"The Widow Clemmens', sir."
Ah, light at last! The long-sought-for witness had been found! Coroner and jury brightened visibly, while the assembled crowd gave vent to a deep murmur, that must have sounded like a knell of doom—in one pair of ears, at least.
"He asked you for directions to the house of Widow Clemmens. At what time was this?"
"At about half-past eleven in the morning."
The very hour!
"And did he leave then?"
"Yes, sir; after taking a glass of brandy."
"And did you not see him again?"
"Not till yesterday, sir."