She was dignified of appearance and calm of speech. She said she was the fiancée of Mr. Tracy and they had expected to be married in the fall. She said they occasionally had little differences, but always made them up and were really very fond of one another. Her statements were all rational and straightforward. She spoke as might a cultured and mature woman of her accepted suitor. Asked as to the terms of Mr. Tracy’s will, she replied that so far as she knew his fortune was left to his niece, Miss Remsen. But, she added, he had told her that after they were married, he would change his will and make suitable arrangements for his wife. She said she had given the matter no thought, knowing that Mr. Tracy would do what was right. This seemed to remove from her any possible suspicion that might have formed in the minds of the jury. Surely, Mrs. Dallas had no reason to kill the man she loved and expected to marry. No reference was made to the disagreement the engaged pair had had, and which had resulted in Mr. Tracy’s absence from the Moores’ dinner party. I rejoiced at this, for I dreaded to have Alma’s name brought in at all. But as I thought it over, I became a little alarmed. Had Hart omitted the point in order to tax Alma herself with it later? To ask her what was the tale her uncle desired to tell Mrs. Dallas? To see if it could be some disgraceful story that might militate against the girl herself? The two secretaries followed Mrs. Dallas. Everett, quiet-mannered and polite, as always, answered questions readily enough, but offered no additional information. He repeated his story of the evening, how he had been with Mr. Tracy until about ten o’clock, and then had gone to his room and to bed. “You heard no unusual sounds during the night?” “No,” said Everett, but it seemed to me he had hesitated. Hart must have noticed this, too, for he said, “Are you quite sure? No sounds inside the house or out?” Apparently Charlie Everett was a truthful man. But it was equally evident he did not want to testify further. “I must press you for an answer, Mr. Everett,” the Coroner prodded him. “Well, to be strictly accurate, I may say that I thought I heard the sound of a boat on the lake some time after midnight.” “What sort of boat?” “I don’t know. And it may not have been any. I was asleep, and I partially awaked and seemed to hear a slight sound as of paddles. But it may well be that I dreamed it, for I heard no further sounds.” “Do you know the time this happened?” “No, except that I seemed to have been asleep some hours. I thought nothing of it, and directly went to sleep again.” “You didn’t look out of the window?” “No, I didn’t rise from my bed.” I thanked my lucky stars that he hadn’t! That he hadn’t seen Alma Remsen, in her canoe, some time after midnight!