Margaret was shown to a chair and sat down, with Raymond beside her. The young man was plainly nervous, yet he did what he could to comfort his companion.
"Courage, Margaret," he whispered. "It is bound to come out right in the end."
"I can scarcely see a friendly face," she faltered, taking a shy look around. "They all think I am—" She could not finish, but had to bite her lip to keep the tears from flowing.
The coroner mounted the platform and rapped on a desk with his knuckles.
"The—ahem! courtroom will come to order!" he called out, gazing around on all sides.
There was a final buzz and then the place became quiet, broken only by the ticking of a big round clock on the wall.
"We are gathered here—ahem! to inquire into the mysterious deaths of
Mr. and Mrs. Barry Langmore," went on the coroner.
"That's so—an' we want plain facts," put in an old farmer, sitting well up front.
"Silence!" cried the coroner. "We must have silence!"
"All right, Jack," replied the farmer. "I won't say another word."