"Mobley, tell him that he lies—there, that wretched creature hiding behind the other."
She levelled a potent finger at the abject Adams.
"Charlotte," Doctor Westbrook whispered in her ear, "this is only making matters worse; believe me, this is not the place to correct whatever mis—"
Charlotte stamped her foot with fierce impatience.
"Tell him that he lies; make him swallow those vile words before either of you leaves this room."
That terrible, menacing finger was to Adams like an iron spit upon which he, impaled, was being held up to a threatening multitude. McCaleb essayed a diversion.
"This is unfortunate, Miss Fairchild. You know me pretty well; you know that I must serve this warrant; you know I would never do it were it not—" But she was not paying the slightest attention to him. He turned helplessly to the Doctor.
At last the awful look in Charlotte's eyes, the menacing finger, became unbearable. Adams, like the well-known worm, turned. He also squirmed, worm-like, and was heard to mutter something.
"What does the creature say?" demanded Charlotte.
"He says that he has an eye-witness to the murder," McCaleb interpreted.