved by her even against my better judgment. I pitied her and yetI dared not urge her on to speak, lest I should fail in my task ofmaking her well. I therefore confined myself to a few haphazardexpressions of sympathy and encouragement, and left her in the hands ofthe nurse. 

Next day Mr. Gryce called. 

"Your patient is better, " said he. 

"Much better, " was my cheerful reply. "This afternoon she will be ableto leave the house. "

"Very good; have her down at half-past three and I will be in front witha carriage. "

"I dread it, " I cried; "but I will have her there. "

"You are beginning to like her, Miss Butterworth. Take care! You willlose your head if your sympathies become engaged. "

"It sits pretty firmly on my shoulders yet, " I retorted; "and as forsympathies, you are full of them yourself. I saw how you looked at heryesterday. "

"Bah, _my_ looks!"

"You cannot deceive me, Mr. Gryce; you are as sorry for the girl as youcan be; and so am I too. By the way, I do not think I should speak ofher as a girl. From something she said yesterday I am convinced she is amarried woman; and that her husband----"

"Well, madam?"

"I will not give him a name, at least not before your scheme has beencarried out. Are you ready for the undertaking?"

"I will be this afternoon. At half-past three she is to leave the house. Not a minute before and not a minute later. Remember. "

XXXV. 

A RUSE. 

It was a new thing for me to enter into any scheme blindfold. But thepast few weeks had taught me many lessons and among them to trust alittle in the judgment of others. 

Accordingly I was on hand with my patient at the hour designated, and, as I supported her trembling steps down the stairs, I endeavored not tobetray the intense interest agitating me, or to awaken by my curiosityany further dread in her mind than that involved by her departure fromthis home of bounty and good feeling, and her entrance upon an unknownand possibly much to be apprehended future. 

Mr. Gryce was awaiting us in the lower hall, and as he caught sight ofher slender figure and anxious face his whole attitude became at once soprotecting and so sympathetic, I did not wonder at her failure toassociate him with the police. 

As she stepped down to his side he gave her a genial nod. 

"I am glad to see you so far on the road to recovery, " he remarked. "Itshows me that my prophecy is correct and that in a few days you will bequite yourself again. "

She looked at him wistfully. 

"You seem to know so much about me, doctor, perhaps you can tell mewhere they are going to take me. "

He lifted a tassel from a curtain near by, looked at it, shook his headat it, and inquired quite irrelevantly:

"Have you bidden good-bye to Miss Althorpe?"

Her eyes stole towards the parlors and she whispered as if half in aweof the splendor everywhere surrounding her:

"I have not had the opportunity. But I should be sorry to go without aword of thanks for her goodness. Is she at home?"

The tassel slipped from his hand. 

"You will find her in a carriage at the door. She has an engagement outthis afternoon, but wishes to say good-bye to you before leaving. "

"Oh, how kind she is!" burst from the girl's white lips; and with ahurried gesture she was making for the door when Mr. Gryce steppedbefore her and opened it. 

Two carriages were drawn up in front, neither of which seemed to possessthe elegance of so rich a woman's equipage. But Mr. Gryce appearedsatisfied, and pointing to the nearest one, observed quietly:

"You are expected. If she does not open the carriage door for you, donot hesitate to do it yourself. She has something of importance to sayto you. "

Miss Oliver looked surprised, but prepared to obey him. Steadyingherself by the stone balustrade, she slowly descended the steps andadvanced towards the carriage. I watched her from the doorway and Mr. Gryce from the vestibule. It seemed an ordinary situation, butsomething in the latter's face convinced me that interests of no smallmoment depended upon the interview about to take place. 

But before I could decide upon their nature or satisfy myself as to thefull meaning of Mr. Gryce's manner, she had started back from thecarriage door and was saying to him in a tone of modest embarrassment:

"There is a gentleman in the carriage; you must have made some mistake. "

Mr. Gryce, who had evidently expected a different result from hisstratagem, hesitated for a moment, during which I felt that he read herthrough and through; then he responded lightly:

"I made a mistake, eh? Oh, possibly. Look in the other carriage, mychild. "

With an unaffected air of confidence she turned to do so, and I turnedto watch her, for I began to understand the "scheme" at which I wasassisting, and foresaw that the emotion she had failed to betray at thedoor of the first carriage might not necessarily be lacking on theopening of the second. 

I was all the more assured of this from the fact that Miss Althorpe'sstately figure was very plainly to be seen at that moment, not in thecoach Miss Oliver was approaching, but in an elegant victoria justturning the corner. 

My expectations were realized; for no sooner had the poor girl swungopen the door of the second hack, than her whole body succumbed to ashock so great that I expected to see her fall in a heap on thepavement. But she steadied herself up with a determined effort, and witha sudden movement full of subdued fury, jumped into the carriage andviolently shut the door just as the first carriage drove off to giveplace to Miss Althorpe's turn-out. 

"Humph!" sprang from Mr. Gryce's lips in a tone so full of variedemotions that it was with difficulty I refrained from rushing down thestoop to see for myself who was the occupant of the coach into which mylate patient had so passionately precipitated herself. But the sight ofMiss Althorpe being helped to the ground by her attendant lover, recalled me so suddenly to my own anomalous position on her stoop, thatI let my first impulse pass and concerned myself instead with theformation of those apologies I thought necessary to the occasion. Butthose apologies were never uttered. Mr. Gryce, with the infinite tact hedisplays in all serious emergencies, came to my rescue, and sodistracted Miss Althorpe's attention that she failed to observe that shehad interrupted a situation of no small moment. 

Meanwhile the coach containing Miss Oliver had, at a signal from thewary detective, drawn off in the wake of the first one, and I had thedoubtful satisfaction of seeing them both roll down the street withoutmy having penetrated the secret of either. 

A glance from Mr. Stone, who had followed Miss Althorpe up the stoop, interrupted Mr. Gryce's flow of eloquence, and a few minutes later Ifound myself making those adieux which I had hoped to avoid by departingin Miss Althorpe's absence. Another instant and I was hastening down thestreet in the direction taken by the two carriages, one of which hadpaused at the corner a few rods off. 

But, spry as I am for one of my settled habits and sedate character, Ifound myself passed by Mr. Gryce; and when I would have accelerated mysteps, he darted forward quite like a boy and, without a word ofexplanation or any acknowledgment of the mutual understanding whichcertainly existed between us, leaped into the carriage I was endeavoringto reach, and was driven away. But not before I caught a glimpse of MissOliver's gray dress inside. 

Determined not to be baffled by this man, I turned about and followedthe other carriage. It was approaching a crowded part of the avenue, andin a few minutes I had the gratification of seeing it come to astandstill only a few feet from the curb-stone. The opportunity thusafforded me of satisfying my curiosity was not to be slighted. Withoutpausing to consider consequences or to question the propriety of myconduct, I stepped boldly up in front of its half-lowered window andlooked in. There was but one person inside, and that person was FranklinVan Burnam. 

What was I to conclude from this? That the occupant of the othercarriage was Howard, and that Mr. Gryce now knew with which of the twobrothers Miss Oliver's memories were associated. 

_BOOK IV. _

THE END OF A GREAT MYSTERY. 

XXXVI. 

THE RESULT. 

I was as much surprised at this result of Mr. Gryce's scheme as he was, and possibly I was more chagrined. But I shall not enter into myfeelings on the subject, or weary you any further with my conjectures. You will be much more interested, I know, in learning what occurred toMr. Gryce upon entering the carriage holding Miss Oliver. 

He had expected, from the intense emotion she displayed at the sight ofHoward Van Burnam (for I was not mistaken as to the identity of theperson occupying the carriage with her), to find her flushed with thepassions incident upon this meeting, and her companion in a condition ofmind which would make it no longer possible for him to deny hisconnection with this woman and his consequently guilty complicity in amurder to which both were linked by so many incriminating circumstances. 

But for all his experience, the detective was disappointed in thisexpectation, as he had been in so many others connected with this case. There was nothing in Miss Oliver's attitude to indicate that she hadunburdened herself of any of the emotions with which she was sogrievously agitated, nor was there on Mr. Van Burnam's part any deepermanifestation of feeling than a slight glow on his cheek, and even thatdisappeared under the detective's scrutiny, leaving him as composed andimperturbable as he had been in his memorable inquisition before theCoroner. 

Disappointed, and yet in a measure exhilarated by this sudden check inplans he had thought too well laid for failure, Mr. Gryce surveyed theyoung girl more carefully, and saw that he had not been mistaken inregard to the force or extent of the feelings which had driven her intoMr. Van Burnam's presence; and turning back to that gentleman, was aboutto give utterance to some very pertinent remarks, when he wasforestalled by Mr. Van Burnam inquiring, in his old calm way, whichnothing seemed able to disturb:

"Who is this crazy girl you have forced upon me? If I had known I was tobe subjected to such companionship I should not have regarded my outingso favorably. "

Mr. Gryce, who never allowed himself to be surprised by anything asuspected criminal might do or say, surveyed him quietly for a moment, then turned towards Miss Oliver. 

"You hear what this gentleman calls you?" said he. 

Her face was hidden by her hands, but she dropped them as the detectiveaddressed her, showing a countenance so distorted by passion that itstopped the current of his thoughts, and made him question whether theepithet bestowed upon her by their somewhat callous companion wasentirely unjustified. But soon the something else which was in her facerestored his confidence in her sanity, and he saw that while her reasonmight be shaken it was not yet dethroned, and that he had good cause toexpect sooner or later some action from a woman whose misery could wearan aspect of such desperate resolution. 

That he was not the only one affected by the force and desperatecharacter of her glance became presently apparent, for Mr. Van Burnam, with a more kindly tone than he had previously used, observed quietly:

"I see the lady is suffering. I beg pardon for my inconsiderate words. Ihave no wish to insult the unhappy. "

Never was Mr. Gryce so nonplussed. There was a mingled courtesy andcomposure in the speaker's manner which was as far removed as possiblefrom that strained effort at self-possession which marks suppressedpassion or secret fear; while in the vacant look with which she metthese words there was neither anger nor scorn nor indeed any of thepassions one would expect to see there. The detective consequently didnot force the situation, but only watched her more and more attentivelytill her eyes fell and she crouched away from them both. Then he said:

"You can name this gentleman, can you not, Miss Oliver, even if he doesnot choose to recognize _you_?"

