Mona's left hand went up to her breast, and her breath came quick.
"But why am I to go?" she asked, timidly.
"Because in cases of this kind, when the main evidence is circumstantial, it is necessary to prove a motive before it is possible to frame an indictment."
"Well, father?" Mona's red eyes opened wide with a startled look, and their long lashes trembled.
"Well, girl, you shall prove the motive."
The Deemster opened the snuff-horn on the mantel-shelf.
"I am to do so?"
The Deemster glanced up sharply under his spectacles. "Yes, you child—you," he said, with quiet emphasis, and lifted his pinch of snuff to his nose.
Mona's breast began to heave, and all her slight frame to quiver.
"Father," she said, faintly, "do you mean that I am to be the chief witness against the man who took my brother's life?"