"Then where did you spend it?" asked Brett swiftly. "With my cousin, General Phillips, at his apartment at the Dupont," calmly. "At what hour did you reach his apartment?" "About twelve o'clock." "And where were you between the hours of nine-thirty and twelve?" "Most of the time walking the streets." "Alone?" "Alone." Lane faced them all, head up and shoulders back, and gave no sign that he was aware of the antagonism which he felt in the tense atmosphere. The coroner was the next to speak. "Suppose you take a chair, Captain Lane, and give us a more detailed account of your actions last night," he suggested, and Lane dragged forward a chair and seated himself. "When did you leave this house?" "About half-past ten o'clock." He caught Eleanor's start of surprise, and added hastily, "I am, as perhaps you already know, engaged to Miss Carew. During our interview last night she fainted, and I summoned Miss Thornton, who urged me to go, but I felt that I could not leave the house until I knew that Miss Carew was better. So, instead of going out of the front door, I picked up my coat and hat and slipped into the dining room, which was empty." "What was your object in going there?" "I hoped that Miss Thornton would come downstairs again, and I could then get an opportunity to speak to her." "Would it not have been better and more straight-forward to have stepped into the library and informed Colonel Thornton of your presence in his house?" asked the coroner, dryly. Lane flushed at his tone. "Possibly it would,"--haughtily,--"but I was acting on impulse; I was extremely alarmed by Miss Carew's condition and could think of nothing else." "What caused Miss Carew's indisposition?" inquired the coroner. "She is not strong, and overtaxed her strength yesterday." The coroner did not press the point, to Lane's relief. "Did anyone see you in the dining room last night?" "I think not; the room was not lighted, and the table had been already cleared, so no servant entered the room." "Did you see Miss Thornton again?" "No. I had not been waiting long before I saw Colonel Thornton come down the stairs with a man whom I judged to be a physician. As they passed the dining room door I heard the doctor tell Colonel Thornton that Miss Carew had regained consciousness, and would be all right after a night's rest. A few minutes after that I left the house." "How?" "I have dined frequently with Colonel Thornton and know the house fairly well; so, as I had promised to keep my visit to Miss Carew a secret, I opened the long French window which gives on the south veranda, ran down the steps, and walked down the garden path, jumped the fence between this property and the next, and walked out of their gate into the street." Brett said something under his breath that was not complimentary to his detective force. "May I ask you why you thought such precautions necessary?" he inquired.