But her answer, if she made one, was inaudible, and the sole resultwhich Mr. Gryce obtained from this venture was a quick look from Mr. VanBurnam and the following uncompromising words from his lips:

"If you think this young girl knows me, or that I know her, you aregreatly mistaken. She is as much of a stranger to me as I am to her, and I take this opportunity of saying so. I hope my liberty and goodname are not to be made dependent upon the word of a miserable waif likethis. "

"Your liberty and your good name will depend upon your innocence, "retorted Mr. Gryce, and said no more, feeling himself at a disadvantagebefore the imperturbability of this man and the silent, non-accusingattitude of this woman, from the shock of whose passions he hadanticipated so much and obtained so little. 

Meantime they were moving rapidly towards Police Headquarters, andfearing that the sight of that place might alarm Miss Oliver more thanwas well for her, he strove again to rouse her by a kindly word or so. But it was useless. She evidently tried to pay attention and follow thewords he used, but her thoughts were too busy over the one great subjectthat engrossed her. 

"A bad case!" murmured Mr. Van Burnam, and with the phrase seemed todismiss all thought of her. 

"A bad case!" echoed Mr. Gryce, "but, " seeing how fast the look ofresolution was replacing her previous aspect of frenzy, "one that willdo mischief yet to the man who has deceived her. "

The stopping of the carriage roused her. Looking up, she spoke for thefirst time. 

"I want a police officer, " she said. 

Mr. Gryce, with all his assurance restored, leaped to the ground andheld out his hand. 

"I will take you into the presence of one, " said he; and she, without aglance at Mr. Van Burnam, whose knee she brushed in passing, leaped tothe ground, and turned her face towards Police Headquarters. 

XXXVII. 

"TWO WEEKS!"

But before she was well in, her countenance changed. 

"No, " said she, "I want to think first. Give me time to think. I darenot say a word without thinking. "

"Truth needs no consideration. If you wish to denounce this man----"

Her look said she did. 

"Then now is the time. "

She gave him a sharp glance; the first she had bestowed upon him sinceleaving Miss Althorpe's. 

"You are no doctor, " she declared. "Are you a police-officer?"

"I am a detective. "

"Oh!" and she hesitated for a moment, shrinking from him with verynatural distrust and aversion. "I have been in the toils then withoutknowing it; no wonder I am caught. But I am no criminal, sir; and if youare the one most in authority here, I beg the privilege of a few wordswith you before I am put into confinement. "

"I will take you before the Superintendent, " said Mr. Gryce. "But do youwish to go alone? Shall not Mr. Van Burnam accompany you?"

"Mr. Van Burnam?"

"Is it not he you wish to denounce?"

"I do not wish to denounce any one to-day. "

"What do you wish?" asked Mr. Gryce. 

"Let me see the man who has power to hold me here or let me go, and Iwill tell him. "

"Very well, " said Mr. Gryce, and led her into the presence of theSuperintendent. 

She was at this moment quite a different person from what she had beenin the carriage. All that was girlish in her aspect or appealing in herbearing had faded away, evidently forever, and left in its placesomething at once so desperate and so deadly, that she seemed not only awoman but one of a very determined and dangerous nature. Her manner, however, was quiet, and it was only in her eye that one could see hownear she was to frenzy. 

She spoke before the Superintendent could address her. 

"Sir, " said she, "I have been brought here on account of a fearful crimeI was unhappy enough to witness. I myself am innocent of that crime, but, so far as I know, there is no other person living save the guiltyman who committed it, who can tell you how or why or by whom it wasdone. One man has been arrested for it and another has not. If you willgive me two weeks of complete freedom, I will point out to you which isthe veritable man of blood, and may Heaven have mercy on his soul!"

"She is mad, " signified the Superintendent in by-play to Mr. Gryce. 

But the latter shook his head; she was not mad yet. 

"I know, " she continued, without a hint of the timidity which seemednatural to her under other circumstances, "that this must seem apresumptuous request from one like me, but it is only by granting itthat you will ever be able to lay your hand on the murderer of Mrs. VanBurnam. For I will never speak if I cannot speak in my own way and at myown time. The agonies I have suffered must have some compensation. Otherwise I should die of horror and my grief. "

"And how do you hope to gain compensation by this delay?" expostulatedthe Superintendent. "Would you not meet with more satisfaction indenouncing him here and now before he can pass another night in fanciedsecurity?"

But she only repeated: "I have said two weeks, and two weeks I musthave. Two weeks in which to come and go as I please. Two weeks!" And noargument they could advance succeeded in eliciting from her any otherresponse or in altering in any way her air of quiet determination withits underlying suggestion of frenzy. 

Acknowledging their mutual defeat by a look, the Superintendent anddetective drew off to one side, and something like the followingconversation took place between them. 

"You think she's sane?"

"I do. "

"And will remain so two weeks?"

"If humored. "

"You are sure she is implicated in this crime?"

"She was a witness to it. "

"And that she speaks the truth when she declares that she is the onlyperson who can point out the criminal?"

"Yes; that is, she is the only one who will do it. The attitude taken bythe Van Burnams, especially by Howard just now in the presence of thisgirl, shows how little we have to expect from them. "

"Yet you think they know as much as she does about it?"

"I do not know what to think. For once I am baffled, Superintendent. Every passion which this woman possesses was roused by her unexpectedmeeting with Howard Van Burnam, and yet their indifference whenconfronted, as well as her present action, seems to argue a lack ofconnection between them which overthrows at once the theory of hisguilt. Was it the sight of Franklin, then, which really affected her?and was her apparent indifference at meeting him only an evidence of herself-control? It seems an impossible conclusion to draw, and indeedthere are nothing but hitches and improbable features in this case. Nothing fits; nothing jibes. I get just so far in it and then I run upagainst a wall. Either there is a superhuman power of duplicity in thepersons who contrived this murder or we are on the wrong tackaltogether. "

"In other words, you have tried every means known to you to get at thetruth of this matter, and failed. "

"I have, sir; sorry as I may be to acknowledge it. "

"Then we must accept her terms. She can be shadowed?"

"Every moment. "

"Very well, then. Extreme cases must be met by extreme measures. We willlet her have her swing, and see what comes of it. Revenge is a greatweapon in the hands of a determined woman, and from her look I think shewill make the most of it. "

And returning to where the young girl stood, the Superintendent askedher whether she felt sure the murderer would not escape in the time thatmust elapse before his apprehension. 

Instantly her cheek, which had looked as if it could never show coloragain, flushed a deep and painful scarlet, and she cried vehemently:

"If any hint of what is here passing should reach him I should bepowerless to prevent his flight. Swear, then, that my very existenceshall be kept a secret between you two, or I will do nothing towards hisapprehension, --no, not even to save the innocent. "

"We will not swear, but we will promise, " returned the Superintendent. "And now, when may we expect to hear from you again?"

"Two weeks from to-night as the clock strikes eight. Be wherever I maychance to be at that hour, and see on whose arm I lay my hand. It willbe that of the man who killed Mrs. Van Burnam. "

XXXVIII. 

A WHITE SATIN GOWN. 

The events just related did not come to my knowledge for some days afterthey occurred, but I have recorded them at this time that I might insome way prepare you for an interview which shortly after took placebetween myself and Mr. Gryce. 

I had not seen him since our rather unsatisfactory parting in front ofMiss Althorpe's house, and the suspense which I had endured in theinterim made my greeting unnecessarily warm. But he took it all verynaturally. 

"You are glad to see me, " said he; "been wondering what has become ofMiss Oliver. Well, she is in good hands; with Mrs. Desberger, in short;a woman whom I believe you know. "

"With Mrs. Desberger?" I _was_ surprised. "Why, I have been lookingevery day in the papers for an account of her arrest. "

"No doubt, " he answered. "But we police are slow; we are not ready toarrest her yet. Meanwhile you can do us a favor. She wants to see you;are you willing to visit her?"

My answer contained but little of the curiosity and eagerness I reallyfelt. 

"I am always at your command. Do you wish me to go now?"

"Miss Oliver is impatient, " he admitted. "Her fever is better, but sheis in an excited condition of mind which makes her a littleunreasonable. To be plain, she is not quite herself, and while we stillhope something from her testimony, we are leaving her very much to herown devices, and do not cross her in anything. You will therefore listento what she says, and, if possible, aid her in anything she mayundertake, unless it points directly towards self-destruction. Myopinion is that she will surprise you. But you are becoming accustomedto surprises, are you not?"

"Thanks to you, I am. "

"Very well, then, I have but one more suggestion to make. You areworking for the police now, madam, and nothing that you see or learn inconnection with this girl is to be kept back from us. Am I understood?"

"Perfectly; but it is only proper for me to retort that I am notentirely pleased with the part you assign me. Could you not have leftthus much to my good sense, and not put it into so many words?"

"Ah, madam, the case at present is too serious for risks of that kind. Mr. Van Burnam's reputation, to say nothing of his life, depends uponour knowledge of this girl's secret; surely you can stretch a point in amatter of so much moment?"

"I have already stretched several, and I can stretch one more, but Ihope the girl won't look at me too often with those miserable appealingeyes of hers; they make me feel like a traitor. "

"You will not be troubled by any appeal in them. The appeal hasvanished; something harder and even more difficult to meet is to befound in them now: wrath, purpose, and a desire for vengeance. She isnot the same woman, I assure you. "

"Well, " I sighed, "I am sorry; there is something about the girl thatlays hold of me, and I hate to see such a change in her. Did she ask forme by name?"

