Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-24
WOMAN IN BLACK
Bv EDMUND CLERIHEW BENTLEY
right, 1919. by the Century Company.

y
explained your silence to myself
by saying that you could not bring
yourself to do thing that would
put a rope round a mans neck,
whatever he might have done. | can
quite understand that feeling. Was
that what it was? Another posi-
bility | thought of was that you
knew of something that was by way
of justifying or excusing Marlowe's
act. Or thought you might have
simple horror, quite apart from
humanitarian scruples, of appearing
publicly in connection with a murder
trial. Many important witnesses in
such cases have to be practically
forced into giving their evidence.
They feel there is defilement even
in the shadow of the scaffold."
Mrs. Henderson tapped her lips
with the envelop without quite con-
cealing a smile. you didn't think
of another possibility, l suppose, Mr..
Trent" she said.
No" He looked puzzled.
Il mean the possibility of your
having been wrong about Mr.. Mar
lowe as we'll as about me- No, no;
you needn't tell me that the chain
of evidence is complete. l know
it is. But evidence of what? OF
Mr.. Marlowe having impersonated
my husband that night, and having
escaped by way of my window, and
built up an alabi. I have read your
despatch again and again, Mr.. Trent,
and l don't see that those things
can be doubted"
Trent gazed at her with narrowed
eyes. He said nothing to fill the
brief pause that followed. Mrs.
Henderson smoothed her skirt with
preoccupied air, as one collecting
her ideas.
81 did not make any use of the
facts found out by you," she slowly
said at last, because it seemed to
me very likely that they would be
fatal to Mr.. Marlowe."
Il agree with YOU" Trent re-
marked in colorless tone.
and pursued Mrs. Henderson,
looking up at him with mild rea-
sonableness in her eyes, "as l knew
that he was innocent | was not 60
ing to expose him to that risk"
There was another little pause.
Trent rubbed his chin, with an ar
fectation of turning over the idea.
lnwardly he was telling himself,
somewhat feebly, that this was very
right and proper; that it was quite
feminine, and that he liked her to
be feminine. 1t was permitted to
her-nore than permitted-to set
her loyal belief in the character Of
a friend above the clearest demon
stra tions of the intellect. Neverthe-
less, it chafed him. He would have
had her declarat ton of faith little
less positive in form. 1t was too ir-
rational to say she knew" In fact
Che put it to himself bluntly) it was
quite unlike her. If to be unreal
sonable when reason led to the I'M
pleasant was specially feminine
trait, and if Mrs. Henderson had it,
she was accustomed to wrap it up
better than any woman he had
known
"You suggest" he said at length,
That Marlowe constructed an alibi
for himself, by means which only
a desperate man would have at
tempted, to clear himself Of crime
he did not commit. Did he tell you
he was innocent?"
She uttered a little laugh of inn
patience. $50 you think he has been
talking me round! No, that is not
so. | am merely sure he did not
do it. All! | see you think that
absurd. But see how unreasonable
you are, Mr. Trent! Just now you
were explaining to me quite sincere
ly that it was foolishness in you
to have had certain suspicion of
me- Trent started in his chair. She
glanced at him, and went on: Now
| know a great deal more about
Mr. Marlowe than you know about
me even now. | saw him constant
ly for several years. l don't pre-
tend to know all about him; but
do know that he is incapable of a
crime of bloodshed. The idea of
his planning murder is an unthink-
able to me as the idea of your pick
ing a poor woman's pocket, Mr.
Trent. l can imagine you killing a
man, you know if the man
deserved it and had an equal chance
of killing you. l could kill a per-
son myself in some circumstances.
But Mr.. Marlowe was incapable of
doing it. I don't care what the pro-
vocation might be. He had a tenn
per that nothing could shake, and
he looked upon human nature with
a sort of cold magnanimity tina,
would find excuses for absolutely
anything. 1t wasn't a pose; you
could see it was part of him. He
never put it forward. but it was
there always. 1t was quite irritat-
ing at times. He really
loathed and hated physical violence.
He was very strange man in some
wavs, Mr.. Trent. He gave one a
feeling that he might do unexpected
things-do you know that feeling
one has about some people? .
What part he really played in the
events of that night | have never
been able to guess. But nobody
who knew anything about him could
possibly believe in his deliberately
taking mans life" Again the
movement of her head expressed fin
atty, and she leaned back in the
sofa, calmly regarding him.
Continued Tomorrow