“And then what happened?”
At this question Cicely Dupuy became more nervous and embarrassed than ever. She hesitated and then made two or three attempts to speak, each one of which resulted in no intelligible sound.
X
SOME TESTIMONY
“There is nothing to fear,” said Mr. Benson kindly. “Simply tell us what you heard while sitting there writing, that caused you to leave your room.”
Glancing around as if in search of some one, Cicely finally managed to make an audible reply. “I heard a loud cry,” she said, “that sounded as if somebody were frightened or in danger. I naturally ran out into the hall, and, looking over the baluster, I saw Mr. Carleton in the hall below. I felt sure then that it was he who had cried out, so I came downstairs.”
“At what time was this?”
“At half-past eleven exactly.”
“How do you know so accurately?”
“Because as I came downstairs the old clock on the middle landing chimed the half-hour. It has a deep soft note, and it struck just as I passed the clock, and it startled me a little, so of course I remember it perfectly.”