"You should have given the alarm," said Carrington, quietly.
"Oh, should I?" sneered the other. "You would have done so under the same circumstances, wouldn't you?"
"Perhaps," returned the barrister ambiguously. "I quite see that you were in a very awkward position."
"Of course I was. If the fact of the will came to light, I might have been accused of killing Leigh to get it."
"Which you did," insisted Carrington, "in spite of this cock-and-bull story."
"Hang you!" shouted Mallien fiercely, and clenching his fists. "I tell you I did not. Things happened as I say, and I ran back to my cottage determined to hold my tongue, and let things take their course. That is why I have made no move about the will. The man I struggled with in the avenue was the criminal, and got my opal."
"How then did Hendle and I find the opal near the sundial?"
"I don't know," returned Mallien moodily. "If you tell the police, I can only repeat the story I am repeating now."
"I don't want to tell the police," said Carrington mildly. "My terms----"
"I know all about your infernal terms, just as I know that I am in a fix. I am innocent, but it is difficult for me to defend myself against the circumstantial evidence."