squire herne stared blankly at lovel, and burst out laughing. "frank chaskin!" said he; "my old friend, the murderer of my promised wife? you are mad to say so!"

"i am not mad, as you know very well, mr. herne. i daresay you came out of your trance on that night quickly enough to see chaskin steal away from the scene of his crime?"

"i swear by all that i hold most sacred that i saw nothing of my friend on that night. i rode back to marborough, and caught the night express to london, without speaking to anyone with whom i was acquainted. i have told you that i came hither in disguise; is it likely, i ask you, mr. lovel, that i would nullify that disguise by speaking to my dearest friend? not only my second self, mark you," added herne, haughtily, "but a priest of the english church, to whom i could not without shame reveal my secret visit. i acted for a good object, no doubt, but the means i was forced to adopt were none the less distasteful. i deny that in any way i know that frank chaskin is guilty; and, what is more, gentlemen, i would be prepared to stake my existence that he is innocent."

"i should like to agree with you, mr. herne," said paul sadly, "but unfortunately i have here a proof of his guilt."

"proof! what proof?"

"this pistol," said paul, producing the weapon and handing it to herne. "it was found by mother jimboy on this spot, on the night of the murder, and shortly after the committal of the crime. you will see that the vicar's name is engraved on the butt."

herne glanced carelessly at the pistol, and returned it to mexton. "i have no need to see," he said sternly. "i recognise the pistol well enough. it is one of a pair which chaskin had when he was in the army. it was found on this spot, you say. what of that?"

"simply this," broke in lovel, "that chaskin must have dropped it after killing milly."

"it does not argue that chaskin was here at all," retorted herne. "this pistol was no doubt stolen from his study, where he kept it. mother jimboy, you say--a gipsy, a thief. why," he added, struck by a sudden thought, "she was in chaskin's study a week before the murder! i remember quite well. no doubt she stole the pistol."

"and killed milly, why don't you add?" sneered lovel.

"because i don't accuse her of so purposeless a crime. no doubt she gave the pistol to the murderer."

"admitting that she did," cried paul, "whom do you suspect?"

"no one," replied herne. "though i might suspect lovel."

"oh," said lucas, shrugging his shoulders, "are you going over the old ground again?"

"no, i am not," replied herne. "i say again that i do not suspect you."

"and i ask again why have you changed your mind?" said lovel. "i was with milly when you fell into your trance, and i was absent when you came out of it. so far as you knew, no one else was in the lane, and you awoke from your senseless state to see milly's dead body. on these grounds you can suspect me only."

"you state a very good case against yourself," sneered herne. "evidently you wish to be hanged!"

"no, but i wish to hang the villain who killed milly. i can defend myself if needful. but can you defend chaskin?"

"i would do so with my life! he is innocent."

"i'll have to hear that from his own lips," replied lovel. "myself and mexton are on our way to see him. will you come also?"

"no; chaskin can defend himself. i have just left him, and he said nothing which leads me to doubt him."

"the pistol----"

"no doubt he can explain the pistol. but go and ask him. for myself, i must bid you good-day. i have an engagement."

"one moment," cried paul, catching him by the arm as he was moving off, "do you intend to abandon the search for miss lester's assassin?"

"no," replied herne coldly. "i will find the assassin without your help."

"because you know he is chaskin!" cried lovel scornfully.

"i do not know he is chaskin!" retorted herne disdainfully. "the person whom i suspect--whom i know--killed milly is one you would never dream of accusing. mine shall be the hand to bring this person to justice. till then"--he waved his hand--"i have nothing to say," and with these final words he moved away.

paul stood looking after him with a look of doubt on his face. "whom do you think he suspects?" asked the journalist.

"i don't know."

"it can't be dr. lester, or miss clyde, for we have evidence that they are innocent," said paul, perplexed, "nor you, because he denies that you are guilty; nor chaskin, for the same reason; so----"

"i don't believe his denial of chaskin's guilt," cried lovel, with a frown; "nothing will make me believe that he did not kill milly. perhaps herne suspects catinka."

"impossible! she cleared herself in my eyes."

"well," said lovel, dismissing the subject with a shrug, "let us see how the rev. mr. chaskin intends to clear himself. he will find it hard to deny the evidence of that pistol."

paul thought so also, but as his companion seemed indisposed for further conversation he held his peace. the two young men walked slowly through the winding lane, each intent on his own thoughts. mexton wondered on how many more people the blame of this tragic death was likely to fall. lester, miss clyde, lovel, catinka, and herne all had been suspected on sufficiently strong evidence; but on evidence equally strong the innocence of one and all had been clearly proved. now the circumstantial evidence of the pistol was against chaskin, and it would appear that he had killed the girl; but for all that paul was not inclined to be certain of his guilt. others had cleared themselves by reasonable explanation; so why should not chaskin do the same? mexton quite expected that the vicar would be able to explain the loss of his pistol, and account in some plausible way for his meeting on the common with mother jimboy. and if he proved himself to be guiltless, it would be quite impossible--so far as paul saw--to discover the assassin of milly. her fate would remain a tragic mystery; and the person who had wrought such ill would live on in defiance of the law. but though he--or she, for it might be a woman, thought paul--escape the law of man, there was yet the law of god to be reckoned with. come what might, the dastard who had fired the fatal shot would not escape punishment in the next world.

on their way to the square of st. dunstan, where the vicarage was situated, the young men met with dr. lester, who at once stopped to give them some news.

