"I can supply no other reason," answered Edith, reflectively. "Ellen was very eccentric, and one could not always account for her whims."
"She was superstitious?"
"Very! Believed in omens and fortune-tellers and all kinds of rubbish. Yet I fancy she had not always been so weak-minded. It was the dread of a violent death that made her consult these people."
"Did she ever drop any hint about the murder?"
"She dropped no hint, as you call it," said Edith, stiffly, "but told me the whole story very plainly. She quite believed that Dean was guilty."
"Yet she might have killed Kirkstone herself," said Gebb, after a pause.
"That is impossible. She had no reason to do so; and moreover if she had been guilty, she would certainly have betrayed herself to me. It is no use speaking ill of the dead, Mr. Gebb."
"Yet you cannot say that your cousin was a good woman."
"Perhaps not," retorted Miss Wedderburn. "On the other hand, I cannot say that she was a murderess. Well, sir, I have told you all I know, and you see I cannot help you in any way."
"I am not so sure of that," replied Gebb, coolly. "I have not yet closed my examination."