"I beg your pardon," said Leech, stepping to the inner door and closing it quietly, for Wilkinson's words had brought an exclamation to the lips of the woman in the adjoining room, that had reached his ears. Leech came back almost instantly and placed chairs for them all. "Tell him all you know, Leslie," commanded her father. The girl's breath came quick and short. Her father's words had come as a shock to her, and she looked about her helplessly. "Father, I'd much prefer not," she protested. Morehead did not altogether approve of the proceeding, chiefly because he had not been consulted upon it, and he interjected gravely: "Are we sure, Mr. Wilkinson, that she knows anything of the affair?" Wilkinson did not deign even to glance at his counsel, and ignoring the girl's protests, and brushing aside or rather pushing his way through her objections, as was his wont, with his shoulders, he repeated: "Leslie, I want you to tell Assistant District Attorney Leech all that you know about this man Ilingsworth--all--you understand." Leslie, with difficulty, controlled herself, and cried out: "Father, this is a--a case of murder. I can't be the accuser.... Don't drag me into it--please...." A dull red, angry colour crept up over Wilkinson's collar, and his eyes flashed. "Leslie, don't you understand what this man Ilingsworth has done? He's killed my private secretary Pallister! It's your duty.... How are you going to escape ...?" Leech tiptoed back to the door of his private office and gently closed the transom, which was open. "In order to relieve you, Miss Wilkinson," he now said, and his voice was reassuring, "I may as well tell you that we have established, beyond all doubt, proofs of Ilingsworth's guilt. We have people who say they saw him in the crowd; we've found the man who sold him the gun, and we've shown him Ilingsworth's photograph, which he identifies as unquestionably the man." "But you haven't got Ilingsworth?" quickly interposed Morehead. "Not yet," and Leech fastened his eyes on Leslie. "Can you have any idea as to where he is?" The three dissented silently. "We'll get him yet," smiled Leech. "It is rare that we do not succeed in landing a person when once we start out to," he went on, his glance shifting to Wilkinson, who met it in open and genial defiance. "You--you have time to hear what my daughter has to say?" asked Wilkinson, and without waiting for an answer, he added: "I think now is the time to take it down--and----" Leech rose abruptly. "Miss Wilkinson, you would know this man Ilingsworth, I suppose, if you saw him?" "Yes," faltered Leslie, "I should know the man. But his pictures in the daily papers--I should never have known him from those."