burglar!" exclaimed Pauline.

"Of course; who else would deal such a blow? It was powerful,--dealt by a strong arm--it has driven bits of this broken shell stuff into the brain. But it was the force of the concussion that killed her. Here is a deep dent,--and yet.--Tell me the circumstances. Why is she rigged out like this?"

"I've no idea," answered Pauline, taking the initiative. "When I left her last night, she had on an evening gown. But this negligée is not unusual; it is one of her favorites. Though why she has on that spangled scarf, I can't imagine."

"She seems to have been posing before the mirror, rather than engaged in making a toilette." Dr. Stanton was a pompous middle-aged man of fussy manner. He did not again touch the body, but he stepped about, noting the strange conditions and commenting on them. "This paper snake,--tight round her neck! What does that mean?"

"What can it mean?" returned Pauline. "She had an intense hatred,--even fear of snakes; I've never seen it before. Could it have been placed there to frighten her to death?"

"No; she didn't die of fright. See, her expression is placid,--even smiling. But the shattered comb and dented skull have but one explanation,--a stunning blow. Did she have on the comb last evening?"

"Yes; it is a favorite one with her. An heirloom, from a Colonial ancestor. It encircled the entire back of her head, when whole."

"At what time was she killed?" asked Gray Haviland. He had stood, till now, a silent listener to the conversation between Pauline and the Doctor.

"Oh, many hours ago," returned Stanton; "six or eight at least. Evidently she was preparing for bed, and trying the effect of some new finery."

"Those things are not new," put in Anita; "she has had them all a long time. But she must have been admiring herself, for when we found her she had on all her finest jewels."

"What?" cried Dr. Stanton; "where are they?"

"I took most of them off," replied Pauline, quietly, "and put them in the safe. If the police people must come, I am not willing to have a fortune in jewels here to tempt their cupidity. And I have a right. It is no secret that my cousin Carrington and I are her heirs. But that snake perplexes me beyond all else. If you knew her aversion to them,--even pictured ones!"

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