Page:That Royle Girl (Balmer).pdf/44

 said, accenting his word meaningly. "He wasn't near there to-night; but you went down there by yourself just after midnight."

"Yes, I did," said Joan and assured herself that it could not hurt Ket to tell this. On the contrary, it was absolutely necessary in order to explain how she had seen the man, whom she herself had confused with Ket, but who was not Ket, and who must be the man who had shot Adele.

The booming voice rasped from the bedroom; but, as she heard it, Joan reckoned that she was in no danger of contradicting Ket by relating her visit to the lake, because it had occurred before she met him, and she had told him nothing of it.

"For a little stroll, I suppose," suggested Cummins, mockingly.

"Yes. I mean, partly; not quite. It was moonlight; and I didn't want to go to bed."

"Why not?"

"I wanted to wait up for Ket."

"So you went down to the lake to look for him."

"No. I didn't think he would be there. I wanted to spend time before going in."

"To his wife's apartment?"

She felt her face suffuse with blood in her indignation. "I had no idea of going near his wife's apartment."

"Oh, you didn't."

Immediately she had seemingly to deny her statement in order to tell of the man she had seen with Adele. "I had no idea of going in," she corrected. "I went by and looked up as the light went on."

"Where?"

"In the window of Adele Ketlar's apartment. This is what I want to tell you," she said as earnestly as she