"Please tell me the exact superstition which hangs about that room," said the coroner, after a brief pause. "It is believed that no light can be burned in that room after eleven o'clock; after that time it is always extinguished by some mysterious agency." "How comes it, then, that you allowed gas pipes to be placed in the room?" "I gave the contract to have gas put in the house years ago, at the same time that I had running water and plumbing installed. The gas contractor naturally fitted each room with modern appliances. As the room is never used after dark, I never gave the matter another thought." "Then why was a drop light fastened to the wall bracket by the side of the bed?" "I've been puzzling over that fact myself,"--the Colonel tipped his chair back on two legs,--"that drop light is one I used to have in my bedroom. It didn't give very satisfactory light to read by, so several months ago I purchased another, transferred the chimney and shade to the new lamp, and sent the other one into the storeroom." "Then it is highly probable that Annette found it there, and, wishing to read in bed, attached it to the bracket herself." "And thereby sealed her own fate," added the Colonel solemnly. "Do you really think that supernatural means caused her death?" asked the coroner incredulously. "It seems to be either that or suicide." "From what I hear I incline to the latter theory," acknowledged Dr. Penfield. "I don't take much stock in ghosts or other hallucinations, Colonel, with all due respect to you, sir. Will you be so kind as to ask your cousin, Mrs. Truxton, to step here for a few minutes?" On being summoned by Colonel Thornton, Mrs. Truxton hastened into the library. Her statements added nothing to what the coroner already knew, and she was quickly excused and Eleanor Thornton sent for. Douglas had not seen her since carrying her to her room some hours before, and he was shocked by her appearance. "My precious darling!" he murmured in a tone which reached her ear alone as he opened the library door to admit her. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She shook her head and smiled at him, a smile which hurt him woefully, for it showed the effort it cost her. Dr. Penfield, struck by her beauty, which was enhanced by her unnaturally flushed cheeks and the dark shadows under her large eyes, rose and pulled forward a chair for her use. "I won't detain you long, Miss Thornton," he commenced, reseating himself. "Did you know your maid was sleeping in the southwest chamber?" "No, I did not. On the contrary, she told me, when helping me change my dress for dinner, that she had been put in the room over mine." "When did you last see your maid?" "She came to my assistance when Miss Carew fainted, shortly after dinner. After I had seen Miss Carew revived and put in bed I had Annette help me out of my evening dress, and then told her to go to bed, as I would not require her services any longer." "At what hour was that?"