“Oh, no, just a general exclamation, it was. And I went toward the door to listen, if it might be repeated.”

“Was the door open?”

“No, but it has glass in it, with sash curtains, and these were a little way open, and I could see through them that the light went out suddenly——”

“Well?”

“And then I went right in, without making a sound——”

“Didn’t it make a sound as you opened the door?”

“The door was open.”

“You said it was not.”

“Oh, I don’t know whether it was or not! I was so scared to see Eric,—Mr. Stannard, dead or dying, and his wife standing there as if she had just——”

“Just what? Killed him?”