Farrington was on his feet and had made a wild leap in the same
direction.

It was done so quickly that I must have acted first and thought
afterward. I found myself in the midst of a melee with my hand at
his throat and his at mine. O'Connor with a jiu-jitsu movement
bent Farrington's other arm until he released me with a cry of
pain.

In front of me I saw Craig grasping Mrs. Popper's wrists as in a
vise. She was glaring at him like a tigress.

"Do you suppose for a moment that that toy is going to convince
the world that Henry Vandam has been deceived and that the spirit
which visited him was a fraud? Is that why you have lured me here
under false pretences, to play on my feelings, to insult me, to
take advantage of a lone, defenceless woman, surrounded by
hostile men? Shame on you," she added contemptuously. "You call
yourself a gentleman, but I call you a coward."

Kennedy, always calm and collected, ignored the tirade. His voice
was as cold as steel as he said: "It would do little good, Mrs.
Popper, to destroy this one link in the chain I have forged. The
other links are too heavy for you. Don't forget the evidence of
the ink. It was your ink. Don't forget that Henry Vandam will not
any longer conceal that he has altered his will in favour of you.
To-night he goes from here to his lawyer's to draw up a new will
altogether. Don't forget that you have caused the Vandams
separately to have the prescription filled, and that you are now
caught in the act of a double murder. Don't forget that you had