FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102  
103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   >>   >|  
nam." "I have no more to say; my sentence was not worth completing." The murmur which rose about him seemed to show dissatisfaction; but he remained imperturbable, or rather like a man who did not hear. I began to feel a most painful interest in the inquiry, and dreaded, while I anxiously anticipated, his further examination. "You lost the keys; may I ask when and where?" "That I do not know; they were missing when I searched for them; missing from my pocket, I mean." "Ah! and when did you search for them?" "The next day--after I had heard--of--of what had taken place in my father's house." The hesitations were those of a man weighing his reply. They told on the jury, as all such hesitations do; and made the Coroner lose an atom of the respect he had hitherto shown this easy-going witness. "And you do not know what became of them?" "No." "Or into whose hands they fell?" "No, but probably into the hands of the wretch----" To the astonishment of everybody he was on the verge of vehemence; but becoming sensible of it, he controlled himself with a suddenness that was almost shocking. "Find the murderer of this poor girl," said he, with a quiet air that was more thrilling than any display of passion, "and ask _him_ where he got the keys with which he opened the door of my father's house at midnight." Was this a challenge, or just the natural outburst of an innocent man. Neither the jury nor the Coroner seemed to know, the former looking startled and the latter nonplussed. But Mr. Gryce, who had moved now into view, smoothed the head of his cane with quite a loving touch, and did not seem at this moment to feel its inequalities objectionable. "We will certainly try to follow your advice," the Coroner assured him. "Meanwhile we must ask how many rings your wife is in the habit of wearing?" "Five. Two on the left hand and three on the right." "Do you know these rings?" "I do." "Better than you know her hands?" "As well, sir." "Were they on her hands when you parted from her in Haddam?" "They were." "Did she always wear them?" "Almost always. Indeed I do not ever remember seeing her take off more than one of them." "Which one?" "The ruby with the diamond setting." "Had the dead girl any rings on when you saw her?" "No, sir." "Did you look to see?" "I think I did in the first shock of the discovery." "And you saw none?" "No, sir." "And from this you
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102  
103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Coroner

 

missing

 

father

 
hesitations
 
follow
 

objectionable

 
inequalities
 

startled

 

Neither

 

innocent


challenge
 

natural

 

outburst

 

nonplussed

 

loving

 
smoothed
 

moment

 

remember

 

Almost

 
Indeed

diamond

 
discovery
 

setting

 

Haddam

 

parted

 

wearing

 

assured

 
Meanwhile
 

Better

 

midnight


advice

 

astonishment

 

searched

 

examination

 

anxiously

 

anticipated

 

pocket

 

search

 

dreaded

 

inquiry


completing

 

murmur

 

sentence

 

dissatisfaction

 

painful

 

interest

 
remained
 

imperturbable

 

weighing

 

suddenness