"
"Thank you, sir," said my chief, welcoming any opportunity to pull
himself together and prepare a plan of defense. "I _do_ wish it."
"Very well, then; we'll adjourn till two o'clock," and he pushed back
his chair.
"May I have one word with you, sir?" asked Mr. Royce.
"Certainly."
"I should like to see Miss Holladay a few moments in private. We wish,
of course, to arrange our rebuttal."
The coroner looked at him for a moment with eyes in which just a tinge
of curiosity flickered.
"I'll be very glad to allow you to see her in private," he answered
readily. "I regret greatly that we couldn't find you last night, so
that you could have opportunity to prepare for this hearing. I feel
that, in a way, we haven't been quite fair to you, though I don't see
how delay could have altered matters, and, in a case of this kind,
prompt action is important. I had no intention of placing Miss
Holladay on the witness stand, so I thought it best to proceed at once
with the inquest. You must admit, sir, that, as the case stands,
there's only one course open to me."
"I fear so," assented the other sadly. "It's a most incomprehensible
case. The chain of evidence seems absolutely complete, and yet I'm
convinced--as every sane man must be--that there is in it some fatal
flaw, which, once discovered, will send the whole structure tottering.
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