"She was afraid that it would get into the papers," said Terry, soothingly. "It would be a terrible scandal to have anything like that get out. The fact that Radnor Gaylord was likely to be hanged for a murder he never committed, was in comparison a minor affair." Polly turned upon him with a flash of gray eyes. "I was going to tell before the trial. I didn't know the inquest made any difference. I would have told the coroner the morning he came to take my testimony, only he brought Jim Mattison with him as a witness, and I couldn't explain before Jim." "That would have been awkward," Terry agreed. "Polly," said I, severely. "This is inexcusable! If you had explained to me in the first place, the jury would never have remanded Radnor for trial." "But I thought you would find the real murderer, and then Radnor would be set free. It would be awful to tell that story before a whole room full of people and have Jim Mattison hear it. I detest Jim Mattison!" "Be careful what you say," said Terry. "You may have to take Jim Mattison after all. Radnor Gaylord will never ask you again." "Then I'll ask him!" said Polly. Terry laughed and rose. "He's in a bad hole, Miss Mathers, but I'm not sure but that I envy him after all." Polly dimpled through her tears; this was the language she understood. "Good by," she said. "You'll remember your promise?" "Never a syllable will I breathe," said Terry, and he put a hand on my shoulder and marched me off. "She's a fascinating young person," he observed, as we turned into the road. "You are not the first to discover that," said I. "I fancy I'm not!" he retorted with a sidewise glance at me. Terry gazed at the landscape a few moments with a pensive light in his eyes, then he threw back his head and laughed. "Thank heaven, women don't go in for crime to any great extent! You're never safe in forming any theory about 'em--their motives and their actions don't match." He paused to light a cigar and as soon as he got it well started took up the conversation again. "It's just as I suspected in regard to Rad, though I will say the papers furnished mighty few clues. It was the coat that put me on the track coupled with his behavior at the hotel. You see his emotions when he came out of that cave were mixed. There was probably a good deal of disappointment and grief down below his anger, but that for the moment was decidedly in the lead. He had been badly treated, and he knew it. What's more, he didn't care who else knew it. He was in a thoroughly vicious mood and ready to wreak his anger on the first thing that came to hand. That happened to be his horse. By the time he got home he had expended the most of his temper and his disappointment had come to the top. You found him wrestling with that. By evening he had brought his philosophy into play, and had probably decided to brace up and try again. And that," he finished, "is the whole story of our young gentleman's erratic behavior."