"I believe so. "

"I cannot understand her wanting me, but I will go; and I won't leaveher either till she shows me she is tired of me. I am as anxious to seethe end of this matter as you are. " Then, with some vague idea that Ihad earned a right to some show of confidence on his part, I addedinsinuatingly: "I supposed you would feel the case settled when shealmost fainted at the sight of the younger Mr. Van Burnam. "

The old ambiguous smile I remembered so well came to modify his brusquerejoinder. 

"If she had been a woman like you, I should; but she is a deep one, MissButterworth; too deep for the success of a little ruse like mine. Areyou ready?"

I was not, but it did not take me long to be so, and before an hour hadelapsed I was seated in Mrs. Desberger's parlor in Ninth Street. MissOliver was in, and ere long made her appearance. She was dressed instreet costume. 

I was prepared for a change in her, and yet the shock I felt when Ifirst saw her face must have been apparent, for she immediatelyremarked:

"You find me quite well, Miss Butterworth. For this I am partiallyindebted to you. You were very good to nurse me so carefully. Will yoube still kinder, and help me in a new matter which I feel quiteincompetent to undertake alone?"

Her face was flushed, her manner nervous, but her eyes had anextraordinary look in them which affected me most painfully, notwithstanding the additional effect it gave to her beauty. 

"Certainly, " said I. "What can I do for you?"

"I wish to buy me a dress, " was her unexpected reply. "A handsome dress. Do you object to showing me the best shops? I am a stranger in NewYork. "

More astonished than I can express, but carefully concealing it inremembrance of the caution received from Mr. Gryce, I replied that Iwould be only too happy to accompany her on such an errand. Upon whichshe lost her nervousness and prepared at once to go out with me. 

"I would have asked Mrs. Desberger, " she observed while fitting on hergloves, "but her taste"--here she cast a significant look about theroom--"is not quiet enough for me. "

"I should think not!" I cried. 

"I shall be a trouble to you, " the girl went on, with a gleam in her eyethat spoke of the restless spirit within. "I have many things to buy, and they must all be rich and handsome. "

"If you have money enough, there will be no trouble about that. "

"Oh, I have money. " She spoke like a millionaire's daughter. "Shall wego to Arnold's?"

As I always traded at Arnold's, I readily acquiesced, and we left thehouse. But not before she had tied a very thick veil over her face. 

"If we meet any one, do not introduce me, " she begged. "I cannot talk topeople. "

"You may rest easy, " I assured her. 

At the corner she stopped. "Is there any way of getting a carriage?" sheasked. 

"Do you want one?"

"Yes. "

I signalled a hack. 

"Now for the dress!" she cried. 

We rode at once to Arnold's. 

"What kind of a dress do you want?" I inquired as we entered the store. 

"An evening one; a white satin, I think. "

I could not help the exclamation which escaped me; but I covered it upas quickly as possible by a hurried remark in favor of white, and weproceeded at once to the silk counter. 

"I will trust it all to you, " she whispered in an odd, choked tone asthe clerk approached us. "Get what you would for your daughter--no, no!for Mr. Van Burnam's daughter, if he has one, and do not spare expense. I have five hundred dollars in my pocket. "

Mr. Van Burnam's daughter! Well, well! A tragedy of some kind wasportending! But I bought the dress. 

"Now, " said she, "lace, and whatever else I need to make it up suitably. And I must have slippers and gloves. You know what a young girl requiresto make her look like a lady. I want to look so well that the mostcritical eye will detect no fault in my appearance. It can be done, canit not, Miss Butterworth? My face and figure will not spoil the effect, will they?"

"No, " said I; "you have a good face and a beautiful figure. You ought tolook well. Are you going to a ball, my dear?"

"I am going to a ball, " she answered; but her tone was so strange thepeople passing us turned to look at her. 

"Let us have everything sent to the carriage, " said she, and went withme from counter to counter with her ready purse in her hand, but notonce lifting her veil to look at what was offered us, saying over andover as I sought to consult her in regard to some article: "Buy therichest; I leave it all to you. "

Had Mr. Gryce not told me she must be humored, I could never have gonethrough this ordeal. To see a girl thus expend her hoarded savings onsuch frivolities was absolutely painful to me, and more than once I wastempted to decline any further participation in such extravagance. But athought of my obligations to Mr. Gryce restrained me, and I went onspending the poor girl's dollars with more pain to myself than if I hadtaken them out of my own pocket. 

Having purchased all the articles we thought necessary, we were turningtowards the door when Miss Oliver whispered:

"Wait for me in the carriage for just a few minutes. I have one morething to buy, and I must do it alone. "

"But----" I began. 

"I will do it, and I will not be followed, " she insisted, in a shrilltone that made me jump. 

And seeing no other way of preventing a scene, I let her leave me, though it cost me an anxious fifteen minutes. 

When she rejoined me, as she did at the expiration of that time, I eyedthe bundle she held with decided curiosity. But I could make no guess atits contents. 

"Now, " she cried, as she reseated herself and closed the carriage door, "where shall I find a dressmaker able and willing to make up this satinin five days?"

I could not tell her. But after some little search we succeeded infinding a woman who engaged to make an elegant costume in the time givenher. The first measurements were taken, and we drove back to NinthStreet with a lasting memory in my mind of the cold and rigid form ofMiss Oliver standing up in Madame's triangular parlor, submitting to themechanical touches of the modiste with an outward composure, but with abrooding horror in her eyes that bespoke an inward torment. 

XXXIX. 

THE WATCHFUL EYE. 

As I parted with Miss Oliver on Mrs. Desberger's stoop and did not visither again in that house, I will introduce the report of a person bettersituated than myself to observe the girl during the next few days. Thatthe person thus alluded to was a woman in the service of the police isevident, and as such may not meet with your approval, but her words areof interest, as witness:

 * * * * *

"Friday P. M. 

"Party went out to-day in company with an elderly female of respectableappearance. Said elderly female wears puffs, and moves with greatprecision. I say this in case her identification should prove necessary. 

"I had been warned that Miss O. Would probably go out, and as the manset to watch the front door was on duty, I occupied myself during herabsence in making a neat little hole in the partitions between our tworooms, so that I should not be obliged to offend my next-door neighborby too frequent visits to her apartment. This done, I awaited herreturn, which was delayed till it was almost dark. When she did come in, her arms were full of bundles. These she thrust into a bureau-drawer, with the exception of one, which she laid with great care under herpillow. I wondered what this one could be, but could get no inkling fromits size or shape. Her manner when she took off her hat was fiercer thanbefore, and a strange smile, which I had not previously observed on herlips, added force to her expression. But it paled after supper-time, andshe had a restless night. I could hear her walk the floor long after Ithought it prudent on my part to retire, and at intervals through thenight I was disturbed by her moaning, which was not that of a sickperson but of one very much afflicted in mind. 

"Saturday. 

"Party quiet. Sits most of the time with hands clasped on her kneebefore the fire. Given to quick starts as if suddenly awakened from anabsorbing train of thought. A pitiful object, especially when seized byterror as she is at odd times. No walks, no visitors to-day. Once Iheard her speak some words in a strange language, and once she drewherself up before the mirror in an attitude of so much dignity I wassurprised at the fine appearance she made. The fire of her eyes at thismoment was remarkable. I should not be surprised at any move she mightmake. 

"Sunday. 

"She has been writing to-day. But when she had filled several pages ofletter paper she suddenly tore them all up and threw them into the fire. Time seems to drag with her, for she goes every few minutes to thewindow from which a distant church clock is visible, and sighs as sheturns away. More writing in the evening and some tears. But the writingwas burned as before, and the tears stopped by a laugh that augurslittle good to the person who called it up. The package has been takenfrom under her pillow and put in some place not visible from myspy-hole. 

"Monday. 

"Party out again to-day, gone some two hours or more. When she returnedshe sat down before the mirror and began dressing her hair. She has finehair, and she tried arranging it in several ways. None seemed to satisfyher, and she tore it down again and let it hang till supper-time, whenshe wound it up in its usual simple knot. Mrs. Desberger spent someminutes with her, but their talk was far from confidential, andtherefore uninteresting. I wish people would speak louder when they talkto themselves. 

"Tuesday. 

"Great restlessness on the part of the young person I am watching. Noquiet for her, no quiet for me, yet she accomplishes nothing, and as yethas furnished me no clue to her thoughts. 

"A huge box was brought into the room to-night. It seemed to cause herdread rather than pleasure, for she shrank at sight of it, and has notyet attempted to open it. But her eyes have never left it since it wasset down on the floor. It looks like a dressmaker's box, but why suchemotion over a gown?

"Wednesday. 

"This morning she opened the box but did not display its contents. Icaught one glimpse of a mass of tissue paper, and then she put the coveron again, and for a good half hour sat crouching down beside it, shuddering like one in an ague-fit. I began to feel there was somethingdeadly in the box, her eyes wandered towards it so frequently and withsuch contradictory looks of dread and savage determination. When shegot up it was to see how many more minutes of the wretched day hadpassed. 

"Thursday. 

"Party sick; did not try to leave her bed. Breakfast brought up by Mrs. Desberger, who showed her every attention, but could not prevail uponher to eat. Yet she would not let the tray be taken away, and when shewas alone again or thought herself alone, she let her eyes rest so longon the knife lying across her plate, that I grew nervous and couldhardly restrain myself from rushing into the room. But I remembered myinstructions, and kept still even when I saw her hand steal towards thispossible weapon, though I kept my own on the bell-rope which fortunatelyhung at my side. She looked quite capable of wounding herself with theknife, but after balancing it a moment in her hand, she laid it downagain and turned with a low moan to the wall. She will not attempt deathtill she has accomplished what is in her mind. 

"Friday. 

"All is right in the next room; that is, the young lady is up; but thereis another change in her appearance since last night. She has growncontemptuous of herself and indulges less in brooding. But herimpatience at the slow passage of time continues, and her interest inthe box is even greater than before. She does not open it, however, onlylooks at it and lays her trembling hand now and then on the cover. 

"Saturday. 

