There was a mild sensation in the room. Curious eyes swept toward the
graceful, slender form of a veiled woman sitting at the extreme left of
the room.

Cunningham flushed. The question seemed to him a gratuitous probe into
the private affairs of the family. "I do not care to discuss that," he
answered quietly.

"The witness may refuse to answer questions if he wishes," the coroner
ruled.

Jack Cunningham was called to the stand. James had made an excellent
witness. He was quiet, dignified, and yet forceful. Jack, on the
other hand, was nervous and irritable. The first new point he
developed was that on his last visit to the rooms of his uncle he had
seen him throw downstairs a fat man with whom he had been scuffling.
Shown Hull, he identified him as the man.

"Had you ever had any trouble with your uncle?" Johns asked him.

"You may decline to answer if you wish," the coroner told the witness.

Young Cunningham hesitated. "No-o. What do you mean by trouble?"

"Had he ever threatened to cut you out of his will?"

"Yes," came the answer, a bit sulkily.

"Why--if you care to tell?"