Mrs. Crosbie made a bound and a grab; but Morgan whisked the letter out of Geary's hand and held it above her head. One of the policemen caught the widow to hold her back, and she burst into tears. "Is this your writing, madam?" Morgan asked Mrs. Berch, holding the letter before her. "No," said Mrs. Berch, in an unshaken voice. "Mr. Haskins knows my writing well. Gerald, look at the letter." The young man took the epistle. It was evidently disguised handwriting, clumsy and illiterate. He could not reasonably say that Mrs. Berch had penned the few lines which asked Bellaria to come to the gates of the Pixy's House at midnight on a certain date to meet a well-wisher--so the letter was signed--who could save her from the Tána Society. The script was quite unlike Mrs. Berch's sloping Italian hand, which was that of the mid-Victorian epoch. "No," he said, and very gladly, "I don't think that Mrs. Berch wrote this letter." "Ah," the woman drew a long breath, but displayed no triumph. "Of course, Mr. Inspector, the charge is absolutely absurd. This mad girl whom Mr. Haskins has married murdered the miserable creature." "Ah," said Gerald, slipping his arm round Mavis, who shivered, and hid her face, "you return evil for good, Mrs. Berch." Morgan took the letter and placed it in his pocket. "I don't know what to think," he muttered. "You may be innocent and Geary----" He glanced at the savage face of the negro, who shouted wrathfully. "I no kill dat woman," he cried, stamping like a wild bull in a rage, "she write de letter, I come to dis house to find de Major, and I find Bellaria dead--she just dying." "Did she speak?" Mavis asked the question. "No, she no speak; she die at once. I look in de dress, and I find dat letter and dis." Geary opened his huge black palm, and on it lay the coral hand with the dagger. "Dat on de ground near de dress," he ended. "Do you recognize this?" asked Morgan, turning to Gerald, while Mrs. Crosbie uttered a wail of fear and Mrs. Berch became even paler than she had been. Gerald had defended Mrs. Berch before and she had returned his kindness by accusing Mavis. He determined to leave her to her fate, since she was so ungrateful, especially as he readily recognized the coral hand. "So you did not give it back to Venosta after all!" he said to the terrified Mrs. Crosbie. "Mr. Inspector, this amulet belongs to----" He was about to say the name when Mrs. Berch, after a glance of despair around, interrupted. "It belongs to me," she said harshly, "not to my daughter. Mrs. Crosbie received it from Signor Venosta, but she gave it to me to return to him after she made use of it to control the Jew moneylender. I did not return it to Signor Venosta, I----" She stopped. "It was found near the corpse of Bellaria by this man," said Morgan gravely, "so if it belonged to you----" "It hers; it hers," shouted Geary. "How do you know?" asked Rebb sharply.