”IKNOWTHEMANYethemadenoefforttodetainMr。Slater，whenthatgentleman，underthisrenewedexcitement，hastilyleftus。Hewasnotthemantorushintoanythingimpulsively，andnoteventhepresenceofmurdercouldchangehisways。”Iwanttofeelsureofmyself，”heexplained。”Canyoubearthestrainofwaitingaroundalittlelonger，Laura?Imustn’tforgetthatyoufaintedjustnow。””Yes，Icanbearit；muchbetterthanIcouldbeargoingtoAdela’sinmypresentstateofmind。Don’tyouthinkthemanwesawhadsomethingtodowiththis?Don’tyoubelieve-””Hush！Letuslistenratherthantalk。Whataretheysayingoverthere?Canyouhear?””No。AndIcannotbeartolook。YetIdon’twanttogoaway。It’sallsodreadful。””It’sdevilish。Suchabeautifulgirl！Laura，Imustleaveyouforamoment。Doyoumind?””No，no；yet-”
Ididmind；buthewasgonebeforeIcouldtakebackmyword。Alone，Ifeltthetragedymuchmorethanwhenhewaswithme。Insteadofwatching，asIhadhithertodone，everymovementintheroomopposite，Idrewbackagainstthewallandhidmyeyes，waitingfeverishlyforGeorge’sreturn。
Hecame，whenhedidcome，insomehasteandwithcertainmarksofincreasedagitation。”Laura，”saidhe，”Slatersaysthatwemaypossiblybewantedandproposesthatwestayhereallnight。IhavetelephonedAdelaandhavemadeitallrightathome。Willyoucometoyourroom?Thisisnoplaceforyou。’’
Nothingcouldhavepleasedmebetter；tobenearandyetnotthedirectobserverofproceedingsinwhichwetooksosecretaninterest！IshowedmygratitudebyfollowingGeorgeimmediately。
ButIcouldnotgowithoutcastinganotherglanceatthetragicsceneIwasleaving。Astirwasperceptiblethere，andIwasjustintimetoseeitscause。Atall，angulargentlemanwasapproachingfromthedirectionofthemusicians’gallery，andfromthemannerofallpresent，aswellasfromthewhisperedcommentofmyhusband，Irecognisedinhimthespecialofficialforwhomallhadbeenwaiting。”Areyougoingtotellhim?”wasmyquestiontoGeorgeaswemadeourwaydowntothelobby。”Thatdepends。First，Iamgoingtoseeyousettledinaroomquiteremotefromthisbusiness。””Ishallnotlikethat。””Iknow，mydear，butitisbest。”
Icouldnotgainsaythis。
Nevertheless，afterthefirstfewminutesofrelief，Ifounditverylonesomeupstairs。Thepictureswhichcrowdeduponmeofthevariousgroupsofexcitedandwildlygesticulatingmenandwomenthroughwhichwehadpassedonourwayup，mingledthemselveswiththesolemnhorrorofthesceneinthewriting-room，withitsfleetingvisionofyouthandbeautylyingpulselessinsuddendeath。
Icouldnotescapetheonewithoutfeelingtheimmediateimpressoftheother，andifbychancetheybothyieldedforaninstanttothatearliersceneofadesolateStreet，withitssolitarylampshiningdownonthecrouchedfigureofamanwashinghisshakinghandsinadriftoffreshlyfallensnow，theyimmediatelyrushedbackwithaforceandclearnessallthegreaterforthemomentarylapse。
Iwasstillstrugglingwiththesefancieswhenthedooropened，andGeorgecamein。TherewasnewsinhisfaceasIrushedtomeethim。”Tellme-tell，”Ibegged。
Hetriedtosmileatmyeagerness，buttheattemptwasghastly。”I’vebeenlisteningandlooking，”saidhe，”andthisisallI
havelearned。MissChallonerdied，notfromastrokeorfromdiseaseofanykind，butfromawoundreachingtheheart。Noonesawtheattack，oreventheapproachordepartureofthepersoninflictingthiswound。Ifshewaskilledbyapistol-shot，itwasatadistance，andalmostovertheheadsofthepersonssittingatthetablewesawthere。Butthedoctorsshaketheirheadsatthewordpistol-shot，thoughtheyrefusetoexplainthemselvesortoexpressanyopiniontillthewoundhasbeenprobed。Thistheyaregoingtodoatonce，andwhenthatquestionisdecided，Imayfeelitmydutytospeakandmayaskyoutosupportmystory。””IwilltellwhatIsaw，”saidI。”Verygood。Thatisallthatwillberequired。Wearestrangerstothepartiesconcerned，andonlyspeakfromasenseofjustice。
Itmaybethatourstorywillmakenoimpression，andthatweshallbedismissedwithbutfewthanks。Butthatisnothingtous。Ifthewomanhasbeenmurdered，heisthemurderer。Withsuchaconvictioninmymind，therecanbenodoubtastomyduty。””Wecannevermakethemunderstandhowhelooked。””No。Idon’texpectto。””Orhismannerashefled。””Northateither。””Wecanonlydescribewhatwesawhimdo。”
That’sall。””Oh，whatanadventureforquietpeoplelikeus！George，Idon’tbelieveheshother。””Hemusthave。””Buttheywouldhaveseen-haveheard-thepeoplearound，Imean。””Sotheysay；butIhaveatheory-butnomatteraboutthatnow。
