her
that Hill had put up a job for him at Riversbrook. Birchill showed her
the plan of Riversbrook that Hill had made, and asked her if it was
correct as far as she knew. Yes, she was sure she would know the plan
again if she saw it.

The judge's Associate handed it to Mr. Holymead, who passed it to
the witness.

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied emphatically, almost without inspecting it.

"I want you to look at it closely," said Counsel. "When Birchill showed
you the plan immediately after Hill's departure, what impression did you
get regarding it?"

She looked at him blankly.

"I don't understand you," she said.

"You can tell the difference between ink that has been newly used and ink
that has been on the paper some days. Was the ink fresh?"

"No, it was old ink," she said.

"How do you know that?"

"Because ink doesn't go black till a long while after it is written. At
least, the letters _I_ write don't." She shot a veiled coquettish glance
at the big K.C. from under her long eyelashes.

The K.C. returned the glance with a genial smile.

"What do you write your letters on, Miss Fanning?"

She almost giggled at the question.

"I use a writing tablet," she replied.

"Ruled or unruled?"

"Ruled. I couldn't write straight if there weren't lines." She
smiled again.

"And what colour do you affect--grey, rose-pink or white paper?"

"Always white."

"Is that all the paper you have at your flat for writing purposes?"

"Yes."

"Then what did Birchill write on when he wanted to write a letter?"

"He used mine."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes. When he wanted to write a letter he used to ask me for my tablet
and an envelope. And generally he used to borrow a stamp as well." She
pouted slightly, with another coquettish glance.

"Look at that plan again," said the K.C. "Have you ever had paper like it
at your flat?"

She shook her head.

"Never."

"Have you ever seen paper of that kind in Birchill's possession before he
showed you the plan?"

"Never."

"When he showed you the plan had the paper been folded?"

"Yes."

The K.C. took the witness, now very much at her ease, to the night of the
murder. She denied strenuously that Hill tried to dissuade Birchill from
carrying out the burglary because Sir Horace Fewbanks had returned
unexpectedly from Scotland. It was Birchill who suggested postponing the
burglary until Sir Horace left, but Hill urged that the original plan
shoul