"'Think a little; it is not longer than half-an-hour since I saw you. Your memory cannot have deserted you in so short a time.'
"'I've got no more memory about it than the babe unborn.'
"'But you must try to have. It is a fact that the chain either was or was not up, that the door either was or was not locked. Sit down and think about it for a minute or two; I will keep quiet while you think.'
"But though the woman obeyed our reporter, and sat down and thought of the matter, or said she did, she declared she could make nothing of it, and had to give it up in despair.
"'It is awkward,' said our reporter, 'to say the least of it. There is no telling what construction may be put upon your loss of memory.'
"'I'm a honest woman, sir,' said Mrs. Middlemore, looking imploringly at our reporter; 'you'll put in a good word for me?'
"'You may depend upon that, for I am convinced you are honest and innocent, but it is unfortunate. If you _should_ happen to remember, you had best let me know before you tell anyone else.'
"'Yes, sir, I'll promise that. I don't know what I should do without you.'
"'Get yourself into serious trouble, for a certainty, Mrs. Middlemore. You go out for your supper-beer every night?'
"'Yes, every night; I can't do without it.'
"'Beer is a wholesome beverage, if taken in moderation, which I know is the case with you. Did you go out for it last night?'
"'Before or after you paid your last visit to these rooms?'
"'Before, sir, before. You think of everything.'
"'It shows that I am doing the best I can for you. Before you came up to these rooms, you had your supper?'
"'Yes. She's got a twist on her has Sophy.'
"'An appetite. She eats as much as a Grenadier.'
"'All growing girls do. How old is Sophy?'
"'Then, when you went downstairs, you and Sophy went to bed?'
"'Yes, we do; and the way that girl pulls the clothes off you is a caution.'
"'Did you both go to bed at the same time?'
"'No, I sent 'er before me, and when I went in she was as sound as a top.'
"'I was before this dreadful thing 'appened, but now I pass the most fearful nights.'
"'How about last light? Don't answer hastily. This is another important point.'
"Thus admonished, Mrs. Middlemore took time to consider; and no doubt it was with a certain regret that she felt constrained to say, 'I think I must 'ave slept better than ordinary. I was that tired that my legs was fit to drop off me.'