time to troubled sleep.

'Shortly afterwards she heard a subdued sound, as if of footsteps
going downstairs. She was not alarmed, as she thought she recognised
Miss Owen's tread. She therefore roused no one, but, inspired by
curiosity, got up herself, put on some things, and crept downstairs.

'All the doors were closed as she passed. She listened outside Miss
Owen's room, but heard nothing. Just then she thought she heard the
front-door pulled gently to. She went cautiously down, and discovered
that all the bolts had been undone, and the door was fastened simply
by the latch.

'Three persons carried a latchkey--Miss Lewis, the butler, and Miss
Owen. One of the three had, therefore, gone out. Having ascertained
this, she retired to her room.'

('Now we're coming to something like evidence,' remarked Mr. Prescott,
as he made copious interlineations with a blue pencil. 'That's the
worst of Pollard; he always will write in this florid style. His
brother's speeches are just the same.')

'She did not go to sleep, however. She lay awake listening for some
time, and then she heard footsteps ascending and going into one of the
bedrooms below. Her room was immediately above that of deceased.

'In about ten minutes more, to employ the witness's own expression,
the footsteps came out again and descended to the hall for the second
time. The parlourmaid now awaked the housemaid, Lucy, who slept in the
room with her, and they both sat up and listened.

'The footsteps sounded heavier this time; the witnesses describe them
as "thumpy." Counsel will see that this would be the natural result of
someone carrying a heavy load.

'This time neither of the servants made any attempt to follow or
observe what was taking place. They say they heard the hall door
softly pulled to, but nothing more.

'Shortly afterwards they both fell asleep.

'The same night, about 12 o'clock, a fisherman of the place, named
Evan Thomas, was coming up from the beach. He had been doing some
night fishing.

'As he got on to the esplanade he observed the figure of a woman
walking swiftly away from him in the direction of Newton Bay. He knows
prisoner well, and believes it was she he saw.

'There is no further evidence as to what occurred that night.

'In the morning the housemaid Lucy was the first down, as was usually
the case. _She found the hall door locked and bolted, as the butler
left it at half-past ten the night before._

'One of the househo