I know that you do not suspect me.' "The poor man spoke in jerks.

He was evidently suffering.

I pitied him, the more because I felt sure that he would rather allow himself to be killed than tell me who the murderer was.

As for Mademoiselle Stangerson, I felt that she would rather allow herself to be murdered than denounce the man of The Yellow Room and of the inexplicable gallery.

The man must be dominating her, or both, by some inscrutable power.