"But why?"
"Have you thought," asked Jenny, and looked at Martin, "what the upset of a police-investigation would be in your house? And my house?"
Clearly Ricky hadn't Up to this moment, it was clear, he had regarded the matter as nothing very important The governor's been dead for twenty years; we've forgotten it; why bother?’ Such might have been his philosophy. Now he sat down heavily in what had been Jenny's chair by the table, and picked up his dead pipe. The sun's glow was dimming to a pale, clear after-light through the open door to the road.
"Tell it," Jenny almost whispered. "Tell it!"
"It was October or November. I'm sure of that, because the trees were mostly bare and there were leaves on the ground. Also because they'd given me a new cricket-bat; and the governor asked what I wanted with a new one when the season was over; but cricket has no season for you at that age. There was some kind of special treat promised for tea, because a number of people were to be there.
"As I say, Miss Upton and I were in the back garden. Near the house, I think. There was a red sky to the west, with the bare branches of trees up against it. It wasn't very cold, and there was a clean autumny-tanging kind of wind. Then we heard the Ascombe Hunt
"We'd heard faint noises before. But nothing to the uproar like this. We couldn't see anything, because the house was between us and the road. But the hounds were ding-dong and hell-for-leather on a breast-high scent I knew they'd broken out of Black Hanger and across Guideman's Field just back of this pub here, and I guessed they were running to view.
"I started to make a bee-line for the front of the house. Miss Upton grabbed my arm. She was afraid I would run across and get among the field in front of somebody's horse, which had happened once or twice before. I kicked up a devil of a row until she got a head-lock on me. Then she said: "Richard, you may go to the front if I keep hold of your hand."
‘I said yes, and meant it. We started round the north side-of the house, on the broad gravel drive. Then we heard a… well a shout"
Ricky paused.