won't have Miss Van Allen spoken of in any such way. I assume you mean
that this man, though a stranger, might have said or done something to
annoy or offend Miss Van Allen. Well, if he had done so, Victoria Van
Allen never would have killed him! She is the gentlest, most gay and
light-hearted girl, and though she never tolerates any rudeness or
familiarity, the idea of her killing a man is too absurd. You might as
well suspect a dove or a butterfly of crime!"

"That's right, Mr. Coroner," said Garrison. "That waiter's story is
an hallucination of some sort--if it isn't a deliberate falsification.
Miss Van Allen is a dainty, happy creature, and to connect her with
anything like this _is_ absurd!"

"That's to be found out, Mr. Garrison. "Why did Miss Van Allen run
away?"

"I don't admit that she did run away--in the sense of flight. If she
were frightened at this thing--if she saw it--she may have run out of
the door in hysterics or in a panic of terror. But she the
perpetrator! Never!"

"Never!" echoed Mrs. Reeves. "The poor child! If she did come out
here--and saw this awful sight--why, I think it would unhinge her
mind!"

"Who is Miss Van Allen?" asked Fenn. "What is her occupation?"

"She hasn't an occupation," said Mrs. Reeves. "She is a young lady of
independent fortune. As to her people or immediate relatives, I know
nothing at all. I've known her a year or so, and as she never referred