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"There were, besides, the definite imprints of her shoes," said

Mr Ricardo

"Yes, but that is precisely where I began to feel sure that she

was innocent," replied Hanaud dryly "All the other foothed up that nothing could be

made of them Yet those little ones rean to wonder why these, too, had not

been cut up and stamped over The murderers had taken, you see, an

excess of precaution to throw the presuuilt upon Mlle

Celie rather than upon Vauquier However, there the footsteps

were Mlle Celie had sprung from the room as I described to

Wethermill But I was puzzled Then in the room I found the torn-

up sheet of notepaper with the words, 'Je ne sais pas,' in

ht have been spirit-

writing, theyI put them away in ain I was

troubled--greatly troubled"

"Yes, I saw that"

"And not you alone," said Hanaud, with a save e returned to the room and

once more I stood before the settee? Oh, he turned it off very

well I had said that our crientle

with their victims, and he pretended that it was in fear of what

Mlle Celiewhich had torn that cry from his

heart But it was not so He was afraid--deadly afraid--not for

Mlle Celie, but for himself He was afraid that I had understood

what these cushions had to tell me"

"What did they tell you?" asked Ricardo

"You kno," said Hanaud "They were two cushions, both

indented, and indented in different ways The one at the head was