"Where is his home?" "I don't know," she answered, impatiently. "Are you a New Yorker, Mrs. Atkins?" inquired the detective. "No." "Ah, I thought not! And where do you come from?" "Chicago." "Chicago? Indeed! I've been there some myself," Mr. Merritt continued, in a conversational tone. "Nice place. How long is it since you left there?" "Six months," she answered, curtly. "So it was in Chicago you knew your friend?" "Yes," she admitted, with a slight start. "And you are sure he didn't belong there?" "Yes; but look here: why are you asking such a lot of questions about him? I've told you his name and where he's gone to, and if you can't find him that's your lookout." "The consequences of our not being able to find him would be much more serious for you than for me," remarked Mr. Merritt, quietly. "Now, Mrs. Atkins," resumed the Coroner, "can you say in what particular Mr. Brown differs from this dead man?" "Oh, they're a good deal alike," she replied, fluently,--but I noticed that she did not look in the direction of the corpse,--"only Mr. Brown's younger, and not so heavy, and his nose is different. Still, the man does resemble Mr. Brown surprisingly. It gave me quite a shock when I first saw him." It certainly had, only I wondered if that were the true explanation. "Please tell us what you did yesterday." "I went out in the morning and I came home at about half-past five." "What were you doing during all that time?" "Oh, several things; I called on some friends and did some errands." "Your husband has been out of town, I hear?" "Yes." "When did he leave the city?" "On Tuesday morning." "When did he return?" "Last night." "At what time?" "Half-past one." "Where did he come from?" "Boston." "But surely the Boston train gets in a good deal earlier than that!" the Coroner exclaimed. "Yes, there had been a delay owing to a slight accident on the line," she reluctantly explained. "Is Mr. Atkins often away?" "Yes; he's out of town every week or so, on business." "Thank you, Mrs. Atkins, that is all," the Coroner concluded, politely. But the lady was not so easily appeased, and flounced out of the room without deigning to glance at any of us. The detective slipped out after her--to call the maids, as he explained, but it was five or six minutes before he returned with the waitress. After answering several unimportant questions, the girl was asked whether she had ever seen the deceased before. "No, sir," she replied, promptly. "Did anyone call on your mistress on Tuesday evening?" "I can't say, sir; I was out." "At what time did you go out?" "At about a quarter to eight, sir." "Where did you go to?" "We went to a party at me sister's." "Who do you mean by 'we'?" "The cook and me, sir." "Ah, the cook went out, too?" "Yes, sir." "Do you usually go out together?" "No, sir." "How did it happen that you did so on Tuesday?" "Mr. Atkins, he was away, so Mrs. Atkins she said we might both go out."