"Did you see a light in the window of the study when at the boundary channel with Mr. Vand?" asked the Coroner. "No; I looked too," said the witness, "for if Jabez had been up, there would have been trouble owing to my being late. But there was no light in the window, so I fancied Jabez might have gone to bed and have locked me out. But he hadn't guessed I was absent, and so----" "Did you see a light under the study door when passing through the hall?" "No, and that made me believe that Jabez had gone to bed. But I didn't think of looking into the study; if I had," witness shuddered, "oh dear me, how very dreadful it all is. Well, then I went to bed, and next morning came down early to clean the study. When I entered I saw my brother dead in his gore, whereupon I ran up stairs and got Bella to come down. Then we sent for the police, and that's all I know." The Coroner looked towards Ward. "This evidence takes an hour off your time of death, doctor," he said sourly. "You say that the man was murdered after eight and before eleven. Well then, as this witness reached the house just after ten and saw no light in the study the deceased must have been dead when she passed through the hall on her way to bed." "Oh," groaned Mrs. Coppersley, with her handkerchief to her lips. "How dreadful if I'd looked in to see Jabez weltering in his gore." "It's a pity you didn't," rejoined the Coroner sharply, "for then you could have given the alarm and the assassin might have been arrested." "Yes," cried Mrs. Coppersley violently, "and the assassin might have been in the house at the moment, with only two women, mind, and one of them drugged. I should have been killed myself had I given the alarm, so I'm glad I didn't." "Drugged! Drugged! What do you mean by drugged?" "Ask Bella," retorted Mrs. Coppersley. "I've told all I'm going to tell." "Not all," said the Coroner, "was the front door locked?" "I didn't notice at the time, being anxious to escape Jabez and get to bed." "Did you notice if it was locked in the morning?" "Yes, when I opened it for Tunks to go for the police." "It _was_ locked," said Bella, rising at this juncture, "but Tunks opened it while I was talking with my aunt in the hall." "You can give your evidence when I ask you," snapped the Coroner rudely. "Humph! So the front door was locked and the back door also. How did the assassin escape? He couldn't have gone by the front door after committing the crime, since the key was in the inside, and you locked the back door coming and going, Mrs. Coppersley." "The murdering beast," said the witness melodramatically, "might have got out of the study window." "Then he must be a very small man," retorted the Coroner, "for only a small man could scramble through the window. I examined it an hour ago."