ows
into the river a mile and a half below."

"Is the place surrounded by a fence?"

"On two sides only. In the front there is a hedge and in the rear the
little stream forms the boundary of the property."

"I understand."

"At the time of the tragedy there were four persons in the house, so
far as known--Mr. and Mrs. Langmore, Mr. Langmore's daughter, Margaret,
and a servant, Mary Billings."

"Wait a moment. You said Mr. Langmore's daughter. Was she not Mrs.
Langmore's daughter also?"

"No. You see Mr. Langmore was a widower when he married the present
Mrs. Langmore, who was a widow. There are two sets of children."

"I understand. When did the tragedy occur?"

"At some time between eleven and twelve in the morning. During that
time Margaret Langmore was in her room writing several letters, and was
practicing on the piano in the parlor. The house is a large one, with
sixteen rooms and several hallways and stairs."

"Where was the servant?"

"In the kitchen and out to the barn. There are two other girls, but
one is in the hospital sick and the other was to town on an errand."

"Where were Mr. and Mrs. Langmore?"

"The daughter thought her stepmother had gone out to visit a neighbor,
as she had said something about doing so earlier in the morning. Mr.
Langmore had gone to the bank in town at nine o'clock and Margaret saw
him come home about half-past ten or eleven."

"What was she doing at the time?"

"Practicing on the piano. She heard her father go directly to his
library, which is situated across the hallway from the parlor. She
heard the door shut, and then went on with her practicing."

"Did she hear anything in the library?"

"She thinks she heard something, but is not sure. She was practicing a
very difficult piece by Wagner--"

"And it was loud enough to drown out every other sound."

"That's it. When the clock struck twelve she stopped practicing to
learn if lunch was ready. She also wanted to speak to her father, and
so crossed the hallway and opened the library door." The young man's
voice began to tremble a little. "She found her father stretched
lifeless in an armchair."

"How had he been killed?"

"That is a part of the mystery. He was either choked or smothered to
death, or else he was poisoned. The doctors don't seem to be able to
get at the bottom of it."

For the first time since Raymond Case had begun his recital Adam Adams
began to show an interest.

"I