"you see," said drek, complacently, "that it is quite easy to get up a case against you, mr. lovel; yet i feel convinced from your late actions that you are innocent. therefore you will understand that i am inclined to doubt even the strong evidence you have obtained against mr. chaskin. he may be as guiltless as you are. the evidence against herne is as strong; yet you think his hands are clean of blood. why, then, should you suspect chaskin so much?"
"he refused to explain the loss of the pistol."
"so far as that goes, he refused because he did not think either you or mexton had any right to examine him. but if a person like myself, having authority----"
"go and see him, drek, and find out if he will confess to you!" said paul, eagerly.
"no; i shall take no steps in the matter until this trial of dr. lester's is concluded."
"and in the meantime chaskin will run away," said lovel, bitterly.
"i don't think so," rejoined the inspector, nettled by the sneering tone of the young man, which cast a reflection on his judgment. "the conduct of mr. chaskin does not augur that he intends to fly; and if he did, i would take means to prevent his flight."
"you will have him watched?"
"i will have both him and herne watched."
"and what about mother jimboy, who is so important a witness in this case?" said paul, suddenly; "she is seriously ill, and being so old it is not improbable that she may die at any moment."
"true," said drek, thoughtfully. "you think of everything, mexton. i'll have her deposition taken as soon as i learn that she is in danger. at the present moment dr. lester, who is in attendance on her, assures me that the chances of recovery are in her favour. oh, you may trust me," concluded the inspector, rising, "i'll do my best to bring the assassin of miss lester to justice."
"chaskin!" cried lucas, emphatically.
"or yourself, or herne," retorted drek, putting on his hat. "don't forget my argument about the evidence, mr. lovel. take my advice, and keep quiet until lester is discharged; then we shall see what is to be done."
"arrest me, i suppose!"
"sir!" cried drek, with indignation, "i am this much of an arab, that did i intend to be your enemy, and act so traitorous a part, i should not have broken bread with you; in other words, i should have declined your whisky-and-soda and the very excellent cigar which i have just smoked."
"i beg your pardon, drek; i take back my words. good-day."
"good-day, mr. lovel; good-day, mr. mexton. at present we know not what is before us," and inspector drek left the room with an air of great dignity. when the door was closed after him lovel turned towards his friend.
"what do you think of the position now?" he asked.
"i think that we had better wait and see the outcome of lester's trial."
"bah! i know the outcome! he will be acquitted."
"well," said paul, who was tired of the discussion, "let us wait till he is acquitted, and then renew our search for the assassin."
"i say chaskin--he is the assassin!"
"and i say, herne. time and opportunity will be needed to prove which of us is in the right," said paul; after which the conversation concluded, and each of the young men went his different way. with their opinions so diametrically opposed to one another, they felt that continued companionship might result in a quarrel; and at the present stage of their acquaintance, and seeing that they were mutually interested in bringing to justice the assassin of milly lester, they were unwilling that a rupture should take place. hence, they very wisely parted.
during the following week there was great excitement in marborough. the assizes were being held, and the barnstead crime occupied the most prominent place in the list of cases which had been set down for trial. it was rumored that lester was innocent, but at marborough the precise way in which his innocence was to be proved was not known. in barnstead itself, thanks to miss clyde and the indefatigable mrs. drass, the inhabitants were better informed, and looked upon the coming trial as a mere farce for the discharging of dr. lester. but there was a new source of excitement in the village, as it was reported that mr. inspector drek had found the assassin, and would have him condemned on the most irrefutable evidence. but the name of the accused was not given, and many were the surmises as to who the criminal might prove to be. thanks to the discretion of paul, lovel, and drek, not a word was breathed hinting that mr. chaskin had anything to do with the matter.
in the meantime the illness of mother jimboy took a bad turn, and it was evident that her days were numbered. drek visited her, and she held to the story of chaskin's guilt, but point blank refused to make any sworn deposition to that effect. her obstinacy on this point led the inspector to believe that the old woman was lying, but for what purpose he could not conceive. drek did all he could to force her to sign a confession, but in vain, and the day for lester's trial arrived without the accomplishment of this object. nevertheless paul mexton haunted the tent of the gipsy and loudly declared that he would not leave until she was dead or had signed a confession. so obstinate was he on this point that not even the trial could seduce him into marborough, and the "tory times" had to employ another reporter in his place. for this kindness on the part of the editor, mexton promised that the confession of mother jimboy should be published in that paper; when the country would be astonished. paul did not know at the time how truly he spoke.
on the second day of the assizes the trial of dr. lester came on. the court was crowded, and iris, dressed in mourning, with a heavy veil over her face, was present, under the charge of mrs. mexton. she would rather have stayed away, but having been subpoenaed as a witness on behalf of the crown, she was obliged to attend. miss clyde was also present, and with her mrs. drass. indeed, the court was full, principally of barnstead folk, who thought that they had a right to the best seats on account of the murder having taken place in their village. lovel came in shortly before the trial began, and while standing in the crowd--for he did not wish to make himself prominent--he felt a light touch on his arm, and was surprised on turning to find himself face to face with the polish violinist. she looked paler than usual, and more than a trifle anxious; but lovel was quite unable to account for these signs of emotion.