"A blank day. Party dull and very quiet. Her eyes begin to look likeghastly hollows in her pale face. She talks to herself continually, butin a low mechanical way exceedingly wearing to the listener, especiallyas no word can be distinguished. Tried to see her in her own roomto-day, but she would not admit me. 

"Sunday. 

"I have noticed from the first a Bible lying on one end of hermantel-shelf. To-day she noticed it also, and impulsively reached outher hand to take it down. But at the first word she read she gave a lowcry and hastily closed the book and put it back. Later, however, shetook it again and read several chapters. The result was a softening inher manner, but she went to bed as flushed and determined as ever. 

"Monday. 

"She has walked the floor all day. She has seen no one, and seemsscarcely able to contain her impatience. She cannot stand this long. 

"Tuesday. 

"My surprises began in the morning. As soon as her room had been put inorder, Miss O. Locked the door and began to open her bundles. First sheunrolled a pair of white silk stockings, which she carefully, butwithout any show of interest, laid on the bed; then she opened a packagecontaining gloves. They were white also, and evidently of the finestquality. Then a lace handkerchief was brought to light, slippers, anevening fan, and a pair of fancy pins, and lastly she opened themysterious box and took out a dress so rich in quality and of suchsimple elegance, it almost took my breath away. It was white, and madeof the heaviest satin, and it looked as much out of place in that shabbyroom as its owner did in the moments of exaltation of which I havespoken. 

"Though her face was flushed when she lifted out the gown, it becamepale again when she saw it lying across her bed. Indeed, a look ofpassionate abhorrence characterized her features as she contemplated it, and her hands went up before her eyes and she reeled back uttering thefirst words I have been able to distinguish since I have been on duty. They were violent in character, and seemed to tear their way through herlips almost without her volition. 'It is hate I feel, nothing but hate. Ah, if it were only duty that animated me!'

"Later she grew calmer, and covering up the whole paraphernalia with astray sheet she had evidently laid by for the purpose, she sent for Mrs. Desberger. When that lady came in she met her with a wan but by no meansdubious smile, and ignoring with quiet dignity the very evidentcuriosity with which that good woman surveyed the bed, she saidappealingly:

"'You have been so kind to me, Mrs. Desberger, that I am going to tellyou a secret. Will it continue to remain a secret, or shall I see it inthe faces of all my fellow-boarders to-morrow?' You can imagine Mrs. Desberger's reply, also the manner in which it was delivered, but notMiss Oliver's secret. She uttered it in these words: 'I am going outto-night, Mrs. Desberger. I am going into great society. I am going toattend Miss Althorpe's wedding. ' Then, as the good woman stammered outsome words of surprise and pleasure, she went on to say: 'I do not wantany one to know it, and I would be so glad if I could slip out of thehouse without any one seeing me. I shall need a carriage, but you willget one for me, will you not, and let me know the moment it comes. I amshy of what folks say, and besides, as you know, I am neither happy norwell, if I do go to weddings, and have new dresses, and----' She nearlybroke down but collected herself with wonderful promptitude, and with acoaxing look that made her almost ghastly, so much it seemed out ofaccord with her strained and unnatural manner, she raised a corner ofthe sheet, saying, 'I will show you my gown, if you will promise to helpme quietly out of the house, ' which, of course, produced the desiredeffect upon Mrs. Desberger, that woman's greatest weakness being herlove of dress. 

"So from that hour I knew what to expect, and after sendingprecautionary advices to Police Headquarters, I set myself to watch herprepare for the evening. I saw her arrange her hair and put on herelegant gown, and was as much startled by the result as if I had not hadthe least premonition that she only needed rich clothes to look bothbeautiful and distinguished. The square parcel she had once hidden underher pillow was brought out and laid on the bed, and when Mrs. Desberger's low knock announced the arrival of the carriage, she caughtit up and hid it under the cloak she hastily threw about her. Mrs. Desberger came in and put out the light, but before the room sank intodarkness I caught one glimpse of Miss Oliver's face. Its expression wasterrible beyond anything I had ever seen on any human countenance. "

XL. 

AS THE CLOCK STRUCK. 

I do not attend weddings in general, but great as my suspense was inreference to Miss Oliver, I felt that I could not miss seeing MissAlthorpe married. 

I had ordered a new dress for the occasion, and was in the best ofspirits as I rode to the church in which the ceremony was to beperformed. The excitement of a great social occasion was for once notdisagreeable to me, nor did I mind the crowd, though it pushed me aboutrather uncomfortably till an usher came to my assistance and seated mein a pew, which I was happy to see commanded a fine view of the chancel. 

I was early, but then I always am early, and having ample opportunityfor observation, I noted every fine detail of ornamentation withapproval, Miss Althorpe's taste being of that fine order which alwaysfalls short of ostentation. Her friends are in very many instances myfriends, and it was no small part of my pleasure to note theirwell-known faces among the crowd of those that were strange to me. Thatthe scene was brilliant, and that silks, satins, and diamonds abounded, goes without saying. 

At last the church was full, and the hush which usually precedes thecoming of the bride was settling over the whole assemblage, when Isuddenly observed, in the person of a respectable-looking gentlemanseated in a side pew, the form and features of Mr. Gryce, the detective. This was a shock to me, yet what was there in his presence there toalarm me? Might not Miss Althorpe have accorded him this pleasure out ofthe pure goodness of her heart? I did not look at anybody else, however, after once my eyes fell upon him, but continued to watch his expression, which was non-commital, though a little anxious for one engaged in apurely social function. 

The entrance of the clergyman and the sudden peal of the organ in thewell-known wedding march recalled my attention to the occasion itself, and as at that moment the bridegroom stepped from the vestry to awaithis bride at the altar, I was absorbed by his fine appearance and theair of mingled pride and happiness with which he watched the statelyapproach of the bridal procession. 

But suddenly there was a stir through the whole glittering assemblage, and the clergyman made a move and the bridegroom gave a start, and thesound, slight as it was, of moving feet grew still, and I saw advancingfrom the door on the opposite side of the altar a second bride, clad inwhite and surrounded by a long veil which completely hid her face. Asecond bride! and the first was half-way up the aisle, and only onebridegroom stood ready!

The clergyman, who seemed to have as little command of his faculties asthe rest of us, tried to speak; but the approaching woman, upon whomevery regard was fixed, forestalled him by an authoritative gesture. 

Advancing towards the chancel, she took her place on the spot reservedfor Miss Althorpe. 

Silence had filled the church up to this moment; but at this audaciousmove, a solitary wailing cry of mingled astonishment and despair went upbehind us; but before any of us could turn, and while my own heart stoodstill, for I thought I recognized this veiled figure, the woman at thealtar raised her hand and pointed towards the bridegroom. 

"Why does he hesitate?" she cried. "Does he not recognize the only womanwith whom he dare face God and man at the altar? Because I am alreadyhis wedded wife, and have been so for five long years, does that make mywearing of this veil amiss when he a husband, unreleased by the law, dares enter this sacred place with the hope and expectation of abridegroom?"

It was Ruth Oliver who spoke. I recognized her voice as I had recognizedher apparel; but the emotions aroused in me by her presence and thealmost incredible claims she advanced were lost in the horror inspiredby the man she thus vehemently accused. No lost spirit from the pitcould have shown a more hideous commingling of the most terriblepassions known to man than he did in the face of this terriblearraignment; and if Ella Althorpe, cowering in her shame and miseryhalf-way up the aisle, saw him in all his depravity at that instant as Idid, nothing could have saved her long-cherished love from immediatedeath. 

Yet he tried to speak. 

"It is false!" he cried; "all false! The woman I once called wife isdead. "

"Dead, Olive Randolph? Murderer!" she exclaimed. "The blow struck in thedark found another victim!" And pulling the veil from her face, RuthOliver advanced to his side and laid her trembling hand with a firm anddecisive movement on his arm. 

Was it her words, her touch, or the sound of the clock striking eight inthe great tower over our heads, which so totally overwhelmed him? As thelast stroke of the hour which was to have seen him united with MissAlthorpe died out in the awed spaces above him, he gave a cry such as Iam sure never resounded between those sacred walls before, and sank in aheap on the spot where but a few minutes previous he had lifted his headin all the glow and pride of a prospective bridegroom. 

XLI. 

SECRET HISTORY. 

It was hours before I found myself able to realize that the scene I hadjust witnessed had a deeper and much more dreadful significance thanappeared to the general eye, and that Ruth Oliver, in her desperateinterruption of these treacherous nuptials, had not only made good herprior claim to Randolph Stone as her husband, but had pointed him out toall the world as the villainous author of that crime which for so long atime had occupied my own and the public's attention. 

Thinking that you may find the same difficulty in grasping this terriblefact, and being anxious to save you from the suspense under which Imyself labored for so many hours, I here subjoin a written statementmade by this woman some weeks later, in which the whole mystery isexplained. It is signed Olive Randolph; the name to which she evidentlyfeels herself best entitled. 

 * * * * *

"The man known in New York City as Randolph Stone was first seen by mein Michigan five years ago. His name then was John Randolph, and how hehas since come to add to this the further appellation of Stone, I mustleave to himself to explain. 

"I was born in Michigan myself, and till my eighteenth year I livedwith my father, who was a widower without any other child, in a littlelow cottage amid the sand mounds that border the eastern side of thelake. 

"I was not pretty, but every man who passed me on the beach or in thestreets of the little town where we went to market and to church, stopped to look at me, and this I noticed, and from this perhaps myunhappiness arose. 

"For before I was old enough to know the difference between poverty andriches, I began to lose all interest in my simple home duties, and tocast longing looks at the great school building where girls like myselflearned to speak like ladies and play the piano. Yet these ambitiouspromptings might have come to nothing if I had never met _him_. I mighthave settled down in my own sphere and lived a useful if unsatisfiedlife like my mother and my mother's mother before her. 

"But fate had reserved me for wretchedness, and one day just as I was onthe verge of my eighteenth year, I saw John Randolph. 

