"Call the first witness!" ordered the judge, and amidst the excitement caused by these ominous words a small door opened and a woman entered leaning on a guard. She was dressed simply in black and heavily veiled, but her girlish figure showed that she was young. As she appeared, Kittredge started violently.
The clerk of the court cleared his throat and called out something in incomprehensible singsong.
The woman came forward to the witness stand and lifted her veil. As she did so, three distinct things happened: the audience murmured its admiration at a vision of strange beauty, Kittredge stared in a daze of joy, and De Heidelmann-Bruck felt the cold hand of death clutching at his heart.
It was Alice come to her lover's need! Alice risen from the flames! Alice here for chastening and justice!
"What is your name?" questioned the judge.
"Mary Coogan," was the clear answer.
"Your nationality?"
"I am an American."
"You have lived a long time in France?"
"Yes. I came to France as a little girl."