"A critical moment!" he exclaimed. Then, with a certain intuition of what she was going to say next, inquired: "And what then, Miss Dare?"

"I was struck by a desire to see if I could detect Mrs. Clemmens' house from where I was, and shifting the telescope slightly, I looked through it again, and——"

"What did you see, Miss Dare?"

"I saw her dining-room door standing ajar and a man leaping headlong over the fence toward the bog."

The District Attorney started, looked at her with growing interest, and inquired:

"Did you recognize this man, Miss Dare?"

She nodded in great agitation.

"Who was he?"

"Craik Mansell."

"Miss Dare," ventured Mr. Ferris, after a moment, "you say this was five minutes to twelve?"