"I was coming out of church when our eyes first met, and I noticed afterthe first shock my simple heart received from his handsome face andelegant appearance, that he was surveying me with that strange look ofadmiration I had seen before on so many faces; and the joy this gave me, and the certainty which came with it of my seeing him again, made thatmoment quite unlike any other in my whole life, and was the beginning ofthat passion which has undone me, ruined him, and brought death andsorrow to many others of more worth than either of us. 

"He was not a resident of the town, but a passing visitor; and hisintention had been, as he has since told me, to leave the place on thefollowing day. But the dart which had pierced my breast had not glancedentirely aside from his, and he remained, as he declared, to see whatthere was in this little country-girl's face to make it sounforgettable. We met first on the beach and afterwards under the stripof pines which separate our cottage from the sand mounds, and though Ihave no reason to believe he came to these interviews with any honestpurpose or deep sincerity of feeling, it is certain he exerted all hispowers to make them memorable to me, and that, in doing so, he awokesome of the fire in his own breast which he took such wicked pleasure inarousing in mine. 

"In fact he soon showed that this was so, for I could take no step fromthe house without encountering him; and the one indelible impressionremaining to me from those days is the expression his face wore as, onesunny afternoon, he laid my hand on his arm and drew me away to have alook at the lake booming on the beach below us. There was no love in itas I understand love now, but the passion which informed it almostamounted to intoxication, and if such a passion can be understoodbetween a man already cultivated and a girl who hardly knew how to read, it may, in a measure, account for what followed. 

"My father, who was no fool, and who saw the selfish quality in thisattractive lover of mine, was alarmed by our growing intimacy. Taking anopportunity when we were both in a more sensible mood than common, heput the case before Mr. Randolph in a very decided way. He told him thateither he must marry me at once or quit seeing me altogether. No delaywas to be considered and no compromise allowed. 

"As my father was a man with whom no one ever disputed, John Randolphprepared to leave the town, declaring that he could marry no one at thatstage of his career. But before he could carry out his intention, theold intoxication returned, and he came back in a fever of love andimpatience to marry me. 

"Had I been older or more experienced in the ways of the world, I wouldhave known that such passion as this evinced was short-lived; that thereis no witchery in a smile lasting enough to make men like him forget thelack of those social graces to which they are accustomed. But I was madwith happiness, and was unconscious of any cloud lowering upon ourfuture till the day of our first separation came, when an event occurredwhich showed me what I might expect if I could not speedily raise myselfto his level. 

"We were out walking, and we met a lady who had known Mr. Randolphelsewhere. She was well dressed, which I was not, though I had notrealized it till I saw how attractive she looked in quiet colors andwith only a simple ribbon on her hat; and she had, besides, a way ofspeaking which made my tones sound harsh, and robbed me of that feelingof superiority with which I had hitherto regarded all the girls of myacquaintance. 

"But it was not her possession of these advantages, keenly as I feltthem, which awakened me to the sense of my position. It was the surpriseshe showed (a surprise the source of which was not to be mistaken) whenhe introduced me to her as his wife; and though she recovered herself ina moment, and tried to be kind and gracious, I felt the sting of it andsaw that he felt it too, and consequently was not at all astonishedwhen, after she had passed us, he turned and looked at me critically forthe first time. 

"But his way of showing his dissatisfaction gave me a shock it took meyears to recover from. 'Take off that hat, ' he cried, and when I hadobeyed him, he tore out the spray which to my eyes had been its chiefadornment, and threw it into some bushes near by; then he gave me backthe hat and asked for the silk neckerchief which I had regarded as theglory of my bridal costume. Giving it to him I saw him put it in hispocket, and understanding now that he was trying to make me look morelike the lady we had passed, I cried out passionately: 'It is not thesethings that make the difference, John, but my voice and way of walkingand speaking. Give me money and let me be educated, and then we will seeif any other woman can draw your eyes away from me. '

"But he had received a shock that made him cruel. 'You cannot make asilk purse out of a sow's ear, ' he sneered, and was silent all the restof the way home. I was silent too, for I never talk when I am angry, butwhen we arrived in our own little room I confronted him. 

"'Are you going to say any more such cruel things to me?' I asked, 'forif you are, I should like you to say them now and be done with it. '

"He looked desperately angry, but there was yet a little love left inhis heart for me, for he laughed after he had looked at me for a minute, and took me in his arms and said some of the fine things with which hehad previously won my heart, but not with the old fire and not with theold effect upon me. Yet my love had not grown cold, it had only changedfrom the unthinking stage to the thinking one, and I was quite inearnest when I said: 'I know I am not as pretty or as nice as the ladiesyou are accustomed to. But I have a heart that has never known any otherpassion than its love for you, and from such a heart you ought to expecta lady to grow, and there will. Only give me the chance, John; only letme learn to read and write. '

"But he was in an incredulous state of mind, and it ended in his goingaway without making any arrangements for my education. He was bound forSan Francisco, where he had business to transact, and he promised to beback in four weeks, but before the four weeks elapsed, he wrote me thatit would be five, and later on that it would be six, and afterwards thatit would be when he had finished a big piece of work he was engagedupon, and which would bring him a large amount of money. I believed himand I doubted him at the same time, but I was not altogether sorry hedelayed his return for I had begun school on my own account and was fastlaying the foundation of a solid education. 

"My means came from my father, who, now it was too late, saw thenecessity of my improving myself. The amount of studying I did thatfirst year was amazing, but it was nothing to what I went through thesecond, for my husband's letters had begun to fail me, and I was forcedto work in order to drown grief and keep myself from despair. Finally noletters came at all, and when the second year was over, and I could atleast express myself correctly, I woke to the realization that, so faras my husband was concerned, I had gone through all this labor fornothing, and that unless by some fortunate chance I could light uponsome clue to his whereabouts in the great world beyond our little town, I would be likely to pass the remainder of my days in widowhood anddesolation. 

"My father dying at this time and leaving me a thousand dollars, I knewno better way of spending it than in the hopeless search I have justmentioned. Accordingly after his burial I started out on my travels, gaining experience with every mile. I had not been away a week before Irealized what a folly I had indulged in in ever hoping to see JohnRandolph back at my side. I saw the homes in which such men as he lived, and met in cars and on steamboats the kind of people with whom he mustassociate to be happy, and a gulf seemed to open between us which evensuch love as mine would be powerless to bridge. 

"But though hope thus sank in my breast, I did not lose my old ambitionof making myself as worthy of him as circumstances would permit. I readonly the best books and I allowed myself to become acquainted with onlythe best people, and as I saw myself liked by such the awkwardness of mymanner gradually disappeared, and I began to feel that the day wouldcome when I should be universally recognized as a lady. 

"Meantime I did not advance an iota in the object of my journey; and atlast, with every expectation gone of ever seeing my husband again, Imade my way to Toledo. Here I speedily found employment, and what wasbetter still to one of my ambitious tendencies, an opportunity to add tothe sum of my accomplishments a knowledge of French and music. TheFrench I learned from the family I lived with, and the music from aprofessor in the same house whose love for his pet art was so great thathe found it simple happiness to impart it to one so greedy forimprovement as myself. 

"Here, in course of time, I also learned type-writing, and it was forthe purpose of seeking employment in this capacity that I finally cameto New York. This was three months ago. 

"I was in complete ignorance of the city when I entered it, and for aday or two I wandered to and fro, searching for a suitablelodging-house. It was while I was on my way to Mrs. Desberger's that Isaw advancing towards me a gentleman in whose air and manner I detecteda resemblance to the husband who some five years since had deserted me. The shock was too much for my self-control. Quaking in every limb, Istood awaiting his approach, and when he came up to me, and I saw by hisstartled recognition of me that it was indeed he, I gave a loud cry andthrew myself upon his arm. The start he gave was nothing to thefrightful expression which crossed his face at this encounter, but Ithought both due to his surprise, though now I am convinced they hadtheir origin in the deepest and worst emotions of which a man iscapable. 

"'John! John!' I cried, and could say no more, for the agitations offive solitary, despairing years were choking me; but he was entirelyvoiceless, stricken, I have no doubt, beyond any power of mine torealize. How could I dream that in consideration, power, and prestige hehad advanced even more rapidly than myself, and that at this very momenthe was not only the idol of society, but on the verge of uniting himselfto a woman--I will not say of marrying her, for marry her he could notwhile I lived--who would make him the envied possessor of millions. Suchfortune, such daring, yes and such depravity, were beyond the reach ofmy imagination, and while I thought his pleasure less than mine, I didnot dream that my existence was a menace to all his hopes, and thatduring this moment of speechlessness he was sounding his nature formeans to rid himself of me even at the cost of my life. 

"His first movement was to push me away, but I clung to him all theharder; at which his whole manner changed and he began to make futileefforts to calm me and lead me away from the spot. Seeing that theseattempts were unavailing, he turned pale and raised his arm uppassionately, but speedily dropped it again, and casting glances thisway and that, broke suddenly into a loud laugh and became, as by thetouch of a magician's wand, my old lover again. 

"'Why, Olive!' he cried; 'why, Olive! is it you? (Did I say my name wasOlive?) Happily met, my dear! I did not know what I had been missing allthese years, but now I know it was you. Will you come with me, or shallI go home with you?'

"'I have no home, ' said I, 'I have just come into town. '

"'Then I see but one alternative. ' He smiled, and what a power there wasin his smile when he chose to exert it! 'You must come to my apartments;are you willing?'

"'I am your wife, ' I answered. 

"He had taken me on his arm by this time and the recoil he made at thesewords was quite perceptible; but his face still smiled, and I was toomad with joy to be critical. 

"'And a very pretty and charming wife you have become, ' said he, drawingme on for a few steps. Suddenly he paused, and I felt the old shadowfall between us again. 'But your dress is very shabby, ' he remarked. 

"It was not; it was not near as shabby as the linen duster he himselfwore. 

"'Is that rain?' he inquired, looking up as a drop or two fell. 

