"Get him a chair," said Grady, and Simmonds brought one forward and remained standing beside it. "Now, my man," Grady continued, "you'll have to brace up. What's the matter with you, anyhow? Didn't you ever see a dead man before?"
"It ain't that," gasped Rogers. "It ain't that—though I never saw a murdered man before."
"What?" demanded Grady, sharply. "Didn't you see that fellow this afternoon?"
"That was different," Rogers moaned. "I didn't know him. Besides, I thought he'd killed himself. We all thought so."
"And you don't think Vantine did?"
"I know he didn't," and Rogers's voice rose to a shrill scream. "It was that woman done it! Damn her! She done it! I knowed she was up to some crooked work when I let her in!"
CHAPTER VI
THE WOMAN IN THE CASE
It was coming now; the secret, however sordid, however ugly, was to be unveiled. I saw Grady's face set in hard lines; I could hear the stir of interest with which the others leaned forward….
Grady took a flask from his pocket and opened it.