"Where were you?"
She hesitated and stammered. "In the dining room." I felt sure that this time she was not telling the truth, but Mr. Ellison unconsciously came to her support.
"There is a bay window in the dining room which overlooks the library entrance," he volunteered.
"Was Mr. Benbow alone?"
"Yes, sir."
"You are sure about that?"
"Oh, yes, he was quite alone," she said positively.
"You didn't see any stranger here during the evening, either with Mr. Benbow or otherwise?"
"No, sir, there wasn't anybody here at all," she said with a definiteness that was convincing.
I let her go at that,--to her evident relief. I had seen the trepidation of perfectly innocent witnesses too often to attach any great weight to her nervousness, but at the same time I had a feeling that she had not been perfectly frank. But probably the fact that she had been out of the house when she was supposed to be in it was enough to give her that atmosphere of something concealed.