Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-10-28

there are none on the street side nothing but sheer walI.'
 "so that any one entering or leaving the private office must necessarily pas: by your deskY
 Necessarily; yes, sir"
 Gould any one pass without youl seeing him?"
 ''No, sir; that would be quite impos sible."
 The coroner leaned back in his chair There was one point settled.
 Now, MT. Rogers" he said, "wil you kindly tell us, in your own way and with as much detail as possible exactly what happened at your office shortly before 5 o'clock yesterday aft. ernoon?"
 I could see that Rogers was deeply moved. His face was very white, he moistened his lips nervously from time to time, and his hands gasped con- vulsiyely the arms of his chair. Plain ly the task before him was far from an agreeable one.
 "Well, sir" he began, i've had a very busy day yesterday and were at the office considerably later than usual, but by o'clock we had closed up work for the day, and all the other clerks, with the exception of the office boy, had gone home. had made some notes from MT. Holidays dictation and had returned to my desk to ar range them when the outer door open ed, and MT. Holidays daughter came in. She asked me whether her father was engaged, and upon my saying no opened the inner door and entered his office. She remained, should think, about ten minutes, then she came out again, walked rapidly past without looking at me and, suppose, left the building. finished arranging my notes and then entered Mir. Holidays office to ask if he had any further in- structions for me, and I found him lying forward on his desk with knife sticking in his neck and the blood squirting out. summoned aid, but he died without regaining consciousness. I should say he was practically dead when found him."
 felt rather than heard the little stir which ran through the room. There was an indeinable horror in the story and in the conclusion to which it in- evitably led.
 Now, let us go back moment" said the coroner as Rogers stopped and mopped his forehead feverishly. q want the jury to understand your story thoroughly. Mir Holladay had been dictating to you"
 "Yes."
 And was quite wellT'
 "Yes; as well as usual. He'd been suffering with indigestion for some time past"
 "still he was able to attend to busl- ness?"
 "Oh, yes, sir. There was nothing at all serious in his illness"
 You then left his office and returned to your own. How long had you been there before the outer door openedT
 Not over f1ye minutes.
 "And who was it enteredT
 Miss Frances Holladay, the daugh- ter of my employer" , You're quite sure? You know her wellY
 "very well. I've known her for many years. She often drove to the office in the evening to take her father home. I supposed that was what she came for yesterday"
 ''You looked at her attentivelyy'
 Rogers hitched impatiently in his chair.
 T glanced at her as I always do," he said. ''I didn't stare"
 But you're quite sure it was Miss Holladay:"
 Absolutely sure, sir. Do you sup pose I'd make an assertion like that if I wasn't absolutely sureT
 "No.r said the coroner soothingly. "No. don't suppose any such thing, not for a moment, Mfr. Rogers, only want the jury to see how certain the Is. Shall I proceed?"
 "Go ahead, sir" said Rogers. "Fll try to hold myself together little better. sir"
 q can see what a strain this is for yoa" said the coroner kindly. land I'll spare you as much as I can. Now, after Miss Holladay entered the inner office. how long did she remain thereT" About. ten minutes. l should say. Not longer than that, certainly" Did you hear any sound of convcr- sation or any unusual noise of any kind 2" "No. sir. It would have been a very unusual noise to be audible. MT. Hol- laday's office has heavy walls and a double door which completely shut oil all sounds from within
 Miss Holladsy then came out?"
 ''Yes, sir And walked past your "Yes. sir; walked past me rapidly.'
 -Did you not think that pecuIiarF" "Why. sir. she didn't often stop to speak to me. I was busy. and SO thought nothing particularly about it." Did you notice her faeel Did she seem perturbedT" "No. sir; didn't notice. I just