"'Yes, it is raining. '

"'Very well, let us go into this store we are coming to and buy agossamer. That will cover up your gown. I cannot take you to my housedressed as you are now. '

"Surprised, for I had thought my dress very neat and lady-like, butnever dreaming of questioning his taste any more than in the old days inMichigan, I went with him into the shop he had pointed out and bought mea gossamer, for which he paid. When he had helped me to put it on andhad tied my veil well over my face, he seemed more at his ease and gaveme his arm quite cheerfully. 

"'Now, ' said he, 'you look well, but how about the time when you willhave to take the gossamer off? I tell you what it is, my dear, you willhave to refit yourself entirely before I shall be satisfied. ' And againI saw him cast about him that furtive and inquiring look which wouldhave awakened more surprise in me than it did had I known that we werein a part of the city where he ran but little chance of meeting any onehe knew. 

"'This old duster I have on, ' he suddenly laughed, 'is a veryappropriate companion to your gossamer, ' and though I did not agree withhim, for my clothes were new, and his old and shabby, I laughed also andnever dreamed of evil. 

"As this garment which so disfigured him that morning has been theoccasion of much false speculation on the part of those whose businessit was to inquire into the crime with which it is in a most unhappy wayconnected, I may as well explain here and now why so fastidious agentleman as Randolph Stone came to wear it. The gentleman called HowardVan Burnam was not the only person who visited the Van Burnam offices onthe morning preceding the murder. Randolph Stone was there also, but hedid not see the brothers, for finding them closeted together, he decidednot to interrupt them. As he was a frequent visitor there, his presencecreated no remark nor was his departure noted. Descending the stairsseparating the offices from the street, he was about to leave thebuilding, when he noticed that the clouds looked ominous. Being dressedfor a luncheon with Miss Althorpe, he felt averse to getting wet, so hestepped back into the adjoining hall and began groping for an umbrellain a little closet under the stairs where he had once before found suchan article. While doing this he heard the younger Van Burnam descend andgo out, and realizing that he could now see Franklin without difficulty, he was about to return up-stairs when he heard that gentleman also comedown and follow his brother into the street. 

"His first impulse was to join him, but finding nothing but an oldduster in the closet, he gave up this intention, and putting on thisshabby but protecting garment, started for his apartments, littlerealizing into what a course of duplicity and crime it was destined tolead him. For to the wearing of this old duster on this especialmorning, innocent as the occasion was, I attribute John Randolph'stemptation to murder. Had he gone out without it, he would have takenhis usual course up Broadway and never met _me_; or even if he had takenthe same roundabout way to his apartments as that which led to ourencounter, he would never have dared, in his ordinary fine dress, conspicuous as it made him, to have entered upon those measures, which, as he is clever enough to know, lead to disgrace, if they do not end ina felon's cell. It was John Randolph, then, or Randolph Stone, as he ispleased to call himself in New York, and not Franklin Van Burnam (whohad doubtless proceeded in another direction) who came up to whereHoward had stood, saw the keys he had dropped, and put them in his ownpocket. It was as innocent an action as the donning of the duster, andyet it was fraught with the worst consequences to himself and others. 

"Being of the same height and complexion as Franklin Van Burnam, andboth gentlemen wearing at that time a moustache (my husband shaved hisoff after the murder), the mistakes which arose out of this strangeequipment were but natural. Seen from the rear or in the semi-darknessof a hotel-office they might look alike, though to me or to any onestudying them well, their faces are really very different. 

"But to return. Leading me through streets of which I knew nothing, hepresently stopped before the entrance of a large hotel. 

"'I tell you what, Olive, ' said he, 'we had better go in here, take aroom, and send for such things as you require to make you look like alady. '

"As I had no objection to anything which kept me at his side, I told himthat whatever suited him suited me, and followed him quite eagerly intothe office. I did not know then that this hotel was a second-rate one, not having had experience with the best, but if I had, I should not havewondered at his choice, for there was nothing in his appearance, as Ihave already intimated, or in his manners up to this point, to lead meto think he was one of the city's great swells, and that it was only insuch an unfashionable house as this he would be likely to passunrecognized. How with his markedly handsome features and distinguishedbearing he managed so to carry himself as to look like a man of inferiorbreeding, I can no more explain than I can the singular change whichtook place in him when once he found himself in the midst of the crowdwhich lounged about this office. 

"From a man to attract all eyes he became at once a man to attract none, and slouched and looked so ordinary that I stared at him inastonishment, little thinking that he had assumed this manner as adisguise. Seeing me at a loss, he spoke up quite peremptorily:

"'Let us keep our secret, Olive, till you can appear in the worldfull-fledged. And look here, darling, won't you go to the desk and askfor a room? I am no hand at any such business. '

"Confounded at a proposition so unexpected, but too much under the spellof my feelings to dispute his wishes, I faltered out:

"'But supposing they ask me to register?'

"At which he gave me a look which recalled the old days in Michigan, andquietly sneered:

"'Give them a fictitious name. You have learned to write by this time, have you not?'

"Stung by his taunt, but more in love with him than ever, for hismomentary display of passion had made him look both masterful andhandsome, I went up to the desk to do his bidding. 

"'A room!' said I; and when asked to write our names in the book thatlay before me, I put down the first that suggested itself. I wrote withmy gloves on, which was why the writing looked so queer that it wastaken for a disguised hand. 

"This done, he rejoined me, and we went up-stairs, and I was too happyto be in his company again to wonder at his peculiarities or weigh theconsequences of the implicit confidence I accorded him. I wasdesperately in love once more, and entered into every plan he proposedwithout a thought beyond the joyous present. He was so handsome withouthis hat; and when after some short delay he threw aside the duster, Ifelt myself for the first time in my life in the presence of a finishedgentleman. Then his manner was so changed. He was so like his oldest andbest self, so dangerously like what he was in those long vanished hoursunder the pines in my sand-swept home on the shores of Lake Michigan. That he faltered at times and sank into strange spells of silence whichhad something in them that made my breath come fitfully, did not awakenmy apprehension or rouse in me more than a passing curiosity. I thoughthe regretted the past, and when, after one such pause in ourconversation, he drew out of his pocket a couple of keys tied togetherwith a string, and surveyed the card attached to them with a strangelook, easily enough to be understood by me now, I only laughed at hisabstraction, and indulged in a fresh caress to make him more mindful ofmy presence. 

"These keys were the ones which Mrs. Van Burnam's husband had dropped, and which he had picked up before meeting me; and after he had put themback into his pocket he became more talkative than before, and moresystematically lover-like. I think he had not seen his way clearly tillthis moment, the dark and dreadful way which was to end, as he supposed, in my death. 

"But I feared nothing, suspected nothing. Such deep and desperatewickedness as he was planning was beyond the wildest flight of myimagination. When he insisted upon sending for a complete set ofclothing for me, and when at his dictation I wrote a list of thearticles I wanted, I thought he was influenced by his wish as my husbandto see me dressed in articles of his own buying. That it was all a plotto rob me of my identity could not strike such a mind as mine, and whenthe packages came and were received by him in the sly way already knownto the public, I saw nothing in his caution but a playful display ofmystery that was to end in my romantic establishment in a home of loveand luxury. 

"Or rather it is thus that I account for my conduct now, and yet theprecaution I took not to change the shoes in which my money was hidden, may argue that I was not without some underlying doubt of his completesincerity. But if so, I hid it from myself, and, as I have every reasonto believe, from him also, doubtless excusing my action to myself byconsidering that I would be none the worse off for a few dollars of myown, even if he was my husband, and had promised me no end of pleasureand comfort. 

"That he did intend to make me happy, he had assured me more than once. Indeed, before we had been long in this hotel room, he informed me thatgreat experiences lay before me; that he had prospered much in the lastfive years and had now a house of his own to offer me and a large circleof friends to make our life in it agreeable. 

"'We will go to our house to-night, ' said he. 'I have not been living init lately, and you may find it a little uncomfortable, but we willremedy that to-morrow. Anything is better than staying here under afalse name and I cannot take you to my bachelor apartment. '

"I had doubted some of his previous statements, but this one Iimplicitly believed. Why should not so elegant a man have a house of hisown; and if he had told me it was built of marble and hung withFlorentine tapestries, I should still have credited it all. I was infairy-land and he was my knight of romance, even when he again hung hishead in leaving the hotel and looked at once so ordinary anduninteresting. 

"The ruse he made use of to cut off all connection between ourselves andthe Mr. And Mrs. James Pope who had registered at the Hotel D---- wasaccepted by me with the same lack of suspicion. That he should wish tocarry no remembrance of our old life into our new home I thought adelightful piece of folly, and when he proposed that we should bequeathmy gossamer and his own disfiguring duster to the coachman in whose hackwe were then riding, I laughed gleefully and helped him fold them up andplace them under the cushions, though I did wonder why he cut a pieceout of the neck of the former, and pouted with the happy freedom of aself-confident woman when he said:

"'It is the first thing I ever bought for you, and I am just foolishenough to wish to preserve this much of it for a keepsake. Do youobject, my dear?'

"As I was conscious of cherishing a similar folly in his regard, andcould have pressed even that old duster of his to my heart, I offeredhim a kiss and said 'No, ' and he put the scrap away in his pocket. Thatit was the portion on which was stamped the name of the firm from whichit was bought did not occur to me. 

"When the coach stopped, he urged me away on foot in a directionentirely strange to me, saying we would take another hack as soon as wehad disposed of the bundles we were carrying. How he intended to dothis, I did not know. But presently he drew me towards a Chineselaundry, where he bade me leave one of them as washing, and the other hedropped before the opening of a sewer as we stepped up a neighboringcurb-stone. 

"And still I did not suspect. 

