side--nothing but a sheer wall."

"So that anyone entering or leaving the private office must
necessarily pass by your desk?"

"Necessarily; yes, sir."

"Could anyone pass without your seeing him?"

"No, sir; that would be quite impossible."

The coroner leaned back in his chair. There was one point settled.

"Now, Mr. Rogers," he said, "will you kindly tell us, in your own way
and with as much detail as possible, exactly what happened at your
office shortly before five o'clock yesterday afternoon?"

I could see that Rogers was deeply moved. His face was very white, he
moistened his lips nervously from time to time, and his hands grasped
convulsively the arms of his chair. Plainly, the task before him was
far from an agreeable one.

"Well, sir," he began, "we had a very busy day yesterday, and were at
the office considerably later than usual; but by five o'clock we had
closed up work for the day, and all the other clerks, with the
exception of the office-boy, had gone home. I had made some notes from
Mr. Holladay's dictation, and had returned to my desk to arrange them,
when the outer door opened and Mr. Holladay's daughter came in. She
asked me whether her father was engaged, and upon my saying no, opened
the inner door and entered his office. She remained, I should think,
about ten minutes; then she came out again, walked rapidly past
without looking at me, and, I suppose, left the building. I finished
arranging my notes, and then entered Mr. Holladay's office to ask if
he had any further instructions for me, and I found him lying forward
on his desk, with a knife sticking in his neck and the blood spurting
out. I summoned aid, but he died without regaining consciousness--I
should say he was practically dead when I found him."

I felt, rather than heard, the little stir which ran through the room.
There was an indefinable horror in the story and in the conclusion to
which it inevitably led.

"Now, let us go back a moment," said the coroner, as Rogers stopped
and mopped his forehead feverishly. "I want the jury to understand
your story thoroughly. Mr. Holladay had been dictating to you?"

"Yes."

"And was quite well?"

"Yes--as well as usual. He'd been suffering with indigestion for some
time past."

"Still he was able to attend to business?"

"Oh, yes, sir. There was nothing at all serious in his illness."

"You then left his office and returned to your own. How long had you
been there before the