"Because I am engaged to her myself. So there you are!" With that he
walked off, leaving me standing, staring at him. I was literally
bluffed to a standstill. I watched him striding down the lane in
silence. I was in a labyrinth of thought. Then I turned slowly back
toward the house and prepared for war. I should have to get it out of
Edna, or give up and confess myself defeated.
As I walked up the lane I heard a rustling in the bushes, and peering
through them, I saw Nokomis bounding along, her ears laid back, her
brush trailing. She leaped down the bank a little way ahead of me and
stood for a moment, pointing in the direction of the house. I called
her, but she only turned her fine head for a moment, and then trotted on
up the lane. I followed after her leisurely, preparing for my
cross-examination of Edna.
Just before I came to the turn, I heard a quick, sharp yelp, and a
woman's shrill cry. Then a shot rang out, echoing against the hillside.
I ran round the bend at full speed.
There was Edna with a pistol smoking in her hand. In the path, in front
of her, Nokomis lay dead. Leah, running up from the house, had stopped
behind Edna, and stood horror-stricken, afraid to move. It was like the
scene of a play.