CHAPTER XVIII THE INQUESTTHE next morning brought the harrowing hours of the funeral, and in the afternoon began the no less disturbing experiences of the coroner's inquest.
Mr. Fiske had impaneled a coroner's jury of six men, and the proceedings began directly after luncheon was over.
The coroner had his program mapped out, and his questions were definite and to the point, bringing out the principal facts in logical order. The informal testimony of the day before was repeated under oath, and soon the jury were in possession of all the evidence given by the members of the household.
Dorothy told her story exactly as she had the day before, excusing it to herself by arguing that she had kept back only part of the truth and had not told an actual falsehood.
Ernest Chapin repeated his sto