"Our ride to Gramercy Park was short, but during it he had time to put abill in my hand and tell me I was to pay the driver. He had also time tosecure the weapon upon which he had probably had his eye fixed from thefirst. His manner of doing this I can never forgive, for it was alover's manner, and as such intended to deceive and cajole me. Drawingmy head down on his shoulder, he drew off my veil, saying that it wasthe only article left of my own buying, and that we would leave itbehind us in this coach as we had left the gossamer in the other. 'OnlyI will make sure that no other woman ever wears it, ' he laughed, slitting it up and down with his knife. When this was done he kissed me, and then while my heart was tender and the warm tears stood in my eyes, he drew out the pin from my hat, meeting my remonstrances with theassurance that he hated to see my head covered, and that no hat was aspretty as my own brown hair. 

"As this was nonsense, and as the coach was beginning to stop, I shookmy head at him and put my hat on again, but he had dropped the pin, orso he said, and I had to alight without it. 

"When I had paid the driver and the coach had driven off, I had a chanceto look up at the house before which we had stopped. Its height andimposing appearance daunted me in spite of the great expectations I hadformed, and I ran up the stoop after him in a condition of mingled aweand wild delight that was the poorest preparation possible for what laybefore me in the dark interior we were entering. 

"He was fumbling nervously in the keyhole with his key, and I heard awhispered oath escape him. But presently the door fell back, and westepped in to what looked to me like a cavern of darkness. 

"'Do not be frightened!' he admonished me. 'I will strike a light in amoment. ' And after carefully closing the street door behind us, hestretched out his hand to take mine, or so I judge, for I heard himwhisper impatiently, 'Where are you?'

"I was on the threshold of the parlor, to which I had groped my waywhile he was closing the front door, so I whispered back, 'Here!' butfound voice for nothing further, for at that instant I heard a soundproceeding from the depths of darkness in front of me, and was so struckwith terror that I fell back against the staircase, just as he passed meand entered the room from which that stealthy noise had issued. 

"'Darling!' he whispered, 'darling!' and went stumbling on in the voidof darkness before me, till suddenly by some power I cannot explain Iseemed to see, faintly but distinctly, and as if with my mind's eyerather than with my bodily one. 

"I perceived the shadowy form of a woman standing in the space beforehim, and beheld him suddenly grasp her with what he meant to be a lovingcry, but which to my ears at that moment sounded strangely ferocious, and after holding her a moment suddenly release her, at which sheuttered one low, curdling moan and sank at his feet. At the same instantI heard a click, which I did not understand then, but which I now knowto have been the head of the hat-pin striking the register. 

"Horrified past all power of speech and action, for I saw that he hadintended this blow for me, I cowered against the stairs, waiting for himto pass out. This he did not do at once, though the delay must have beenshort. He stopped long enough by the prostrate form to stir it with hisfoot, probably to see if life was extinct, but no longer, yet it seemedan eternity before I perceived him groping his way over the threshold;an eternity in which every act of my life passed before me, and everyword and every expression with which he had beguiled me came to rack mysoul and made the horror of this mad awakening greater. 

"No thought of her, or of the guilt with which he had forever damned hissoul, came to me in that first moment of misery. _My_ loss, _my_ escape, and the danger in which I still stood if the least hint reached him ofthe mistake he had made, filled my mind too entirely for me to dwell onany less impersonal theme. His words, for he muttered several in thatshort passage out, showed me in what a fools' paradise I had beenrevelling, and how certainly I had turned his every thought towardsmurder when I seized him in the street and proclaimed myself his wife. The satisfaction with which he uttered, 'Well struck!' gave little hintof remorse; and the gloating delight with which he added something aboutthe devil having assisted him to make it a safe blow as well as a deadlyone, was proof not only of his having used all his cunning in planningthis crime, but of his pleasure in its apparent success. 

"That he continued in this frame of mind, and that he never lostconfidence in the precautions he had taken and in the mystery with whichthe deed was surrounded, is apparent from the fact that he revisited theVan Burnam office on the following morning, and hung again on itsaccustomed nail the keys of the Gramercy Park house. 

"When the front door had closed, and I knew that he had gone away in thefull belief that it was my form he had left lying behind him on thatmidnight floor, all the accumulated terrors of the situation came to mein full force, and I began to think of her as well as of myself, andlonged for courage to approach her or even the daring to call out forhelp. But the thought that it was my husband who had committed thiscrime held me tongue-tied, and though I soon began to move inch by inchin her direction, it was some time before I could so far overcome myterror as to enter the room where she lay. 

"I had supposed, and still supposed (as was natural after seeing himopen the door with the keys he took from his pocket), that the house washis, and the victim a member of his own household. But when, afterinnumerable hesitations and a bodily shrinking that was little short oftorment, I managed to drag myself into the room and light a match whichI found on a farther mantel-shelf, I saw enough in the generalappearance of the rooms and of the figure at my feet to make me doubtthe truth of both these suppositions. Yet no other explanation came tolighten the mystery of the occasion, and dazed as I was by the horror ofmy position and the mortal dread I felt of the man who in one instanthad turned the heaven of my love into a hell of fathomless horrors, Isoon had eyes for the one fact only, that the woman lying before me wassufficiently like myself to inspire me with the hope of preserving mysecret and keeping from my would-be slayer the knowledge of my havingescaped the doom he had prepared for me. 

"For ascribe it to what motive you will, that was the one idea nowdominating my mind. I wanted him to believe me dead. I wanted to feelthat all connection between us was severed forever. He _had_ killed me. By killing my love and faith in him he had murdered the better part ofmyself, and I shrank with inconceivable horror from anything that wouldbring me again under his eye, or force me to assert claims that it wouldbe the future business of my life to forget. 

"When the first match went out I had not courage to light another, so Icrept away in the darkness to listen at the foot of the stairs. Therewas no sound from above, and a terrifying sense began to pervade me thatI was in that house alone. Yet there was safety in the thought, andopportunity for what I was planning, and finally, under the stress ofthe purpose that was every moment developing within me, I went softlyup-stairs and listened at all the doors till I was certain that thehouse was unoccupied. Then I came down and walked resolutely back intothe parlor, for I knew if I allowed any time to pass I could never againsummon up strength to cross its grisly threshold. Yet I did nothing forhours but crouch in one of its dismal corners, waiting for morning. ThatI did not go mad in that awful interval is a wonder. I must have beennear it more than once. 

"I have been asked, and Miss Butterworth has been asked, how in thelight of what we now know concerning this poor victim's presence there, we account for her being in the darkness and showing so little terror atour entrance and Mr. Stone's approach. _I_ account for it in this way:Two half-burned matches were found in the parlor grate. One I flungthere; the other had probably been used by her to light the dining-roomgas. If this was still lighted when we drove up, as it may have been, then, alarmed by the sound of the stopping coach, she had put it out, with a vague idea of hiding herself till she knew whether it was the oldgentleman who was coming or only her suspicious and unreasonablehusband. If it was not lighted then, she was probably aroused from asleep on the parlor sofa, and was for the moment too dazed to cry out orresent an embrace she had not time to understand before she succumbed tothe cruel stab that killed her. Miss Butterworth, however, thinks thatthe poor creature took the intruder for Franklin till she heard myvoice, when she probably became so amazed that she was in a measureparalyzed and found it impossible to move or cry out. As MissButterworth is a woman of great discretion I should think herexplanation the truest, if I did not consider her a little prejudicedagainst Mrs. Van Burnam. 

"But to return to myself. 

"With the first glimmer of light that came through the closed shutters Irose and began my dreadful task. Upheld by a purpose as relentless asthat which drove the author of this horror into murder, I stripped thebody and put upon it my own clothing, with the one exception of theshoes. Then, when I had re-dressed myself in hers, I steadied up myheart and with one wild pull dragged down the cabinet upon her so thather face might lose its traits and her identification become impossible. 

"How I had strength to do this, and how I could contemplate the resultwithout shrieking, I cannot now imagine. Perhaps I was hardly human atthis crisis; perhaps something of the demon which had informed him inhis awful work had entered into my breast, making this thing possible. Ionly know that I did what I have said and did it calmly. More than that, that I had mind and judgment left to give to my own appearance. Observing that the dress I had put on was of a conspicuous plaid, Iexchanged the skirt portion with the brown silk petticoat under it, andwhen I observed that it hung below the other, as of course it would, Iwent through the house till I came upon some pins with which I pinned itup out of sight. Thus equipped, I was still a person to attractattention, especially as I had no hat to put on; my own having fallenfrom my head and been covered by the dead woman's body, which nothingwould induce me to move again. 

"But I had confidence in my own powers to escape question, toned up asI was in every nerve by the dreadfulness of my situation, and as soon asI was in decent shape for flight, I opened the front door and preparedto slip out. 

"But here the intense dread I felt of my husband, a dread which hadactuated all my movements and sustained me in as harrowing a task asever woman performed, seized me with renewed force, and I quailed at theprospect of entering the streets alone. Supposing he should be on thestoop! Supposing he should be in an opposite window even! Could Iencounter him again and live? He was not far away, or so I felt. Amurderer, it is said, cannot help haunting the scene of his crime, andif he should see me alive and well, what might I not expect from hisastonishment and alarm? I did not dare go out. But neither did I dareremain, so after quaking for a good five minutes on the threshold, Imade one wild dash through the door. 

"There was no one in sight, and I reached Broadway before I ran acrossman or woman. Even then I got by without any one speaking to me, and, favored by Providence, found a nook at the end of an alley-way, where Iremained undiscovered till it was late enough in the morning for me toenter a shop and buy a hat. 

"The rest of my movements are known. I found my way to Mrs. Desberger's, this time without interruption; and from that place sought and found asituation with Miss Althorpe. 

"That her fate was in any way connected with mine, or that the RandolphStone she was engaged to marry was the John Randolph from whose clutchesI had just escaped, was, of course, unsuspected by me, and, incredibleas it may seem, continued to be unsuspected as long as I remained in thehouse. There was reason for this. My duties were such as I could wellattend to in my own room, and feeling a horror of the world andeverything in it, I kept my room as much as possible, and never went outof it when I knew that he was in the house. The very thought of loveawakened intolerable emotions in me, and much as I admired and reveredMiss Althorpe, I could not bring myself to meet or even talk of the manto whom she was in expectation of being so soon united. There wasanother thing of which I was ignorant, and that was the circumstanceswhich had invested with so much interest the crime of which I had beenwitness. I did not know that the victim had been recognized, or that aninnocent man had been arrested for her murder. In fact I knew nothingconcerning the affair save what I had seen with my own eyes, no onehaving mentioned the murder in my presence, and I having religiouslyavoided the very sight of a paper for fear that I should see someaccount of the horrible affair, and so lose what small remnants ofcourage I still possessed. 