"catinka!" he said in surprise. "what are you doing here?"
"i came down to see the trial," she replied. "i saw the body of the poor girl, and i desire to behold the wicked murder man."
"you won't see him here, then. no one knows who killed miss lester."
"but this doctor----"
"is innocent," interrupted lovel. "the trial is a mere farce. when dr. lester is discharged we must look for the real assassin. can you help us?"
"i, my dear?" catinka shrugged her shoulders. "no; i told to that good mexton all that i know. where is he?"
"at barnstead--on business."
"and my good friend, mr. herne?"
"yonder he is, standing beside that clergyman."
"the priest? and who is that priest?"
"mr. chaskin, the vicar of barnstead."
"he is a ver' handsome man," said catinka, calmly. "hush, mistar lovel; we will listen to what they say. lester is in his place, and his lawyer talks."
"no, no; that is counsel for the crown."
"ah; but, my friend, it is no matter, no matter at all."
to this speech lovel made no reply, as he was listening intently to the opening speech of the counsel for the crown. this barrister--an eminent man in his profession--set forth all the circumstances of the crime, detailing the supposed movements of the prisoner on the night of the murder, and ended with an allusion to the witnesses he proposed to call in order to prove his guilt. then one by one those who had appeared at the inquest, including lovel and iris, gave their evidence, which, as may be guessed, incriminated lester in a very decided fashion. to the majority of the spectators, ignorant of what had been discovered since the inquest, it seemed probable that lester was guilty, that he would be convicted, sentenced, and ultimately hanged.
thinking thus, those present in the court were astonished to see how serene was the demeanour of the prisoner. dr. lester, dressed in mourning for his child--a fact which the female portion of the audience resented as hypocrisy--stood quite composed in the dock, and paid the greatest attention to the accusations which were leveled against him. only once did he wince, and that was when allusion was made to his drunken habits and frequent states of dangerous frenzy induced by intoxication. otherwise he was unmoved.
"you say this one not wicked!" whispered catinka to lovel, who had returned to his seat after giving his evidence. "i think they all say he kill that poor daughter."
"wait till you hear both sides of the question," replied lovel, in the same low tones; "the doctor has yet to make his defence."
counsel for the accused made a very short speech. he stated that the prisoner had been drunk on the night and at the time of the murder; that he had taken a loaded pistol, and had gone out in search of mr. lovel at half-past eight o'clock. after leaving the house, he recollected no more until he returned home at dawn; and the crown relied on this state of forgetfulness, caused by intoxication, to prove the prisoner's guilt. under the circumstances it indeed was hard to tell if the prisoner had not shot the deceased in mistake for mr. lovel; but fortunately, in the interests of justice, he, the counsel for the accused, could produce, and intended to produce, a lady of well-known veracity, who could prove that the man in the dock was entirely innocent, and had not committed the crime alleged against him. counsel stated also that he had only one witness, a lady, and that lady miss clyde, but that she would be able to refute all the evidence brought against the prisoner by the prosecution. as the jury now understood what he proposed to do, he, counsel for the defense, would call selina clyde.
miss clyde at once stepped into the witness-box, and was duly sworn. she gave in detail the evidence of her taking the pistol off lester, and related almost in the same words the story which she had told to mexton. counsel for the crown cross-examined her severely, but nothing could shake her testimony; and when she left the witness-box the tide had turned in favour of lester, and all present believed him to be guiltless. the summing up of the judge inclined towards this view; and the jury, without leaving the box--so great was the impression produced by miss clyde's evidence--pronounced the prisoner innocent. a verdict of not guilty was given; the judge discharged the doctor, and lester stepped down from the box a free man, amid the applause of the court.
"so he did not kill after all?" said catinka, who looked rather disappointed with the verdict.
"no," replied lovel coldly. "you have heard the evidence; lester is innocent."
"and who is guilty?"
"i don't know."
catinka laughed in a scoffing manner. "i thought you would have known by this time," she observed with a shrug.
"do you know?" demanded lovel sharply.
"i do. i was told by the man himself."
"the man himself! who is he?"
"wait; you will hear in a few minutes."
"in this court?"
"yes. see!" catinka stretched out her arm. "mr. herne knows who killed the poor lady; see, my dear, he rises to tell the name."
and indeed herne, in spite of an attempt on the part of chaskin to prevent him, was on his feet, demanding permission to speak. before the judge could retire, before the lawyers could rise from the table, before the jury could leave the box, or a single person the court, herne, without waiting for the permission he had asked for, was making a speech. his face was flushed with excitement, his eyes flashed, and he spoke rapidly, clearly, and to the point. his words solved the problem of milly's death, and they were few.
"my lord," he cried, "and you, gentlemen of the jury, you have liberated one man as guiltless of the death of my promised wife; now i require you to order the arrest of another man--of the man who came by stealth and killed her, to save her soul from ill. you wish to know who killed millicent lester. here is the man!" herne struck himself on the breast. "i killed her! i saved her soul! i--i--i!"
