Kitsong broke in, "I don't believe all this--"

"When was that?"

"Night before last, at about this time or a little earlier."

"Was he on foot?"

"No; he came on horseback."

"Did he ride away on horseback?"

"Yes, though he could scarcely mount. I was surprised to see how well he
was able to manage his horse."

"Did you tell your father of this?"

"No."

"Why not?"

She hesitated. "He would have been very--very much disturbed."

"You mean he would have been angry?"

"Yes."

The coroner suddenly turned the current of his inquiry. "Do you always
wear shoes such as you now have on?"

Every eye in the room was directed toward her feet, which were shod in
broad-toed, low-heeled shoes.

She was visibly embarrassed, but she answered, composedly: "I do--yes,
sir. In fact, I go barefoot a great deal while working in the garden.
The doctor ordered it, and, besides, the ordinary high-heeled shoes seem
foolish up here in the mountains."

"Will you be kind enough to remove your shoe? I would like to take some
measurements from it."

She flushed slightly, but bent quickly, untied the laces, and removed
her right shoe.

The coroner took it. "Please remain where you are, Miss McLaren." Then
to the jury, who appreciated fully the importance of the moment, "We
will now compare this shoe with the footprints."

"Don't be disturbed, miss," whispered the ranger. "I know the size and
shape of those footprints."

The sheriff cleared the way to the porch, where the little patch of
flour had been preserved by ropes stretched from post to post, and the
outside crowd, pressing closer, watched breathlessly while the jury bent
together and compared the shoes and the marks.

It required but a few moments' examination to demonstrate that the soles
of the accused woman's shoes were larger and broader and entirely
different in every way.

"She may have worn another shoe," Kitsong put in.

"Of course! We'll find that out," retorted the coroner.

As they returned to the room Hanscom said to the witness: "Now be very
careful what you reply. Take plenty of time before you answer. If you
are in doubt, say nothing."

In the sympathy of his glance her haughty pose relaxed and her eyes
softened. "You are very kind," she said.

"I don't know a thing about law," he added, apologetically, "but I may
be able to help you."

The coroner now told the jury that Mr. Hanscom, as representing the
witness at the hearing, would be