“Better to have told her the hard truth than that this should have happened,” said the doctor. “But who would have dreamed of her returning to Selwyn Heights, the place of all others we supposed she would wish to avoid?” wept Minnie Fielding. When Miss Drusilla told her the truth----that Nina had ventured home to procure money to give to her kind friends, they were full of remorse and despair. They understood all, then. They knew that their innocent, kindly meant words had been overheard by the invalid girl. Those words had driven her away, hurried her to her wretched fate. Gentle Mrs. Fielding wept and sobbed inconsolably. “I will devote my life to her service,” said the doctor, soothing his sobbing wife. “You will need a man to help you and advise you in your dreadful position, Miss Strangemore. Pray command me in any and every way.” “I don’t think much of men usually,” the spinster replied, candidly. “It was a man that brought all this trouble upon Nina, and I like the sex that much less for his fault. But I believe that you are as good a man as there is, Doctor Fielding, and since I must have a man’s help, I will accept your offer.” The doctor who had understood from his wife some of Miss Strangemore’s peculiarities, only smiled at this characteristic acceptance of his offer. “I thank you for your kindly spoken compliment, and will endeavor to deserve it,” he said. “And now we must set straight to work in behalf of our poor young friend. I suppose the first thing will be to procure a good lawyer.” “The best that can be had,” assented Miss Drusilla. “She has plenty of money, and you may spend it like water to secure her acquittal.” CHAPTER XXXV. NINA’S DESPAIR. Doctor Fielding secured one of the ablest lawyers in the country as Nina’s counsel. He carefully collected all the evidence for and against her. He weighed it carefully, and the result did not please him. “The case looks very unfavorable to my client,” he admitted frankly to the doctor. “I can see but one chance for her acquittal in the awful array of damning evidence against her.” “And that chance?” “Is the chance of proving an _alibi_ at the hour of the murder,” answered Mr. Davenport, the lawyer, gravely and decidedly. “I fear that it will be impossible to do that,” Doctor Fielding answered with a heavy sigh, and from that moment hope began to fail in his breast. “You told me that you saved her from attempted suicide that night. Surely you must have some idea of the time when it occurred,” said Mr. Davenport. “It must have been near midnight, although I cannot tell exactly. But I remember that every person on the yacht had retired hours before and left me alone upon the deck, with my solitary cigar.” “You say that Captain Travers assisted you in the rescue of the young lady that night. Might he not remember the exact hour at which the attempted suicide occurred?” “Captain Travers is dead,” replied the doctor, despondently.