"This apathy concerning a matter so important to myself, or rather thisalmost frenzied determination to cut myself loose from my dreadful past, may seem strange and unnatural; but it will seem stranger yet when I saythat for all these efforts I was haunted night and day by one small factconnected with this past, which made forgetfulness impossible. I hadtaken the rings from the hands of the dead woman as I had taken away herclothes, and the possession of these valuables, probably because theyrepresented so much money, weighed on my conscience and made me feellike a thief. The purse which I found in a pocket of the skirt I had puton was a trouble to me, but the rings were a source of constant terrorand disturbance. I hid them finally in a ball of yarn I was using, buteven then I experienced but little peace, for they were not mine, and Ilacked the courage to avow it or seek out the person to whom they nowrightfully belonged. 

"When, therefore, in the intervals of fever which attacked me in MissAlthorpe's house, I overheard enough of a conversation between her andMiss Butterworth to learn that the murdered woman had been a Mrs. VanBurnam, and that her husband or relatives had an office somewheredowntown, I was so seized by the instinct of restitution, that I tookthe first opportunity that offered to leave my bed and hunt up thesepeople. 

"That I would injure them in any way by secretly restoring these jewels, I never dreamed. Indeed, I did not exercise my mind at all on thesubject, but only followed the instincts of my delirium; and while toall appearance I showed all the cunning of an insane person, in thepursuit of my purpose, I fail to remember now how I found my way toDuane Street, or by what suggestion of my diseased brain I was inducedto slip these rings upon the hook attached to Mr. Van Burnam's desk. Probably the mere utterance of this well-known name into the ears of thepassers-by was enough to obtain for me such directions as I needed, buthowever that may be, the result was misapprehension, and thecomplications which followed, serious. 

"Of the emotion caused in me by the unaccountable discovery of myconnection with this crime I need not speak. The love which I at onetime felt for John Randolph had turned to gall and bitterness, butenough sense of duty remained in my bruised and broken heart to keep mefrom denouncing him to the police, till by a sudden stroke of fate orProvidence, I saw him in the carriage with Miss Althorpe, and realizedthat he was not only the man with whom she was upon the point of allyingherself, but that it was to preserve his place in her regard and toattain the lofty position promised by this union, he had attempted tomurder me, and had murdered another woman only less unfortunate andmiserable than myself. 

"It was the last and bitterest blow that could come from his hand; andthough instinct led me to throw myself into the carriage before which Istood, and thus escape a meeting which I felt I could never survive, Iwas determined from that moment not only to save Miss Althorpe from analliance with this villain, but to revenge myself upon him in somenever-to-be-forgotten manner. 

"That this revenge involved her in a public shame from which her angelicgoodness to me should have saved her, I regret now as deeply as even shecan wish. But the madness that was upon me made me blind to every otherconsideration than that of the boundless hatred I bore him; and while Ican look for no forgiveness from her on that account, I still hope theday will come when she will see that in spite of my momentary disregardof her feelings, I cherish for her an affection that nothing can effaceor make other than the ruling passion of my life. "

XLII. 

WITH MISS BUTTERWORTH'S COMPLIMENTS. 

They tell me that Mr. Gryce has never been quite the same man since theclearing up of this mystery; that his confidence in his own powers isshaken, and that he hints, more often than is agreeable to hissuperiors, that when a man has passed his seventy-seventh year it istime for him to give up active connection with police matters. _I_ donot agree with him. His mistakes, if we may call them such, were notthose of failing faculties, but of a man made oversecure in his ownconclusions by a series of old successes. Had he listened to _me_--But Iwill not pursue this suggestion. You will accuse me of egotism, animputation I cannot bear with equanimity and will not risk; modestdepreciation of myself being one of the chief attributes of mycharacter. [D]

Howard Van Burnam bore his release, as he had his arrest, with greatoutward composure. Mr. Gryce's explanation of his motives in perjuringhimself before the Coroner was correct, and while the mass of peoplewondered at that instinct of pride which led him to risk the imputationof murder sooner than have the world accuse his wife of an unwomanlyaction, there were others who understood his peculiarities, and thoughthis conduct quite in keeping with what they knew of his warped andover-sensitive nature. 

That he has been greatly moved by the unmerited fate of his weak butunfortunate wife, is evident from the sincerity with which he stillmourns her. 

I had always understood that Franklin had never been told of the perilin which his good name had stood for a few short hours. But since acertain confidential conversation which took place between us oneevening, I have come to the conclusion that the police were not soreticent as they made themselves out to be. In that conversation heprofessed to thank me for certain good offices I had done him and his, and waxing warm in his gratitude, confessed that without my interferencehe would have found himself in a strait of no ordinary seriousness;"For, " said he, "there has been no over-statement of the feelings Icherished toward my sister-in-law, nor was there any mistake made inthinking that she uttered some very desperate threats against me duringthe visit she paid me at my office on Monday. But I never thought ofridding myself of her in any way. I only thought of keeping her and mybrother apart till I could escape the country. When therefore he cameinto the office on Tuesday morning for the keys of our father's house, Ifelt such a dread of the two meeting there, that I left immediatelyafter my brother for the place where she had told me she would await afinal message from me. I hoped to move her by one final plea, for I lovemy brother sincerely, notwithstanding the wrong I once did him. I wastherefore with her in another place at the very time I was thought to bewith her at the Hotel D----, a fact which greatly hampered me, as youcan see, when I was requested by the police to give an account of how Ispent that day. When I left her it was to seek my brother. She had toldme of her deliberate intention of spending the night in the GramercyPark house; and as I saw no way of her doing this without my brother'sconnivance, I started in search of him, meaning to stick to him when Ifound him, and keep him away from her till that night was over. I wasnot successful in my undertaking. He was locked in his rooms it seems, packing up his effects for flight, --we always had the same instinctseven when boys, --and receiving no answer to my knock, I hastened away toGramercy Park to keep a watch over the house against my brother comingthere. This was early in the evening, and for hours afterwards Iwandered like a restless spirit in and out of those streets, meeting noone I knew, not even my brother, though he was wandering about in verymuch the same manner, and with very much the same apprehensions. 

"The duplicity of the woman became very evident to me the next morning. In my last interview with her she had shown no relenting in her purposetowards me, but when I entered my office after this restless night inthe streets, I found lying on my desk her little hand-bag, which hadbeen sent down from Mrs. Parker's. In it was _the letter_, just as youdivined, Miss Butterworth. I had hardly got over the shock of this mostunexpected good fortune when the news came that a woman had been founddead in my father's house. What was I to think? That it was she, ofcourse, and that my brother had been the man to let her in there. MissButterworth, " this is how he ended, "I make no demands upon you, as Ihave made no demands upon the police, to keep the secret contained inthat letter from my much-abused brother. Or, rather, it is too late nowto keep it, for I have told him all there was to tell, myself, and hehas seen fit to overlook my fault, and to regard me with even moreaffection than he did before this dreadful tragedy came to harrow up ourlives. "

Do you wonder I like Franklin Van Burnam?

The Misses Van Burnam call upon me regularly, and when they say "_Dearold thing!_" now, they mean it. 

Of Miss Althorpe I cannot trust myself to speak. She was, and is, thefinest woman I know, and when the great shadow now hanging over her haslost some of its impenetrability, she will be a useful one again, or Ido not rightly read the patient smile which makes her face so beautifulin its sadness. 

Olive Randolph has, at my request, taken up her abode in my house. Thecharm which she seems to have exerted over others she has exerted overme, and I doubt if I shall ever wish to part with her again. In returnshe gives me an affection which I am now getting old enough toappreciate. Her feeling for me and her gratitude to Miss Althorpe arethe only treasures left her out of the wreck of her life, and it shallbe my business to make them lasting ones. 

The fate of Randolph Stone is too well known for me to enlarge upon it. But before I bid farewell to his name, I must say that after that curtconfession of his, "Yes, I did it, in the way and for the motive shealleged, " I have often tried to imagine the contradictory feelings withwhich he must have listened to the facts as they came out at theinquest, and convinced, as he had every reason to be, that the victimwas his wife, heard his friend Howard not only accept her for his, butinsist that he was the man who accompanied her to that house of death. He has never lifted the veil from those hours, and he never will, but Iwould give much of the peace of mind which has lately come to me, toknow what his sensations were, not only at that time, but when, on theevening, after the murder, he opened the papers and read that the womanwhom he had left for dead with her brain pierced by a hat-pin, had beenfound on that same floor crushed under a fallen cabinet; and whatexplanation he was ever able to make to himself for a fact soinexplicable. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote D: My attention has been called to the fact that I have notconfessed whether it was owing to a mistake made by Mr. Gryce or myself, that Franklin Van Burnam was identified as the man who had entered theadjoining house on the night of the murder. Well, the truth is, neitherof us was to blame for that. The man I identified (it was while watchingthe guests who attended Mrs. Van Burnam's funeral, you remember) wasreally Mr. Stone; but owing to the fact that this latter gentleman hadlingered in the vestibule till he was joined by Franklin and that theyhad finally entered together, some confusion was created in the mind ofthe man on duty in the hall, so that when Mr. Gryce asked him who it wasthat came in immediately after the four who arrived together, heanswered Mr. Franklin Van Burnam; being anxious to win his superior'sapplause and considering that person much more likely to merit thedetective's attention than a mere friend of the family like Mr. Stone. In punishment for this momentary display of egotism, he has beendischarged from the force, I believe. --A. B. ]

THE END.