nyhow, that she was bluffing. But
I didn't know her! When nothing would change me, she showed a tiny phial
she had in her hand, and said she'd drink the stuff in it before I could
touch her. It was prussic acid, she told me--and already she'd poured
enough to kill ten men into a tumbler she'd stolen from my cabin on
purpose. She'd mixed the poison with brandy from the storeroom. Even if
I threw the tumbler through the porthole, mine would be missing. There's
one to match each room, you see. A small detail, but important.

"'Now will you promise?' she repeated. I couldn't--for I should not have
kept my word. She looked at me a second. I saw in her eyes that she was
going to do the thing, and I jumped at her--but I was too late. She
nearly drained the phial. And she'd hardly flung it away before she was
dead--with an awful, twisted face--and that cry. If I hadn't caught her,
she'd have fallen with a crash. This is the end of things for me."

"Oh, no--don't say that!" I begged.

"What else is there to say? There she lies, dead in my cabin. There's
prussic acid on the floor--and the phial broken. The room reeks of
bitter almonds. No one but you will believe I didn't kill her--perhaps
not even Shelagh. Just because the woman made my past life horrible--and
I had a chance of happiness--the temptation would be irresistible."

"Let me think. Do let me think!" I persisted. "Surely there's a way out
of the trap."

"I don't _see_ one," said Roger. "Throwing a body overboard is the
obvious thing. But it would be worse than----"

"Wait!" I cut him short. "I've thought of another thing--_not_ obvious.
But it's hard to do--and hateful. The only help I could lend you is--a
hint. The rest would depend on yourself. If you were strong
enough--brave enough--it might give you Shelagh."

"I'm strong enough for anything with the remotest hope of Shelagh,
and--I trust--brave enough, too. Tell me your plan."

I had to draw a long breath before I could answer. I needed air! "You're
right." I said. "To give the body to the sea would make things worse.
You couldn't be sure it would not be found, and the woman traced by the
police. If they discovered who she was--that she'd been your wife--you
would be suspected even if nothing were proved through those who saw a
veiled woman come on board."

"That's what I meant. Yet you must see that even with your testimony, my
innocence can't be proved if the story of this night has to be told."

"I