hot him. He has
signed a confession which will be presented to the magistrate this
morning."

Annie looked staggered for a moment, but her faith in her husband was
unshakable. Almost hysterically she cried:

"I don't believe it. I don't believe it. You may have tortured him into
signing something. Everybody knows your methods, Captain Clinton. But
thank God there is a law in the United States which protects the
innocent as well as punishes the guilty. I shall get the most able
lawyers to defend him even if I have to sell myself into slavery for the
rest of my life."

"Bravo, little woman!" said the captain mockingly. "That's the way to
talk. I like your spunk, but before you go I'd like to ask you a few
questions. Sit down."

He waved her to a chair and he sat opposite her.

"Now, Mrs. Jeffries," he began encouragingly, "tell me--did you ever
hear your husband threaten Howard Underwood?"

By this time Annie had recovered her self-possession. She knew that the
best way to help Howard was to keep cool and to say nothing which was
likely to injure his cause. Boldly, therefore, she answered:

"You've no right to ask me that question."

The captain shifted uneasily in his seat. He knew she was within her
legal rights. He couldn't bully her into saying anything that would
incriminate her husband.

"I merely thought you would like to assist the authorities, to----" he
stammered awkwardly.

"To convict my husband," she said calmly. "Thank you, I understand my
position."

"You can't do him very much harm, you know," said the captain with
affected jocularity. "He has confessed to the shooting."

"I don't believe it," she said emphatically.

Trying a different tack, he asked carelessly:

"Did you know Mr. Underwood?"

She hesitated before replying, then indifferently she said:

"Yes, I knew him at one time. He introduced me to my husband."

"Where was that?"

"In New Haven, Conn."

"Up at the college, eh? How long have you known Mr. Underwood?"

Annie looked at her Inquisitor and said nothing. She wondered what he
was driving at, what importance the question had to the case. Finally
she said:

"I met him once or twice up at New Haven, but I've never seen him since
my marriage to Mr. Jeffries. My husband and he were not very good
friends. That is----"

She stopped, realizing that she had made a mistake. How foolish she had
been! The police, of course, were anxious to show that there was ill
feeling be