The poor little girl, sobbing and trembling, had answered that she had seen Miss Crofton fall, and then—
“Can you give any reason for it?”
“It was the gun, sir.”
“What gun?”
“If you please, sir, I don’t know.”
Then Hugh stood up.
“I do. It was mine. Will you have the goodness to take my evidence next, and I think you will see that there is no occasion to trouble anyone else.”
The coroner assented, and Hugh, having been sworn, went on in a hard, cold voice:
“My cousin and I were shooting in the copse. I was put out of temper because I missed aim twice. My cousin saw her—Miss Crofton—standing by the lock; so did I. He said the gates were dangerous, and I contradicted him, and was irritated by what I thought foolish anxiety. A rabbit got up and I raised my gun. My cousin said: ‘Don’t fire, you’ll startle her—’” Hugh could not get out the name. “I said, ‘Nonsense, it is too far off;’ and I fired, and she was startled, and she fell off and was drowned. Those are the facts; it is my doing entirely.”
There was a pause of shocked attention, which was broken by Arthur, who came forward and stood by Hugh.