"i have just heard from drek that my trial takes place next week," he said eagerly, "and i must surrender to my bail. i shall be glad to get the thing over, as, notwithstanding my innocence, i feel uneasy until i am pronounced guiltless."

"that need not trouble you," said paul; "you assuredly will go free. we know now who committed the murder."

"who was it? who is the assassin?"

"i'll tell you that later on. is drek here?"

"yes, he is at the herne arms."

"then tell him to meet lovel and myself there in an hour. we have something to tell him which is of the greatest importance."

"is it the name of the assassin?"

"yes," broke in lovel fiercely, "it is the name of the assassin; and i hope i'll see him in gaol to-night. where are you going now, doctor?" he asked abruptly.

"to see mother jimboy. she is ill, you know."

"yes, i know," assented lovel gloomily. "will she die?"

"i hope not; but she is old, and should fever intervene, or inflammation be set up, i am afraid she will die."

"it may be well if she does," muttered lovel to himself. "good-bye, doctor. you shall know who killed milly this very night."

when lester took his departure, which he did very unwillingly, as he was anxious to know the truth, paul and his companion went to the vicarage, and without much difficulty were shown into the presence of chaskin. the vicar happened to be at home at the moment, and saw them with apparent willingness; but lovel, with jealous eyes, perceived that he changed colour when they entered. also, his voice shook when he asked them to be seated; and from these signs of emotion in the absence of any apparent cause paul augured ill. for an innocent man chaskin was strangely moved.

"we have come to see you on a very important matter, sir," said paul.

"yes," responded chaskin, trying to preserve his calmness; "and about what?"

"let me answer that question," said lovel, before paul could speak. "about the murder of miss lester."

"what about the murder, mr. lovel? why do you come to me on such errand?"

"because i think you can best answer our questions."

chaskin rose suddenly from his chair, and commanded his voice with a powerful effort of will, but the perspiration beaded his brow as he spoke.

"what am i to understand by this speech, mr. lovel?"

"that you are the assassin of milly lester!"

"i--i!" gasped the vicar, sitting down again, less by will than because he could no longer stand upright. "you dare to accuse me of this terrible crime! mr. mexton, is your friend mad?"

"no, mr. chaskin," replied paul in sad tones. "i believe the same as he does."

"that i killed miss lester--i, who read the service over her coffin!"

"yes," exclaimed both men together.

chaskin passed his hand across his brow and groaned. "this is some horrible dream," he said in an agitated voice, "you cannot be serious!"

"but we are serious," said mexton, agitated also. "i would willingly believe you guiltless, sir, but what can i say--what can lovel say--in the face of such evidence as this?"

"my pistol!" chaskin took the weapon from paul's hand, and looked at it in a startled way. "yes, it is mine; my name is on it. mr. lovel! mr. mexton! how did you come by it?"

"i received it from gran jimboy," said paul.

"and gran jimboy picked it up on the very spot where milly's body was lying," added lovel, "shortly after the shot was fired. how did it come there?"

by this time chaskin was the colour of paper; but there was a certain dignity in his answer. "i cannot tell you, gentlemen," he replied. "i did not lose it in the winding lane."

"but it is your pistol," said lovel with a scowl.

"it is; but i--i lost it over a month ago!"

"i thought you would try and get out of it in that way," scoffed lucas. "a weak defence, truly!"

"i need make no defence," said chaskin, haughtily. "i am innocent."

"then how can you explain your presence on the common before nine o'clock of that night?"

"how do you know i was on the common?"

"mother jimboy says she met you."

"true." chaskin again passed his hand across his face. "i did meet her. i was going to see a sick man on the other side of the common."

"away from the village?"

"yes. i went there and saw this man immediately after evening service. it was on my return about midnight that i found the body of that poor girl, and gave the alarm. but i stated all this at the inquest."

"i remember," said paul, with a nod. "but mrs. jimboy declares that before nine o'clock you were going towards the winding lane, and----"

"she is making a mistake," interrupted the vicar hurriedly. "i was going in the other direction."

"she denies that," said lovel, sharply; "and it was shortly after she saw you go into the woods about the winding lane that she heard the shot."

"i did not fire it!" said chaskin, emphatically; "and let me ask you, mr. lovel, if you were with miss lester on that night, at that hour?"

"i was," admitted lovel. "i don't mind saying so, as i can prove my innocence."

"then you must know who killed miss lester!"

"i do not. the shot was fired out of the darkness of the trees."

"were you standing by the stile?"

"yes; with miss lester."

"then if i came towards that stile you must have seen me.

"i didn't see you, i admit," replied lucas, somewhat disconcerted; "but if you are not guilty, mr. chaskin, you know who is."

"i can say neither one thing nor the other," said the vicar; "if you think me guilty, you must do so."