The Mansion of Mystery Part 21

"That will do. You may sit down." The coroner looked around the courtroom. "Is Doctor Bardon present?"

For reply the young physician came forward from one side of the room.

He looked pale and slightly troubled. In a low voice he corroborated the testimony already given regarding the finding of the two bodies, and told what he had done in his effort to restore Mr. Langmore to life.

"I thought there might be a spark there still, but I was mistaken," he went on. "He looked so natural--and Mrs. Langmore looked natural, too, for the matter of that. But both were stone dead."

"What was the cause of death?"

"That is something of a mystery. I have tried my best to get at the bottom of it, but I cannot, nor can my colleague, Doctor Soper."

"Were the pair strangled, smothered, poisoned?" suggested the coroner.

"I have a theory that they were poisoned, but not in an ordinary way.

Neither Doctor Soper nor myself could find any traces of ordinary poison."

"What is your theory?"

"Something was used to stupefy them, and so much was used that it killed them."

"In that case the murder might have been unintentional?"

"Yes. Somebody might have thought to stupefy Mr. Langmore and then rob him. But the drug, being too powerful, or used too long, might have done its deadly work. Then the crime may have been discovered by Mrs.

Langmore and the murderer might have turned on her to conceal his first wrongdoing."

"Hum. Have you--ahem! any idea of the nature of the poison?"

"No, excepting that it had a very powerful odor. When I bent over Mr.

Langmore I got several whiffs of it and it made me sick at the stomach.

But the odor was soon gone."

"And you have no idea what the poison was?"

"No, nor has Doctor Soper. It may be something new, or something little known. Chemists are constantly discovering new things," went on the young physician, bound to clear himself of any suspicion of ignorance concerning medical matters.

"You found no marks of violence, as if there had been a struggle?"

"The only marks I found were two scratches on the right arm of Mrs.

Langmore, right above the wrist, and a scratch on Mr. Langmore's left cheek."

"Finger nail scratches?"

"Possibly, or else they may have been made by a ring or bracelet--if there was a struggle."

"Hum! Have you anything else to tell, doctor?"

"I have not. I am willing to tell all I know."

There was another pause, as the young physician stepped back. The coroner was about to call one of the women set to guard Margaret and the Langmore mansion, when he suddenly turned.

"Miss Langmore, you will please take the stand again," he said, and the girl did so, throwing aside her veil. "Are you in the habit of wearing finger rings and bracelets?"

It was a leading question and several gasped as they heard it. Raymond started to rise up, but then sank back again.

"I do not wear bracelets," answered Margaret. "I have two rings."

"What kind of rings are they?"

"One is a plain gold band. It was my mother's wedding ring." The girl's voice sank low suddenly. "The other is a diamond ring, as you can see," and she held up her hand.

"Will you let me have the diamond ring?"

"Yes, sir." She took it off. "But please be careful of it, for it--it is very precious to me."

The coroner nodded. "That is all just now," and as Margaret let fall the veil again, he called Doctor Bardon to his side. A whispered conversation ensued, and the young physician left with the precious circlet--Margaret's engagement ring--in an envelope.

"Margaret, you should not have let him have that ring," whispered Raymond.

"How could I help it?" was the low answer. "Oh, this is terrible! I feel as if everybody was trying to look me through and through!"

"I can't understand why Mr. Adams is not here," went on the young man.

"Perhaps he has found some important clew and is following it up," he added hopefully.

"They are bound to convict me, Raymond! Isn't it horrible?"

"They shall never do it, never!" cried the young man. And then a sharp rapping on the desk terminated the brief conversation and restored quietness to the little courtroom.

CHAPTER XIII

THE WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE

The next witness called was Mrs. Morse, who told briefly how she had been placed in charge of the upper part of the Langmore mansion shortly after the tragedy, and how she had been watching Margaret. She said the girl had had only a few visitors, mentioning Raymond Case and a stranger from New York.

"Who was the stranger?" asked Coroner Busby.

"A Mr. Adams. He's either a lawyer or a detective."

"Oh!"

"I brought Mr. Adams to see Miss Langmore," put in Raymond. "Wasn't that all right?"

"Certainly--certainly," answered the coroner hastily.

"I have kept the best watch on Miss Langmore that I could," went on the woman. "You told me to do it."

"Has Miss Langmore had anything to say about her father?"