"I only lured him to get his arm broken so that I might nurse him when he was ill and get some money," growled Garvington, sitting down again.
"I am well aware of what you did and how you did it. But you gave that forged letter to Silver so that it might be passed on to Pine."
"I didn't! I didn't! I didn't! I didn't!"
"You did. And because Silver knew too much you gave him the Abbot's Wood Cottage at a cheap rent, or at no rent at all, for all I know. To be quite plain, Garvington, you conspired with Silver to have Pine killed."
"Winged—only winged, I tell you. I never shot him."
"Your accomplice did."
"He's not my accomplice. He was in the house—everything was locked up."
"By you," said Lambert quickly. "So it was easy for you to leave a window unfastened, so that Silver might get outside to hide in the shrubbery."
"Oh!" Garvington jumped up again, looking both pale and wicked. "You want to put a rope round my neck, curse you."
"That's a melodramatic speech which is not true," replied the other coldly. "For I want to save you, or, rather, our name, from disgrace. I won't call in the police"—Garvington winced at this word—"because I wish to hush the matter up. But since Chaldea and Silver accuse me and accuse Agnes of getting rid of Pine so that we might marry, it is necessary that I should learn the exact truth."