men in kent. lady brackenstall

is in the morning-room. poor lady, she has had a most dreadful

experience. she seemed half dead when i saw her first.

i think you had best see her and hear her account of the facts.

then we will examine the dining-room together."

lady brackenstall was no ordinary person. seldom have i seen so

graceful a figure, so womanly a presence, and so beautiful a face.

she was a blonde, golden-haired, blue-eyed, and would, no doubt,

have had the perfect complexion which goes with such colouring had

not her recent experience left her drawn and haggard. her

sufferings were physical as well as mental, for over one eye rose

a hideous, plum-coloured swelling, which her maid, a tall, austere

woman, was bathing assiduously with vinegar and water. the lady

lay back exhausted upon a couch, but her quick, observant gaze as

we entered the room, and the alert expression of her beautiful

features, showed that neither her wits nor her courage had been

shaken by her terrible experience. she was enveloped in a loose

dressing-gown of blue and silver, but a black sequin-covered

dinner-dress was hung upon the couch beside her.

"i have told you all that happened, mr. hopkins," she said,

wearily; "could you not repeat it for me? well, if you think it

necessary, i will tell these gentlemen what occurred. have they

been in the dining-room yet?"

"i thought they had better hear your ladyship's story first."

"i shall be glad when you can arrange matters. it is horrible to

me to think of him still lying there." she shuddered and buried

her face in her hands. as she did so the loose gown fell back

from her forearms. holmes uttered an exclamation.

"you have other injuries, madam! what is this?" two vivid red

spots stood out on one of the white, round limbs. she hastily

covered it.

"it is nothing. it has no connection with the hideous business of

last night. if you and your friend will sit down i will tell you

all i can.

"i am the wife of sir eustace brackenstall. i have been married

about a year. i suppose that it is no use my attempting to

conceal that our marriage has not been a happy one. i fear that

all our neighbours would tell you that, even if i were to attempt

to deny it. perhaps the fault may be partly mine. i was brought

up in the freer, less conventional atmosphere of south australia,

and this english life, with its proprieties and its primness, is

not congenial to me. but the main reason lies in the one fact

which is notorious to everyone, and that is that sir eustace was

a confirmed drunkard. to be with such a man for an hour is

unpleasant. can you imagine what it means for a sensitive and

high-spirited woman to be tied to him for day and night? it is a

sacrilege, a crime, a villainy to hold that such a marriage is

binding. i say that these monstrous laws of yours will bring a

curse upon the land -- heaven will not let such wickedness

endure." for an instant she sat up, her cheeks flushed, and her

eyes blazing from under the terrible mark upon her brow. then the

strong, soothing hand of the austere maid drew her head down on to

the cushion, and the wild anger died away into passionate sobbing.

at last she continued:--

"i will tell you about last night. you are aware, perhaps, that

in this house all servants sleep in the modern wing. this central

block is made up of the dwelling-rooms, with the kitchen behind

and our bedroom above. my maid theresa sleeps above my room.

there is no one else, and no sound could alarm those who are in

the farther wing. this must have been well known to the robbers,

or they would not have acted as they did.

"sir eustace retired about half-past ten. the servants had

already gone to their quarters. only my maid was up, and she had

remained in her room at the top of the house until i needed her

services. i sat until after eleven in this room, absorbed in a

book. then i walked round to see that all was right before i went

upstairs. it was my custom to do this myself, for, as i have

explained, sir eustace was not always to be trusted. i went into

the kitchen, the butler's pantry, the gun-room, the billiard-room,

the drawing-room, and finally the dining-room. as i approached

the window, which is covered with thick curtains, i suddenly

felt the wind blow upon my face and realized that it was open.

i flung the curtain aside and found myself face to face with a

broad-shouldered, elderly man who had just stepped into the room.

the window is a long french one, which really forms a door leading

to the lawn. i held my bedroom candle lit in my hand, and, by its

light, behind the first man i saw two others, who were in the act

of entering. i stepped back, but the fellow was on me in an

instant. he caught me first by the wrist and then by the throat.

i opened my mouth to scream,