"miss clyde!" said paul, staring at his informant; "but what was she doing in the winding lane at so late an hour?"

"watchin' miss lester, of course, sir!"

"why? for what reason?"

brent laughed in a coarse manner, and there was a leer on his face as he replied to this question. "don't y' know, sir, miss clyde's sweet on mr. lovel, and she 'ated miss lester like pisin?"

"are you sure?"

"sure?" returned brent, with contempt--"why, ain't i bin ploughman on clyde's farm for years? an' ain't i 'eard arl the talk o' the maids? 'tis well known theer as miss clyde 'ud give 'er ears to be missus lovel!"

"and you think she killed miss lester out of jealousy?"

"i'm sure she did, sir. wot wos she doin' in th' lane creepin' arter them? why wasn't she 'ome at the farm? oh, no, sir; she did it, for i knows the kin' of temper she 'as! mad bulls is nothin' to it!"

"then dr. lester is innocent!" said paul, half to himself.

"niver thowt he were guilty," returned brent, drily.

"then why didn't you come forward at the inquest and confess all this, so as to save an innocent man from arrest?"

brent reared himself to a giant height, and he laid down his pipe on the table. "whoy didn't i," he thundered--'"cause i wished t' be honourable for that there money! if i'd said i seed miss clyde, i'd have had to say why she wos theer, wouldn't i? and cud i 'ave said she were watchin' mr. lovel and the gal when the five pounds were given to me to 'old my tongue? it was either tell arl or shut up," concluded brent, dropping back into his seat, "so i shut up."

paul nodded. "it was the only thing you could do," he said, musingly; "but i must see miss clyde and get the truth out of her."

"an' y' mus' see mr. lovel," said brent, heavily. "i ain't goin' to let the doctor be strung oop. let mr. lovel git away t' americy, an' then i'll tell arl i've told you about miss clyde and mr. lovel, an' th' perlice will let t' doctor out o' gaol."

"no doubt," said mexton, rising. "and in the meantime, brent, you had better hold your tongue until i give you leave to speak."

"i shan't speak till mr. lovel ses 'es i can," said brent, doggedly.

"i'll see mr. lovel about that, brent. in the meantime, as i said before, hold your tongue. if inspector drek knew what you have done you would get into trouble."

"shan't, sir, if y' don't tell him!"

"i don't intend to tell him," rejoined paul, coldly. "i'll thrash out this matter for myself. if miss clyde killed that poor girl, she must suffer for her crime."

"i 'ope they'll string 'er oop!" said brent, vindictively. "i 'ate 'er; she turned me off wi'oot a character."

paul shrugged his shoulders at this last speech, which betrayed the motive for brent's accusation, and went away from the inn. it was now growing late, and he had to return to his duties in marborough. there was no time to ride out two miles and see miss clyde; nor, if there had been, would paul have sought an interview so soon after the conversation with brent. he wished for a quiet time to consider all that had been told to him; to marshal his facts and to draw deductions therefrom. the truth is, mexton was becoming bewildered by the sudden shifting of the blame from one person to another. at first, on the face of the circumstantial evidence supplied by eliza, it seemed that dr. lester was guilty; and even after the sifting of such evidence by coroner and jury, it had been found strong enough to imprison him pending a more extended trial. then, by the belief of herne regarding the bribery--which was afterwards admitted by brent--and by the declaration of iris, it appeared that lovel had committed the crime. now came the ploughman, who positively asserted that miss clyde had killed milly. which one of the three witnesses was to be believed? which of the three accused was to be deemed guilty? paul could not say.

he quite admitted that miss clyde, in a moment of jealousy at seeing lovel with her rival, might have given way to the strong temper which she was known to possess. but it was incredible that she had gone to the winding lane with a pistol to designedly murder the girl. the question was: where had she obtained the weapon wherewith to commit the crime? no doubt she had seen lovel follow milly into the lane, and had come after him. that was clear enough; but it did not account for miss clyde's possession of a pistol, without which she could not have shot the girl. on the whole, paul doubted the story of brent, which was doubtless dictated by a feeling of hatred against the woman who had dismissed him from her employment. by the time he reached marborough, the journalist had come to the conclusion that miss clyde would be able to refute the accusation; and he determined to give her the chance of doing so next day at a personal interview. paul believed that she would prove her own innocence, and might also offer from her own knowledge some solution of the mystery.

on arriving at his home paul found that iris had preceded him, and was seated in the tiny drawing-room with mrs. mexton. the widow--for paul's father had long since departed this life--was a placid, motherly-looking woman, whose mission in life seemed to be the task of comforting the afflicted. in this mission she was now engaged with iris, and from the more composed looks of the girl it would seem that she had succeeded.

"well," said iris, when he made his appearance, "did you find brent?"

"yes--and what is more, i made him speak out."

"did he give you any useful information?"

"he did; so useful that i hope to prove the innocence of dr. lester, and secure the arrest of the real murderer."

"lucas lovel?"

"no. according to brent, that gentleman is innocent."

"i told you so, iris," interjected mrs. mexton mildly. "i am sure mr. lovel is too much a gentleman to commit so terrible a crime."

"i don't think good birth or good breeding have much to do with the prevention of crime," replied iris disdainfully; "there is criminality amongst the upper classes, as in the lower, only they sin in a more refined manner. but this is beside the question. what i wish to know is: if mr. lovel is not guilty--which i beg leave to doubt--who is?"

"what would you say to miss clyde?"

"i should laugh."

"and i," said mrs. mexton energetically, "would be utterly disinclined to believe that a christian gentlewoman would fall to such a depth of degradation."

