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him, and he would be off the handle and saying the wildest things in a moment. More than once I've sworn off coming for that reason, and then he would write me such penitent, imploring letters that I just had to. But you can take it from me, gentlemen, if it was my last word, that no man ever had a more loving, faithful wifeโ€”and I can say also no friend could be more loyal than I!โ€

It was spoken with fervour and feeling, and yet Inspector MacDonald could not dismiss the subject.

โ€œYou are aware,โ€ said he, โ€œthat the dead man's wedding ring has been taken from his finger?โ€

โ€œSo it appears,โ€ said Barker.

โ€œWhat do you mean by 'appears'? You know it as a fact.โ€

The man seemed confused and undecided. โ€œWhen I said 'appears' I meant that it was conceivable that he had himself taken off the ring.โ€

โ€œThe mere fact that the ring should be absent, whoever may have removed it, would suggest to anyone's mind, would it not, that the marriage and the tragedy were connected?โ€

Barker shrugged his broad shoulders. โ€œI can't profess to say what it means,โ€ he answered. โ€œBut if you mean to hint that it could reflect in any way upon this lady's honourโ€โ€”his eyes blazed for an instant, and then with an evident effort he got a grip upon his own emotionsโ€”โ€œwell, you are on the wrong track, that's all.โ€

โ€œI don't know that I've anything else to ask you at present,โ€ said MacDonald, coldly.

โ€œThere was one small point,โ€ remarked Sherlock Holmes. โ€œWhen you entered the room there was only a candle lighted on the table, was there not?โ€

โ€œYes, that was so.โ€

โ€œBy its light you saw that some terrible incident had occurred?โ€

โ€œExactly.โ€

โ€œYou at once rang for help?โ€

โ€œYes.โ€

โ€œAnd it arrived very speedily?โ€

โ€œWithin a minute or so.โ€

โ€œAnd yet when they arrived they found that the candle was out and that the lamp had been lighted. That seems very remarkable.โ€

Again Barker showed some signs of indecision. โ€œI don't see that it was remarkable, Mr. Holmes,โ€ he answered after a pause. โ€œThe candle threw a very bad light. My first thought was to get a better one. The lamp was on the table; so I lit it.โ€

โ€œAnd blew out the candle?โ€

โ€œExactly.โ€

Holmes asked no further question, and Barker, with a deliberate look from one to the other of us, which had, as it seemed to me, something of defiance in it, turned and left the room.

Inspector MacDonald had sent up a note to the effect that he would wait upon Mrs. Douglas in her room; but she had replied that she would meet us in the dining room. She entered now, a tall and beautiful woman of thirty, reserved and self-possessed to a remarkable degree, very different from the tragic and distracted figure I had pictured. It is true that her face was pale and drawn, like that of one who has endured a great shock; but her manner was composed, and the finely moulded hand which she rested upon the edge of the table was as steady as my own. Her sad, appealing eyes travelled from one to the other of us with a curiously inquisitive expression. That questioning gaze transformed itself suddenly into abrupt speech.

โ€œHave you found anything out yet?โ€ she asked.

Was it my imagination that there was an undertone of fear rather than of hope in the question?

โ€œWe have taken every possible step, Mrs. Douglas,โ€ said the inspector. โ€œYou may rest assured that nothing will be neglected.โ€

โ€œSpare no money,โ€ she said in a dead, even tone. โ€œIt is my desire that every possible effort should be made.โ€

โ€œPerhaps you can tell us something which may throw some light upon the matter.โ€

โ€œI fear not; but all I know is at your service.โ€

โ€œWe have heard from Mr. Cecil Barker that you did not actually seeโ€”that you were never in the room where the tragedy occurred?โ€

โ€œNo, he turned me back upon the stairs. He begged me to return to my room.โ€

โ€œQuite so. You had heard the shot, and you had at once come down.โ€

โ€œI put on my dressing gown and then came down.โ€

โ€œHow long was it after hearing the shot that you were stopped on the stair by Mr. Barker?โ€

โ€œIt may have been a couple of minutes. It is so hard to reckon time at such a moment. He implored me not to go on. He assured me that I could do nothing. Then Mrs. Allen, the housekeeper, led me upstairs again. It was all like some dreadful dream.โ€

โ€œCan you give us any idea how long your husband had been downstairs before you heard the shot?โ€

โ€œNo, I cannot say. He went from his dressing room, and I did not hear him go. He did the round of the house every night, for he was nervous of fire. It is the only thing that I have ever known him nervous of.โ€

โ€œThat is just the point which I want to come to, Mrs. Douglas. You have known your husband only in England, have you not?โ€

โ€œYes, we have been married five years.โ€

โ€œHave you heard him speak of anything which occurred in America and might bring some danger upon him?โ€

Mrs. Douglas thought earnestly before she answered. โ€œYes,โ€ she said at last, โ€œI have always felt that there was a danger hanging over him. He refused to discuss it with me. It was not from want of confidence in meโ€”there was the most complete love and confidence between usโ€”but it was out of his desire to keep all alarm away from me. He thought I should brood over it if I knew all, and so he was silent.โ€

โ€œHow did you know it, then?โ€

Mrs. Douglas's face lit with a quick smile. โ€œCan a husband ever carry about a secret all his life and a woman who loves him have no suspicion of it? I knew it by his refusal to talk about some episodes in his American life. I knew it by certain precautions he took. I knew it by certain words he let fall. I knew it by the way he looked at unexpected strangers. I was perfectly certain that he had some powerful enemies, that he believed they were on his track, and that he was always on his guard against them. I was so sure of it that for years I have been terrified if ever he came home later than was expected.โ€

โ€œMight I

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