“Did you hear any unusual sound after reaching your room?”

“Not at that time.  I was aroused about three o’clock this morning by what I thought was a stealthy step in the grounds in the rear of the house, but I listened for a moment and heard nothing more.”

“That will do for the present, Mr. Scott.  You will probably be recalled later,” said the coroner, watching the secretary rather curiously.  Then he added, in a different tone,-

“The next witness is Mrs. LaGrange.”

There was a perceptible stir throughout the crowd as, with a movement of inimitable grace, Mrs. LaGrange stepped forward, darting a swift glance of such venomous hatred towards Scott, as he again seated himself beside Miss Carleton, that the latter, with a woman’s quick intuition, instantly grasped the situation and watched the proceedings with new interest and closer attention.  As Mrs. LaGrange took her place and began answering the questions addressed to her, the eager listeners pressed still more closely in their efforts to catch every word, feeling instinctively that some startling developments would be forthcoming; but no one was prepared for the shock that followed when, in response to the request to state her full name, the reply came, in clear tones, with unequivocal distinctness, —

“Eleanor Houghton Mainwaring.”

For an instant an almost painful silence ensued, until Dr. Westlake said,-

“Will you state your relation to the deceased?”

“I was the lawfully wedded, but unacknowledged, wife of Hugh Mainwaring,” was the calm reply.

“Please state when and where your marriage took place,” said the coroner, watching the witness narrowly.

“We were married privately in London, about three months before Mr. Mainwaring came to this country.”

“How long ago was that?”

“A little more than twenty-three years.”

“You say that you were privately married, and that in all these years Mr. Mainwaring never acknowledged you as his wife?”

“Yes.  I was at that time a widow, and, owing to certain unpleasant circumstances attending the last months of my former husband’s life, Mr. Mainwaring insisted that our marriage be strictly private.  I acceded to his wishes, and we were married as quietly as possible.  At the end of three months he deserted me, and for four years I did not even know where he had gone.  During that time, however, I learned that my husband, who had been fearful of soiling his proud name by having it publicly joined with mine, was, in the sight of the law, a common criminal.  I finally traced him to America, and five years after he deserted me I had the pleasure of confronting him with the facts which I had obtained.  With passionate protestations of renewed love and fair promises of an honorable married life, he sought to purchase my silence, and, fool that I was!  I yielded.  He claimed that he could not at once acknowledge me as his wife,