Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-21

tcrest than she had so far shown. voun-
| teered remark
"Of course that isn't Florence's bag.
she said: IF Florence had gone TO hcr
! Incle's office last evening. she would
have been wearing her dinner gown ana
certainly woudsnot carry street paS.
"Is this street bas?" inquired MI.
| Monroe. looking with a masculine heip-
/ lessness at the gilt bauble.
! "Of course it is" said Mrs. Pierce. VINO
now that she had found her voice seemed
| anxious to talk. Nobody ever carries
bag like that in the house-in the even
! ing
| But" began Parmalee, such a thinG
might have occurred. if Miss Lloyd had
had occasion to go to her uncle once
! with. we will say. papers or notes
| Personally l thought this an absurd
] suggestion. but Mr.. Monroe seemed 10
take it seriously.
| THAT might be- he said. ana couio
see that momentarily the suspicious
against Florence Lloyd were growing In
| force and were taking definite shape
AS I noted the expressions on the Vari-
| Gus faces. l observed that only Mr.
Philip Crawford and the jurors Hamilton
and Porter seemed entirely In sympathy
with the girl. The coroner, Parmalee
and even the lawyer Randolph. seemed
to be willing. almost eager Tor her TO IN
| eliminate herself.
| Gregory Hall, who should have been
! the most sympathetic of all, seemed the
most coldly indifferent. and as for Mrs.
Pierce. her actions were so cratic and
uncertain no one could tell what she
| thought.
You are quite positive it is not your
baS?" repeated the coroner once more
| I'm positive it is not mine returned
! Miss Lloyd, without undue emphasis, but
with an air of dismssing the subject.
lis Your maid present." asked the coro-
ner. Let her be summoned.
Elsa came forward. the pretty. timid
off X-h |
had already noticed.
Have YOU ever seen this bag before?'
asked the coroner, holding it up before
YES. sir"
"When?"
This morning. sir Lambert showed it
to me. sir. He said he found it in Mr..
Crawford's office.
pitiably She seemed afraid of the coro-
ner, of Lambert. of Miss Lloyd and OF the
jury. 1t might have been merely the UNI
! reasonable fear of an ignorant mind. but
it had the appearance of some more defl-
mite apprehension.
Especially did she seem afraid of the
man Louis. Though perhaps the dis
tressed glances she cast at him were not
so much those OF fear as of anxiety.
The coroner spoke kindly to her, and
| really seemed to- take more notice of her
| embarrassment and make more effort TO
put her at her ease than he had done
with Miss Lloyd.
rs it Miss Lloyd's bag?'
! Il don't think SO. SIR
Don't you know? AS her personal
maid. You must be acquainted with her
belongings
Yes, sir. No. it isn't hers. sir
But as this statement was made after
, a swift but noticeable glance of inquiry
at her mistress, slight distrust of Elsa
formed in my own mind, and probably in
the minds of others.
she has one like this. has she not?'
''She-she did have, sir; but she-she
gave it to me-.
"Yes? Then go and get it and let US
see it
Il haven't it now, sir. II gave it
away
'Oh. you gave it away. To whom? Can
you get it back?'
NO, sir: l gave it to my cousin, who
sailed for Germany last week.
Miss Lloyd looked up in surprise, and
! that look of surprise told against her.
could see Parmaee's eyes CLEAN as he
| concluded in his own mind that the bag
story was all false. was made up be-
tween mistress and maid, and that the
! part about the departing cousin was an
artistic touch added by Elsa.
The coroner. too, seemed inclined to dis
believe the present witness. and he sat
thOughtfully swapping the catch of the
bag
He turned again to Miss Lloyd. "Hav-
ing given away your own bag he said.
| suavely. you have perhaps provided
j yourself with another, have. you not?'
why, no. 1 haven't, said Florence
Lloyd. IL have been intending to do So
and shall get one shortly, but L haven't
| yet selected it,
"And in the meantime You have been
getting along without any?''
"a gold-mesh bag is not an indis-
pensable article: l have several bags of
other styles and I'm in no especial haste
TO purchase new one.
| Miss Lloyds manner had taken on sew
| eral degrees of hauteur and her voice was
| incisive in its tone. Clearly she resented
| this discussion of her perOnal belongings,
and as she entirely repudiated the own
| ership of the bag in the coroner's pos
session. she was annoyed at his ques-
| tons.
Mr.. Monroe looked at her steadily.
If this is not your bag, Miss Lloyd"
he said, with some asperity, 'how did it
get on Mr.. Crawford's desk late last
night? The butler has assured me 1t was
not there when he looked in at a little
after 10 o'clock. Yet this morning it lay
there. in plain sight on the desk. Whose
bag is it?''
~ have not the slightest idea" said
Miss Lloyd, firmly; but / repeat it is not
mine"
Easy enough to see the trend of Mon
roe'S questions said Parmalee, in my
ear. ''If he can prove this bag to be Miss
Lloyd's. it shows that she was in the
Office after 10 o'clock last night, and this
she has denied.
Don't you believe herr" said I.
'Indeed L don't. OF course she was
there. and of course it's her bag. She
put that pretty maid OF hers up to deny
1t, but any one could see the maid was
lying also"
"Oh. come now, Parmalee. that's too
badi You've no right to say such things'
| "Oh, pshaw, YOU think the same your
self, only you think it isn't chivalrous to
put 1t into words
OF course. what annoyed me in Parma
. lees speech was its inherent truth. /
didn't believe Florence Lloyd. Much as
| I wanted to- couldn't: for the appear-