This triple denial was so emphatic that Ellis was forced to believe her. Yet it appeared strange that she should be so ignorant of matters which virtually concerned the death of her husband. He looked keenly at her for some sign of confusion, but the brow of Mrs. Moxton was as open as the day. If she lied she was a wonderful actress, but Ellis did not believe that she lied, being too much in love to consider her so deliberately base.
"Well!" said he, making an attempt in another direction to fathom the mystery. "My landlady, Mrs. Basket, called to see you the other day."
"To spy out the land. Oh, I saw through her pretended kindness at once. She wished to find some proof of my guilt, but as I had nothing to conceal I gave her the opportunity of convincing herself that I was innocent."
"The very proof you gave convinced her of your guilt," said Ellis, warmly. "Mrs. Basket is a dangerous woman, Mrs. Moxton; one of those well-meaning people who do so much harm. She has no special grudge against you, but she has got it into her mind that you killed your husband with the carving-knife."
"But I did not. It is nonsense talking like that!"
"Then where is the carving-knife? Mrs. Basket searched but could not find it, and now she believes that you have hidden it."
"What rubbish!" said Mrs. Moxton, with contempt. "Edgar threw it away."
"Threw it away? Why?"
"Because he knew that I kept it by me to protect myself against tramps or burglars, so, out of sheer devilry, the week before he died, he threw it into the garden behind some bushes."
"Is it there now?"