ded to take her advice and follow up whatever
communication she had to make to the coroner by a confession of my
own suspicions and what they had led me into. If he laughed--well,
I could stand it. It was not the coroner's laugh, nor even the
major's, that I feared; it was Durbin's.

X

FRANCIS JEFFREY

Jinny had not been gone an hour from the coroner's office when an
opportunity was afforded for me to approach that gentleman myself.

With few apologies and no preamble, I immediately entered upon my
story which I made as concise and as much to the point as possible.
I did not expect praise from him, but I did look for some slight
show of astonishment at the nature of my news. I was therefore
greatly disappointed, when, after a moment's quiet consideration,
he carelessly remarked:

"Very good! very good! The one point you make is excellent and
may prove of use to us. We had reached the same conclusion, but
by another road. You ask, 'Who blew out the candle?' We, 'Who
tied the pistol to Mrs. Jeffrey's arm?' It could not have been
tied by herself. Who was her accessory then? Ah, you didn't think
of that."

I flushed as if a pail of hot water had been dashed suddenly over
me. He was right. The conclusion he spoke of had failed to strike
me. Why? It was a perfectly obvious one, as obvious as that the
candle had been blown out by another breath than hers; yet,
absorbed in my own train of thought, I had completely overlooked
it. The coroner observing my embarrassment, smiled, and my
humiliation was complete or would have been had Durbin been there,
but fortunately he was not.

"I am a fool," I cried. "I thought I had discovered something. I
might have known that there were keener minds than mine in this
office--"

"Easy! easy!" was the good-natured interruption. "You have done
well. If I did not think so, I would not keep you here a minute.
As it is, I am disposed to let you see that in a case like this,
one man must not expect to monopolize all the honors. This matter
of the bow of ribbon would strike any old and experienced official.
I only wonder that we have not seen it openly discussed in the
papers."

Taking a box from his desk, he opened it and held it out toward me.
A coil of white ribbon surmounted by a crisp and dainty bow met my
eyes.

"You recognize it?" he asked.

Indeed I did.

"It was cut from her wrist by my deputy. Miss Tuttle wished him to
untie it, but he pref