Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1919-02-13
Her face showed not so much con-

AASi AoCC oAONCl AOI SO uiuCl COIl-
sternation OF dismay as a cold,
calculating expression, as if de-
batting just what explanation she
should offer.
AT last she spoke. 81 may as
we'll own up" she said, and
laughed %nervously. II was on the
veranda, as the vigilant butler
noticed. 1 did step inside the hall,
as ! had so often heard of the rare
tapestries and paintings, and, in
my ennui, thought it no harm to
take a peep. The great door was
ajar, and was a little chilled by
my walk across the lawns. | said
to myself: 'lf | meet any one l
will merely beg a few moments
grace and then run away. Yes,
1 did take a step or two up the
stair, to look at Il picture on the
landing. 1t was all innocent
enough, perhaps not in the best of
taste, but ] vas lonely, and the
light and warmth lured me. In a
moment l had slipped out and run
away home, laughing over my es
capade like a foolish child"
Her light laugh rippled out as
she concluded her story. She looked
ingenious and truthful, but the
coroner distrusted feminine fairy
tales, and this was a little too fan
J ciful to be true.
Moreover, Mrs. rockingham was
looking at him sharply from the
corner of her eye. Clearly, she was
watching him to see how he took it.
He didn't take it very we'll. The
acknowledged presence of an out
slider in the house, for a not very
plausible reason, was Illuminating
in his estimation. She had been on
the stairway. Had she been to Miss
Darlington S room9 True, she said
she went only to the landing-but
pshaw, women, had no regard for
the truth! Had she and Count
Charlier planned between them to
bah, why did this woman want
to kill her neighbor9 Even if she
were jealous of the Counts attcn-
ton, would she go so far as
crime? No, of course not! He
must question her further. AID,
yet, what good would that do if
she would not tell the TRUTH
Well, she was in the house at
II 80, that much was certain, for
Stephen lllsley's story and her
own and also the buffers testi-
mony all conceded as to that.
And then Detective Hardy, who
had just returned from a short
errand, made a startling state
ment. He declared that the glove
which had been found clasped
tightly in the dead fingers of the
late Miss Darlington did belong
to Count Henri Charlier.
Mr.. Hardy had ben searching
the Counts wardrobe; and,
though he did not find the mate
to that particular glove, he found
many others, some worn and some
entirely unused, but all of the
same size and made by the same
firm as the one now in the coro-
ner's possession!
Thus cornered Count Charlier
reluctantly admitted that it was
his glove.
81 denied it," he thus excused
himself, "because l have no idea
how it came into Miss Caring
ton s possession, and / did not wish
to implicate her in an affair with
my unworthy self"
"H'm," thought Gray Havi-
land, fixing his attention on the
Count and on the clustered Mrs.
rockingham "a precious pair of
adventurers! / expect Scofield
is right, we won't need an expert
detective"
There was more Of the inquest.
But its continuance brought out
no developments not already here
transcribed. There was much
cross questioning and probing
! there was much rather futile eff
fort to make all the strange de-
: tails fit any one theory; there was
variance Of opinion; and there
was more or less discussion.
! But, as q final result, the coro-
,,ner's jury brought in a verdict