Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/451

 then I ran up-stairs, trying to keep out of his sight. Only, he caught me half-way up. Besides, I had to hide from the night watchman, because he had had a quarrel with Mr. Middlebury, and he thought I had complained of him."

"Oh, Thompson had quarreled with Middlebury, had he?" said McGraw meaningly.

"Yes, sir. Middlebury had Thompson discharged. He has to leave at the end of the week, and he was pretty angry about it. But I didn't have anything to do with that at all. It was on account of Thompson's refusing to let Mr. Middlebury have an extra key to the door."

"Where is Thompson?" Astro asked.

"Oh, he's safe enough with my men down on the first floor."

"Well, go ahead with your story, Miss Wilson."

"Why, Mr. Middlebury was awfully nice and apologized for kissing me, and proposed to me again. I didn't know what to say to him; but I was afraid he didn't mean it and was up to some game with me. He tried to hold my hand, and I snatched it away so quick I upset a bottle of India ink he was using. So I went into his private office to wash my hands. While I was in there—" She covered her face with her hands.

"You took a revolver from the desk drawer?" said Astro.

She looked at him in amazement, with widely opened eyes. "A revolver? No! Of course not! I washed my hands at the bowl, and just as I was finishing I heard a pistol-shot, and then I heard Mr. Middlebury fall."

"Did you look into this office?"