the cicatrix as you recall it?" The doctor made a careful drawing on a pad that was passed to him. The drawing was much like this. Line for line, dot for dot, it was the scar on the body found at Sewickley. "You are sure the woman was Jennie Brice?" "She sent me tickets for the theater shortly after. And I had an announcement of her marriage to the prisoner, some weeks later." "Were there any witnesses to the operation?" "My assistant; I can produce him at any time." That was not all of the trial, but it was the decisive moment. Shortly after, the jury withdrew, and for twenty-four hours not a word was heard from them. [Page 198] CHAPTER XV AFTER twenty-four hours' deliberation, the jury brought in a verdict of guilty. It was a first-degree verdict. Mr. Howell's unsupported word had lost out against a scar. Contrary to my expectation, Mr. Holcombe was not jubilant over the verdict. He came into the dining-room that night and stood by the window, looking out into the yard. "It isn't logical," he said. "In view of Howell's testimony, it's ridiculous! Heaven help us under this jury system, anyhow! Look at the facts! Howell knows the woman: he sees her on Monday morning, and puts her on a train out of town. The boy is telling the truth. He has nothing to gain by coming forward, and everything to lose. Very well: she was alive on Monday. We know where she