THE STAR WITNESS It was between nine and ten o'clock when Marshall Langham reached his office.

He scarcely had time to remove his hat and overcoat when a policeman entered the room and handed him a note.

It was a hasty scrawl from Moxlow who wished him to come at once to the court-house.
As Moxlow's messenger quitted the room Langham leaned against his desk with set lips and drawn face; this was but the beginning of the ordeal through which he must pass! Then slowly he resumed his hat and overcoat.
The prosecuting attorney's office was on the second floor of the court-house, at the back of the building, and its windows overlooked the court-house yard.
On the steps and in the long corridors, men stood about, discussing the murder.

Langham pushed his way resolutely through these groups and mounted the stairs.

Moxlow's door was locked, as he found when he tried to open it, but in response to his knock a bolt was drawn and a policeman swung open the door, closing it the instant Marshall had entered.
Langham glanced around.