"She said: 'Ah, Mother Jane, we have a piece of work for you. You are strong, are you not?'"
"Humph!"
"And then she commiserated me a bit and gave me food which, upon my word, I found hard to eat, though I had saved my appetite for the occasion. Before she left me she bade me sit in the inglenook till she wanted me, adding in Hannah's ear as she passed her: 'There is no use trying to explain anything to her. Show her when the time comes what there is to do and trust to her short memory to forget it before she leaves the house. She could not understand my brother's propensity or our shame in pandering to it. So attempt nothing, Hannah. Only keep the money in her view.'"
"So, and that gave you no idea?"
"It gave me the idea I have imparted to you, or, rather, added to the idea which had been instilled in me by others."
"And this idea was not affected by what you saw afterwards?"
"Not in the least—rather strengthened. Of the few words I overheard, one was uttered in reference to yourself by Miss Knollys. She said: 'I have locked Miss Butterworth again into her room. If she accuses me of having done so, I shall tell her our whole story. Better she should know the family's disgrace than imagine us guilty of crimes of which we are utterly incapable.'"
"So! so!" I cried, "you heard that?"
"Yes, madam, I heard that, and I do not think she knew she was dropping that word into the ear of a detective, but on this point you are, of course, at liberty to differ with me."
"I am not yet ready to avail myself of the privilege," I retorted. "What else did these girls let fall in your hearing?"