“Wait, Miss Austin. You’re not accused yet—that is, not by legal authority.”
“Oh, am I not? Then—” and she gave Miss Bascom a glance of unutterable scorn, “I have nothing to say.”
“Nothing to say!” the spinster almost shrieked. “Nothing to say! Of course she hasn’t! She kills a man, takes his valuables, and then declares she has nothing to say.”
“Now, now, Miss Bascom, be careful! Why did you put your stiletto in such a place, Miss Austin?”
The dark eyes gave him a gaze of childlike innocence, and Cray couldn’t decide whether he was looking at a deep-dyed criminal or a helpless victim of unjust suspicion.
“And where did you get the money and the ruby pin?”
“I don’t know—I mean I don’t know how they got in my room. This lady says she found them there—that’s all I know about them.”
An indifferent shrug of the slim shoulders seemed to imply that was all Miss Mystery cared, either, and Cray asked:
“Then, if the valuables—the pin and the money are not yours, you are, of course, ready to relinquish possession of them.”
“Of course I am not! Since I am accused of stealing them, I propose to retain possession until that accusation is proved or disproved! Perhaps Miss Bascom wishes to take them herself.”
“You know, Miss Austin,” Mr. Cray spoke very gravely, “you are making a mistake in treating this matter flippantly. You are in danger—real danger, and you must be careful what you say. Do you want a lawyer?”
“I don’t know,” the girl suddenly looked helpless. “Do you think I ought to have one?”
“Yes. I am not a rich girl—but, neither am I poor. However, I think I shall ask advice of some one before I decide upon any course.”
“Of whom? Perhaps no one can advise you better than I can.”
The sweet face looked at him hopefully, the curved red lips quivered a little as the speaker added, “I am very alone.”
Again Miss Bascom sniffed. Unattractive, herself, she resented with a sort of angry jealousy the appealing effect this girl had on men. She knew intuitively that Cray would sympathize with and pity the lonely girl.
“My advice is, Miss Austin, first, that you dispel this mystery that seems to surround you. Tell frankly who you are, what is your errand in Corinth, how you came into possession of Doctor Waring’s ruby, and why you hid your stiletto, if it is merely one of your sewing implements.”