- tive? Did he murder him because he was an illegitimate
son of Judge Parlin?"
"Oh, pshaw, Mrs. Matthewson, nobody believes that story. Why, they tell me Judge Parlin was a real nice man. He wouldn't have had anything to do with such a woman as she would have been, if the story was true."
A crowd gathered and, in spite of Charles Matthewson's efforts to change the subject, persisted in discussing the murder, which was still a live topic wherever Judge Parlin and Lawyer Wing had been known. To Matthewson's increased annoyance, he noted that Trafford had moved to a nearer table, where he could catch the talk.
"What kind of man would Judge Parlin have been, if the story were true?" Mrs. Matthewson asked listlessly.
"Oh, yes; but you know that's not the same. He was a mere youngster, and a designing woman you know can do anything with a man. Oh, no: it would be bad enough in him, but the woman—why, she'd be simply abominable; simply abominable."
"Well, if there was such a woman, she's un-
