"I can't bear it. Captain Lestrange----" She hesitated.
"Ah!" said Alan fiercely. "I might have guessed he had been making mischief. Well, and what does he say?"
"That you stole my father's body, Alan!"
"I--I--stole the body?"
"Yes!" chimed in the Rector. "And he further says that you took it to the hut on the heath, where Warrender's corpse was found."
"Oh, indeed!" cried the young man derisively. "And did I murder Warrender, too?"
"Alan! Alan! Oh, don't jest! If you love me, Alan, tell me the truth."
"Sophy! What do you mean?" He pushed away his plate and rose. "Do you believe this man's tale for one moment? Am I the man to violate a grave--to drag the remains of a man I respected and honored to the light of day? You must be mad to think of such a thing! How dare he bring forward such a terrible--such a dastardly accusation? For what reason does he say that I did it?"
"Out of revenge, I expect," said Phelps. "He dislikes you, Alan. He says you took poor Marlow's body to dissect it."
"And bases his lie upon some gossip of my having been a medical student, I suppose?" cried the young man, now thoroughly angry. "I'll thrash the scoundrel within an inch of his life!"