seemed
thoroughly alarmed, and ran in after him, the three women coming next.

'As he was about to take hold of the handle of the door opening into
Miss Lewis's room, he suddenly beheld a sight that made him reel back.
This was a smear of blood on the china handle. The witness Rebecca
caught sight of it at the same time, and uttered a loud scream.

'No one noticed the demeanour of the prisoner at the moment of this
discovery. But when they had recovered sufficiently to take notice,
she was leaning against a chest of drawers, deathly pale.'

('Confound the man!' exclaimed the reader, as he came to this
sentence. 'How he does go on against her! It's enough to make me think
her innocent. Poor little Eleanor! It's five years since I saw her.
She was a pretty little thing of fifteen then. I wonder what sort of
woman she has turned out. Well, well, I must stick to business.')

'Simons quickly recovered his presence of mind. Taking hold of the
handle so as to avoid touching the smear, he burst open the door, and
rushed in towards the bed.

'The bed was empty.

'It seemed to have been slept in the night before, and the clothes
were not much disarranged; but on the lower sheet, close to the
bolster, was a large stain of blood.

'The stain was about the size of a cheese-plate, dark in the centre,
and fainter round the edge. There was no other trace of violence.

'The room was then searched. All present took part in the search
except prisoner, who sat in a chair looking on.

'Deceased's clothes, worn by her the day before, were found in their
proper places, thus negativing the idea that she could have gone away
herself. Her nightdress, on the other hand, was missing. This would
point to the prisoner's having killed her in her sleep and disposed of
the body as it was.

'No further trace of violence was discovered in the room. The butler
then got them all out, and locked both doors on the outside. He then
went for the police.

'This was about half-past nine. On his way to the police-station he
met Mr. Lewis, deceased's nephew. He stopped him and related the
circumstances.

'Mr. Lewis was greatly upset. As soon as he was able to speak he
pointed out that the only possible author of the crime was Miss Owen.
He turned and accompanied Simons to the police-station.

'At the police-station they found Sergeant James Evans. To him Simons
detailed the incidents already described. Mr. Lewis then stepped
forward and said:

'