the iron bed a waiter covered with a snowy napkin. At the
sound, Beryl turned, and her arms fell to her side, but she shrank back
against the wall, as if solitude were her only solace, and human
intrusion an added torture.

Mrs. Singleton took both hands, and held them firmly:

"Do you believe it right to commit suicide?"

"I believe in everything but human justice, and Divine mercy."

"Your conscience tells you that--"

"Am I allowed a conscience? What ghastly mockery! Thieves and murderers
are not fit tenements for conscience, and I--I--am accused of stealing,
and of bloodshed. Justice! What a horrible sham! We--her victims--who
adored the beneficent and incorruptible attribute of God Himself--we
are undeceived, when Justice--the harpy--tears our hearts out with her
hideous, foul, defiling claws."

She spoke through set teeth, and a spasm of shuddering shook her from
head to feet.

"Listen to me. Suspicion is one thing, proof something very different.
You are accused, but not convicted, and--"

"I shall be. Justice must be appeased, and I am the most convenient and
available victim. An awful crime has been committed, and outraged law,
screaming for vengeance, pounces like a hungry hawk on an innocent and
unsuspecting prey. Does she spare the victim because it quivers, and
dies hard?"

"Hush! You must not despair. I believe in your innocence; I believe
every word you uttered that day was true, and I believe that our
merciful God will protect you. Put yourself in His hands, and His mercy
will save, for 'it endureth forever.'"

"I don't ask mercy! I claim justice--from God and man. The wicked
grovel, and beg for mercy; but innocence lays hold upon the very throne
of God, and clutches His sword, and demands justice!"

"I understand how you feel, and I do not wonder; but for your own sake,
in order to keep your mind clear and strong for your vindication, you
certainly ought to take care of your health. Starvation is the surest
leech for depleting soul and body. Do you want to die here in prison,
leaving your name tarnished, and smirched with suspicion of crime, when
you can live to proclaim your innocence to the world? Remember that
even if you care nothing for your life, you owe something to your
mother. You have two chances yet; the Grand Jury may not find a true
bill--"

"Yes, that tiger-eyed lawyer will see that they do. He knows that the
law is a cunning net for the feet of the innocent and the unwary.