"I recognized her when I entered," observed Chick, who had taken a chair near by.
Nick came back to business.
"Why are you so confident, Miss Page, that Boyden cannot have killed Mary Barton?" he demanded.
"Because, sir, Harry Boyden is a gentle, brave and honest man, and utterly incapable of committing such a crime," cried Violet, with much feeling. "Besides, sir, he can have had no possible reason for wishing her dead."
"Are you sure of that?"
"Absolutely!"
"What are your relations with Boyden?"
"We are lovers, sir," admitted Violet, with a tinge of red dispelling the paleness of her pretty cheeks. "We expect to be married the coming summer."
"Ah! I see," murmured Nick, thoughtfully. "How long have you been acquainted with Boyden?"
"For ten years, sir."