"But you must feel anxiety," said Mr. Tracy irritably. "Your brother is in a deuced ticklish position, Mr. Ashley."
"I know," Melville answered, with a far-away look upon his face. "I wouldn't be in his place for a million of money." That was almost the only absolutely sincere remark he made upon the subject. "Look here, Mr. Tracy," he said suddenly, "in confidence, do you really think Ralph might swing for this?"
"I think it's quite possible," the lawyer said. "It's a capital charge, and if the jury bring in a verdict of guilty the sentence must be death; there's no alternative. Whether it would be carried out or commuted to penal servitude is another matter, as to which I have formed no opinion."
"No jury can convict," said Melville obstinately; "there's no evidence."
Mr. Tracy would not argue the point. That would be done exhaustively by-and-bye; his present business was to stimulate Melville into activity, and it was not progressing as he liked.
"What we have to do at the present time," he said, "is to make all possible enquiries and follow up any possible clue, however shadowy it may seem at first. I want you to exhaust the neighbourhood of Fairbridge; you know everybody there. Go round the inns and little shops and the locks, and encourage the people to talk. You may hear of some stranger having been seen about there at the time, hanging about the bars or the towing-path, or something of that sort; if you do, follow it up."
"But all that means time and money," said Melville. "I can't afford either."
Mr. Tracy was surprised.
"My dear sir," he said, "you must make the time, and as for the money, that is my affair, as the solicitor for the defence. I will pay a hundred into your account this afternoon, if you will tell me where you bank."
"That simplifies things for me," said Melville, imparting the necessary information without too much alacrity, but yet making sure that Mr. Tracy should make no mistake as to which branch of the bank he honoured with his custom. "I don't see why I shouldn't confess to you that I am hard up, and Sir Geoffrey's will was like a blow between the eyes."