“That, your honor,� replied the foreman, “is now unnecessary. We find the defendant not guilty!�
After that the usual formalities of the court in discharging a prisoner were quickly disposed of, and the beautiful Madge Babbington turned a derisively smiling face for one instant upon Nick Carter, as she passed, unattended, from the courtroom to the street.
The district attorney, who had personally conducted the case, remarked, in a low tone, to the detective:
“It is no more than I expected, Carter.�
“It is precisely what I did expect,� replied Nick, with a shrug of his shoulders.
“If it had been proved that she actually administered the poison to Edythe Lynne, she might have been convicted,â€� said the lawyer, with a dubious smile; “but anything short of that——â€� He paused, with the sentence unfinished; then added, somewhat irrelevantly: “She is an astonishingly beautiful woman, Nick.â€�
“I think you have made use of the precise adverbial adjective,� replied the detective dryly. “Her beauty is exactly of the type that is astonishing.�
“Or overwhelming; possibly that would be a better word, Nick.�
“No; you were correct in the first instance. She took those twelve men by storm, from the foreman to number twelve. They never had a chance to do anything but what they did do. She fascinated them, and so compelled them.�
“Hypnotized them, you mean.