"But I did not. It is nonsense talking like that!"
"Then where is the carving-knife? Mrs. Basket searched but could not find it, and now she believes that you have hidden it."
"What rubbish!" said Mrs. Moxton, with contempt. "Edgar threw it away."
"Because he knew that I kept it by me to protect myself against tramps or burglars, so, out of sheer devilry, the week before he died, he threw it into the garden behind some bushes."
"No. I searched everywhere for it after the murder and could not find it. Why do you ask?"
"Because a broad-bladed knife was used to kill your husband, and it might have been the carving-knife. The murderer must have picked it up and made use of it. And----"
The woman appeared uneasy, and interrupted Ellis. "How would the murderer know that the knife was in the garden? Only two people knew where it was thrown. One was Edgar, the other myself."
"I would not advise you to say that in public, Mrs. Moxton, as people might count it as good circumstantial evidence that you killed Moxton."
"Oh!" cried the widow, clenching her fists. "Do you believe me guilty?"
"No, I do not. Is there any need to ask me that question?"
"Why? why? You have plenty of evidence against me. I have placed myself in your hands by confessing about the carving-knife. Why do you not denounce me as guilty?"
"How can you ask?" cried Ellis, carried out of his usual equable self by her vehemence. "Don't you know--can't you see--I love you! I love you! that is why I believe you guiltless."
In placing herself in the dock, so to speak, Mrs. Moxton had been defiant, loud-voiced and reckless, daring Ellis to denounce her for a crime of which she knew herself innocent. His refusal, and the cause he gave for such refusal, took her by surprise. Long since she had guessed that the doctor loved her, but she did not count on his proclaiming the fact so soon. Nor would he have done so had he not been thrown off his guard by her appeal. But her demand and his answer to it produced on both sides a stupefied calm. Ellis, frightened at his own boldness, remained silent after uttering the fatal words; Mrs. Moxton, on the other hand, felt her wrath die away in sheer surprise. Then her cheeks flushed from an unexplained emotion, and a light beamed from her eyes.