Omaha daily bee., 1919-07-13
WOMAN IN BLACK
By EDMUND CLERlHEW BENTLEY
CHAPTER Xxx.
The INQUEST.
1919. by the Century company.

The coroner, who fully realized
that for that one day Of his lite as
a provincial solicitor he was living
in the gaze of the world. had resolv-
ed to be worthy of the fleeting emf
nence. He was large man of Jov-
ial temper, with strong interest in
the dramatic aspects OF his work,
and the news of Manderson's mys-
terious death within his jurisdiction
had made him the happiest coroner
in England. A respectable capacity
for marshaling facts was fortified
in him by a copiousness of impress
sive language that made juries as
clay in his hands and sometimes
disguised a doubtfuly Interpretation
of the rules of evidence. 4
The court was held in long I'M
furnished room lately built onto the
hotel, and intended to serve as a
ball room or concert hall. A regi-
ment of reporters was entrenched
in the front seats, and those who
were to be called on to give evidence
occupied chairs to one side of the
table behind which the coroner sat,
while the jury, in double row, with
plastered hair and spurious ease
of manner, thanked him on the other
side. An undistinguished public
filled the rest of the space, and list
ened, in an awed silence, to the
opening solemnities. The newspaper
men, we'll used to these, muttered
among themselves. Those of them
who knew Trent by sight, assured
the rest that he was not in the
court.
The identity of the dead man was
proved by his wife, the first witness
called, from whom the coroner, after
some inquiry into the health and cir
cumstances of the deceased, proceed
ed to draw an account of the last
occasion on which she had seen her
husband alive, Mrs. Henderson was
taken through her evidence by the
coroner with the sympathy which
every man felt for that dark figure
of grief. She lifted her thick veil
before beginning to speak, and the
extreme paleness and unbroken COM
posture of the lady produced sing
ular impression. This was not an
impression of hardness. Interesting
femininity was the first thing to be
felt in her presence. She was not
even enigmatic. 1t was only clear
that the force of powerful char
acter was at work to master the
emotions of her situation. Once
-or twice as she spoke she touched
her eyes with her handkerchief, but
her voice was low and clear to the
end.
Her husband, she said, had come
up to his bedroom about his usual
hour for retiring on the Sunday
night. His room was really dress
ing room attached to her bed room,
communicating with it by a door
which was usually kept open during
the night. Both dressing room and
bedroom were entered by other
doors giving on the passage. Her
husband had always had prefer
ence for the greatest simplicity in
his bedroom arrangements, and
liked to sleep in small room. She
had not been awake when he came
up, but had been half-aroused, as
usually happened, when the light
was switched on in her husbands
room. She had spoken to him. She
had no clear recollection of what
she has said. as she had been very
drowsy at the time; but she had
remembered that he had been out
for a moonlight run in the car, and
she believed she had asked whether
he had had a good run, and what
time it was. She had asked what
the time was because she felt as
if she had only been a very short
time asleep, and she had expected
her husband to be out very late. In
answer to her question he had told
her it was half-past II, and had
gone on to say that he had changed
his mind about going for a run.
Did he say WHY" the coroner
asked.
yes" replied the lady, "he did