"christian gentlewomen, like all others of their sex, are amenable to jealousy," declared paul, grimly.

"jealousy!" repeated iris--"and miss clyde was jealous?"

"so brent says. she loves lucas lovel and hated your sister."

"does brent say she committed the crime on that motive?"

"yes; he saw her following the pair in the lane on that night."

"then lovel did meet milly?"

"he did."

"and mr. lovel bribed him to hold his tongue?"

"precisely," assented paul--"and with a five-pound note."

"then i tell you what," said iris, coolly--"mr. lovel paid brent also to accuse miss clyde!"

"h'm! it's not improbable," said mexton, pulling his moustache. "i am more inclined to believe in the guilt of lovel than in that of miss clyde. but i'll see her to-morrow and ask her for an explanation."

"she won't give it."

"in that case i'll tell drek, and he'll force her to speak."

"oh, dear! oh, dear!" sighed mrs. mexton. "it is truly terrible to think of the way in which we have been brought into contact with crime! and poor dr. lester in gaol!"

"he won't be in goal long," said paul, with a satisfied nod.

"you are going to prove his innocence?" cried iris, anxiously.

"i am; but i don't intend to leave him in prison until i do so. to-morrow i'll get bail for him, and he will be a free man--at all events till his trial."

"it is very good of you, paul," said iris, gratefully; and mrs. mexton endorsed the statement with a nod of her head. she was a simple and pious old woman, but not quite the company for two young and ardent people. her views on the matter of the murder were singularly crude; and the point she dwelt on most was that lester's loss and arrest were a judgment on him for his long indulgence in the drinking vice. but, knowing him as she had done, the most part of his life, she did not believe he was guilty, and stated this opinion to iris, who was much comforted thereby.

"i do not love dr. lester," she confessed, "and i never approved of my mother's second marriage. all the same, i should be terribly sorry to see him hanged."

"particularly for a crime of which he is guiltless," said paul. "by the way, iris, you will have to return to barnstead to-morrow for the funeral."

"we are both going over," said mrs. mexton, patting the head of iris. "poor milly!"

and then they fell to talking about milly and her many good qualities; also about her beauty and charm. no mention was made of her faults, seeing that she was dead, and that it is not well to speak evil of those who have gone. mrs. mexton exalted milly into a martyr, and iris endorsed the canonisation with tears. in the midst of this glorification paul slipped out and went to the office of the "tory times" for a long night's work. he arrived back in the small hours of the morning when iris had retired; and left for barnstead after eight o'clock, before she was up. therefore he did not see her again till the afternoon, when he met her in barnstead cemetery at the funeral of her unfortunate half-sister.

as usual, paul rode over to barnstead. independent of his journalistic earnings he had a small income, and it did not cost much to keep a horse in the country. riding was a great passion with the young man; and he always declared that he thought better when in the saddle than in the study. on this perfect summer morning, however, he was less occupied with fiction than with real life. the murder case absorbed his every thought, and he recognised that the mystery of milly's case could hardly have been surpassed in the detective novel of the day. he was determined to discover who had killed the girl; and passed rapidly through barnstead towards clyde's farm in order to see the lady, and ascertain what amount of truth there was in brent's story.

the residence of miss clyde was a long, low house, with whitewashed walls and a thatched roof, eminently picturesque, but not at all practical. there was a homely flower-garden before it, filled with marigolds, sweet-williams, southernwood and such-like old english flowers; these being the peculiar care of mrs. drass, who blended gossip with horticulture. when paul rode up to the gate, she was pottering about with a trowel in her hand, and came to the gate to meet him: but keen-eyed paul mexton noted that she did not seem overpleased at his visit.

"this is a surprise, mr. mexton!" said she, as he alighted from his horse, and tied the reins to the gatepost. "it is rarely that you honour us with a visit--especially at so early an hour."

"i must apologise for the hour," said paul, entering the house, conducted by the ex-governess, "but i have to see miss clyde on important business."

"about what?" asked mrs. drass sharply.

"pardon me, dear madam," replied paul, thwarting this curiosity with great blandness, "but i shall explain that to miss clyde herself."

mrs. drass muttered something which paul could not hear, and her usually florid face was pale, as she preceded him into the dining-room, where miss clyde sat at breakfast. that lady looked cold and composed and masculine as usual; but she could not suppress a start at the sight of paul.

"so you want to see me on business, mr. mexton?" she said, when he had explained himself. "very good. come into my study, and we will not be disturbed."

"can i come also, selina?" said mrs. drass, who was extremely curious.

"not just now," answered miss clyde; "later on i shall send for you."

so mrs. drass went back to her flowers with an unsatisfied curiosity, while paul and miss clyde repaired to the room, which the latter dignified with the name of her study. in truth, it was more of a bachelor's den than the apartment of a spinster lady; and its furnishing was an excellent proof of the simplicity of its owner's character. miss clyde sat down before the desk, which fronted the window, and pointing out a seat to paul, waited to hear what he had to say. knowing her direct and outspoken way of going about things, paul went directly to the point.

"i have come to see you about this murder, miss clyde," he said, looking at her significantly.

"i expected as much," she replied quietly. "but what can i tell you about it?"

"as much as you saw in the winding lane on that night," said mexton boldly.

"who saw me in the lane?"

"brent; he saw you following milly and mr. lovel. were you?"

"yes; i followed them for a purpose."

"to kill milly," said paul, wondering at her coolness.

miss clyde shook her head, and opening a drawer, produced therefrom a pistol. "i followed them to obtain that revolver," she said, and handed the weapon to paul.