The woman stopped short, gazing at him with wide eyes and an expression of dread on her white face.
“What is this I hear, Chester?” she cried, as if oblivious to the presence of others. “Tell me quickly. Tell me quickly, my son! You suspected of crime, of——”
“No, no; nothing of the kind,” Clayton hurriedly cried, both hands uplifted. “A crime has been committed, but I know nothing about it. The criminal was a man so like me that——”
Clayton caught his breath and stopped short.
The woman had reeled as if struck a blow, and every vestige of color had left her face.
“Like you!” she echoed, gasping. “So like you that—that——”
Doctor Guelpa started toward her.
“Careful, madame!” he cried, with hands outstretched. “Be calm, or you will[Pg 15]——”
His warning came too late.
The woman’s eyes suddenly rolled upward. Her arms dropped lax at each side. Before any observer could reach her, she fell unconscious upon the floor, as ghastly as if the hand of death had suddenly claimed her.