"And acquitted?" she exclaimed, clasping her hands, and with such an appealing look in her eyes--as though I were the judge who was trying the man--that I held my breath and made no reply. The suspicion that flashed upon me--that she had come to ask my assistance in this very murder--staggered me; but I steadied myself, and inquired if it really was the case. "Yes," she answered. "You believe him guilty?" "From what is stated here I can come to no other conclusion." At this she fairly broke down, and I sat staring open-mouthed at her tears and misery. Dropping her veil over her face she tottered to the door, and was about to leave when I stopped her. "No, Miss Cameron," I said; "you must not go away like that. You have come to ask my assistance, and I will give it you. There may be some mystery here which needs unraveling. I place myself honestly and unreservedly at your service. But you must be absolutely frank with me; to enable me to serve you nothing must be concealed--understand, nothing." Let me confess, though the stronger reason for this offer was to be found in the interest I took in Miss Cameron, in my sympathy for her, that I was urged thereto by a less powerful motive. My professional pride was aroused by the suggestion of a mystery which I might be the means of bringing to light. To a man like myself, nothing more attractive could present itself. She turned to me with a gasp of thankfulness. "I will conceal nothing," she said. "You will condemn me, perhaps, but I must not allow that to stand in the way. There is no other man I can trust, there is no other man that can serve me, there is no other man who can prove John Fordham to be innocent of the crime of which he accuses himself." "You believe him to be innocent." "To believe him otherwise would be to lose my faith in the goodness of God. This will explain all. When you have read it you will know what John Fordham is to me, and whether there is any chance of proving his innocence. You have used the word 'mystery.' There is a mystery here which only a man in your profession can solve, which only a true friend would take the trouble to solve. How thankful, how thankful I am that I came to you!"