"Unless you could find somebody else who happened to have seen her too."
"No one else was there at the time."
"We must make enquiries," said Janie excitedly. "It really seems a clue. We won't leave a stone unturned, if we can help it."
"I should be very glad to get poor Paddy out of trouble," replied Lettice. "The slur on our house will be just the same, though, whichever Chaddite may be the culprit. It's only moving the disgrace from one person to another."
"We must see that the blame is put on to the right pair of shoulders, though; it's not fair for Honor to bear it unjustly."
"Indeed it isn't. What would be the best way to begin?"
"We need a witness. I wonder if Johnson was about at the time, and noticed anything?"
"A good idea! We'll go and find him. I believe I saw him just now, shutting up the greenhouse."
After a rather lengthy search, the girls at last discovered the old gardener putting away his tools in the potting shed.
"Johnson, please, we want to ask you a question," began Janie. "Were you near St. Chad's at nine o'clock on the night before last; and did you happen to see anyone climbing the lime tree that stands close to the house?"