He turned to leave the room, and Juliette obediently followed. Allowing her to pass before him, he stopped an instant and threw a glance at Ilam. “So they’ve been trying to poison you, Ilam.” “Poison me!” repeated Ilam, plainly at a loss. “Yes,” said Carpentaria with a sneer. “And you never have ham and eggs for breakfast. That’s the reason why that plate is streaked with yellow. You always have milk. Naturally, you eat it with a knife and fork. And you suspected the milk and gave some of it to Neptune, and he fell down dead. He looks dead, doesn’t he?” “I don’t know what you mean,” Ilam said. “You must ask mamma,” replied Carpentaria, departing. He saw now with the utmost clearness that the aged Mrs. Ilam had been indulging him with some impromptu lying, invented, and clumsily invented, to put him off the scent, were it only for a few hours. “She may be clumsy in her lying,” he thought as he descended the stairs in Juliette’s wake, “but she can act, the old woman can!” He remembered that her acting had been perfect, and if Juliette had not happened to disclose the fact of her presence, the lying of Mrs. Ilam, clumsy as it was, might have succeeded. It is so easy to poison a dog, and to arrange the remains of poisoned milk. He was capable of congratulating her on her acting, but she had utterly vanished from the ground-floor. When he had deposited Juliette safely in his study, she began to cry softly. It was impossible for him to maintain his anger against her. “Juliette,” he said, “why do you have secrets from me?” “Oh, Carlos, he wished it to be kept secret. He said he had reasons; and I love him. No one has ever loved me before, and I’m thirty.” “What about my affection?” asked Carpentaria. “Oh, that’s different!” she cried. Then he questioned her about Mrs. Ilam. “I was at the kitchen window, preparing your milk, and the window was open, and Mrs. Ilam came up outside, and told me that Jos was unwell, and wanted to see me.” “Did she touch the milk?” “Touch the milk? No; why should she touch the milk?” “Could she reach to touch the milk, supposing she had wished to?” “I dare say she could. Yes, she could. But why?” “Could you swear absolutely she didn’t?” “I couldn’t swear; but I’m nearly sure. Carlos, what do you mean?” “I’ll show you what I mean!” said Carpentaria. He unlocked the bedroom door and led her to the balcony. CHAPTER X--A Pinch of Snuff