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"That was pure chance If the others had been there, I should have done just the same"

"Still, as it happens, the others were not there?"

"No, but----"

"In fact, during the whole afternoon, you were only alone for a couple ofthose two minutes that you displayed your 'natural interest' in Hydro-chloride of Strychnine?"

Lawrence stammered pitiably

"I--I----"

With a satisfied and expressive countenance, Sir Ernest observed: "I have nothing more to ask you, Mr Cavendish"

This bit of cross-exareat excitement in court The heads of the ether, and their whispers becarily threatened to have the court cleared if there was not immediate silence

There was littleexperts were called upon for their opinion of the signature of "Alfred Inglethorp" in the cheister They all declared unaniave it as their view that it uised Cross-exaht be the prisoner's hand-writing cleverly counterfeited

Sir Ernest Heavywether's speech in opening the case for the defence was not a long one, but it was backed by the full force of his e experience, had he known a charge of hter evidence Not only was it entirely circureater part of it was practically unproved Let them take the testimony they had heard and sift it impartially The strychnine had been found in a drawer in the prisoner's room That draas an unlocked one, as he had pointed out, and he submitted that there was no evidence to prove that it was the prisoner who had concealed the poison there It was, in fact, a wicked and malicious attempt on the part of some third person to fix the crime on the prisoner The prosecution had been unable to produce a shred of evidence in support of their contention that it was the prisoner who ordered the black beard from Parkson's The quarrel which had taken place between prisoner and his stepmother was freely admitted, but both it and his financial eerated

His learned friend--Sir Ernest nodded carelessly at Mr Philips--had stated that if the prisoner were an innocent man, he would have come forward at the inquest to explain that it was he, and not Mr Inglethorp, who had been the participator in the quarrel He thought the facts had been misrepresented What had actually occurred was this The prisoner, returning to the house on Tuesday evening, had been authoritatively told that there had been a violent quarrel between Mr and Mrs Inglethorp No suspicion had entered the prisoner's head that anyone could possibly have lethorp He naturally concluded that his stepmother had had two quarrels