"That is the worst," said Mr. Blake. "There must be some terrible understanding among them, some compact for evil, when twenty men are afraid to tell what one man has been seen to do. It's fearful to think that the priests should not put a stop to it. How is Master Florian getting on with his priest?"
"It's about him that I have come to speak to you," said Mr. Jones.
"About Florian?"
"Yes; indeed. When I tell you my story, I think you will understand that I would tell it to no one but yourself in County Galway. I fear that Florian saw the men at work upon the flood gates."
"And will he not tell the truth?"
"You must remember that I cannot say that I know anything. The boy declares that he saw nothing; that he knows nothing. I have no evidence; but his sisters are sure that it is so. Edith says that he certainly was present when the gates were removed. She only judges from his manner and his countenance."
"What made her suspect him?" asked Mr. Blake.
"Only that she saw him when the news was brought to us. Edith is not ill-natured. She would not be prone to make a story against her brother."
"If Edith says so, it is so," said Mr. Blake, who among all Edith's admirers was one of the most ardent.
"I don't quite say that. I only mean to express my conviction that she intends to get at the truth."