"Did you by any chance observe whether or not any of the windows in the room were open?"
"I did. They were all closed. I noticed it instinctively, because, when I first entered the room, I was conscious of the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of the place and, knowing that the room had been long closed, wondered that Mr. Ashton had not opened the windows. I suppose it was because his long stay in the East had rendered him sensitive to our cold English weather."
"After you left Mr. Ashton's room, what did you do?"
"I retired to my own room, partially undressed, and again threw myself upon the bed."
"Did you sleep?"
"No. I could not."
"When did you again leave your room?"
"About five o'clock. I had been thinking all night about leaving the house. I felt that, after the scene the night before with Mr. Ashton, I could not endure another meeting with him. I got up, put on a walking suit and boots, and, throwing a few things into a satchel, stole quietly down stairs, opened the front door and went out."
"Where did you go?"
"I—I left the porch, and set out across the lawns, taking a short cut to the main road to the town."