I’mgoingdownagaintoseehowthingshaveprogressed。I’llbebackforyoulater。Onlybeready。”
Beready！Ialmostlaughed，-ahystericallaugh，ofcourse，whenI
recalledtheinjunction。Beready！Thislonelysittingbymyself，withnothingtodobutthinkwasafinepreparationforasuddenappearancebeforethosemen-someofthempolice-officers，nodoubt。
Butthat’senoughaboutmyself；I’mnottheheroineofthisstory。
Inahalfhouroranhour-Ineverknewwhich-Georgereappearedonlytotellmethatnoconclusionshadasyetbeenreached；anelementofgreatmysteryinvolvedthewholeaffair，andthemostastutedetectivesontheforcehadbeensentfor。Herfather，whohadbeenherconstantcompanionallwinter，hadnottheleastsuggestiontoofferinwayofitssolution。Sofarasheknew-andhebelievedhimselftohavebeeninperfectaccordwithhisdaughter-shehadinjurednoone。Shehadjustlivedtheeven，happyandusefullifeofayoungwomanofmeans，whoseesdutiesbeyondthoseofherownhouseholdandimmediatesurroundings。If，inthefulfillmentofthoseduties，shehadencounteredanyobstacletocontent，hedidnotknowit；norcouldhementionafriendofhers-hewouldevensaylovers，sincethatwaswhathemeant-whotohisknowledgecouldbeaccusedofharbouringanysuchpassionofrevengeaswasmanifestedinthissecretanddiabolicalattack。
Theywereallgentlemenandrespectedherasheartilyastheyappearedtoadmireher。Tonolivingbeing，manorwoman，couldhepointaspossessinganymotiveforsuchadeed。Shehadbeenthevictimofsomemistake，hislovelyandeverkindlydisposeddaughter，andwhilethelosswasirreparablehewouldnevermakeitunendurablebythinkingotherwise。
Suchwasthefather’swayoflookingatthematter，andIownthatitmadeourdutyatriflehard。ButGeorge’smind，whenoncemadeup，waspersistenttothepointofobstinacy，andwhilehewasyettalkingheledmeoutoftheroomanddownthehalltotheelevator。”Mr。Slaterknowswehavesomethingtosay，andwillmanagetheinterviewbeforeusintheverybestmanner，”heconfidedtomenowwithanencouragingair。”Wearetogotothebluereceptionroomontheparlourfloor。”
Inodded，andnothingmorewassaidtillweenteredtheplacementioned。Herewecameuponseveralgentlemen，standingabout，ofamoreorlessprofessionalappearance。Thiswasnotveryagreeabletooneofmyretiringdisposition，butalookfromGeorgebroughtbackmycourage，andIfoundmyselfwaitingratheranxiouslyforthequestionsIexpectedtohearput。
Mr。Slaterwasthereaccordingtohispromise，andafterintroducingus，brieflystatedthatwehadsomeevidencetogiveregardingtheterribleoccurrencewhichhadjusttakenplaceinthehouse。
Georgebowed，andthechiefspokesman-Iamsurehewasapolice-officerofsomekind-askedhimtotellwhatitwas。
Georgedrewhimselfup-Georgeisnotoneofyourtallmen，buthemakesaverygoodappearanceattimes。Thenheseemedsuddenlytocollapse。Thesightoftheirexpectationmadehimfeelhowflatandchildishhisstorywouldsound。I，whohadsharedhisadventure，understoodhisembarrassment，buttheotherswereevidentlyatalosstodoso，fortheyglancedaskanceateachotherashehesitated，andonlylookedbackwhenIventuredtosay：”It’sthepeculiarityoftheoccurrencewhichaffectsmyhusband。
Thethingwesawmaymeannothing。””Letushearwhatitwasandwewilljudge。”
Thenmyhusbandspokeup，andrelatedourlittleexperience。Ifitdidnotcreateasensation，itwasbecausethesemenwerewellaccustomedtosurprisesofallkinds。”Washedhishands-agentleman-outthereinthesnow-justafterthealarmwasraisedhere?”repeatedone。”Andyousawhimcomeoutofthishouse?”anotherputin。”Yes，sir；wenoticedhimparticularly。”Canyoudescribehim?”
ItwasMr。Slaterwhoputthisquestion；hehadlesscontroloverhimself，andconsiderableeagernesscouldbeheardinhisvoice。”Hewasaveryfine-lookingman；unusuallytallandunusuallystrikingbothinhisdressandappearance。WhatIcouldseeofhisfacewasbareofbeard，andveryexpressive。Hewalkedwiththeswingofanathlete，andonlylookedmeanandsmallwhenhewasstoopinganddabblinginthesnow。”
Hisclothes。Describehisclothes。”TherewasanoddsoundinMr。Slater’svoice。”Heworeasilkhatandtherewasfuronhisovercoat。Ithinkthefurwasblack。”
Mr。Slatersteppedback，thenmovedforwardagainwithadeterminedair。”Iknowtheman，”saidhe。