Alan interposed:
"Was that the West Indian letter, Joe?"
"Yes, sir, it was. Master got a letter from a friend of his in Jamaica telling him this swab was after him to say as he'd murdered Munseer Achille, which," added Joe, deliberately eyeing Lestrange, "is a d----d lie!"
"Then who killed Achille?" sneered the Captain, quivering with rage.
"I dunno rightly," replied Mr. Brill stolidly. "I wasn't in the house that night, or I'd ha' found out. But master ran away, because he knew you'd accuse him out of spite. But Mr. Barkham, of Falmouth, believed master was innocent, and know'd where he was, and what was his new name. 'Twas he wrote the letter saying as Captain Jean was on his way to England to make trouble."
"Barkham!" muttered Lestrange. "Ah! he was always my enemy."
"A shark like you, Captain Jean, ain't got no friends," remarked Joe sententiously.
"Do you think that Barkham's letter caused Mr. Marlow's death?" asked Alan.
"Do I think it, sir? Why, I knows it! After twenty years of hearing nothing, the shock, as you might say, killed my master."
"Then he was guilty, and my accusation was a righteous one to make," chimed in Lestrange. "A clean conscience fears nothing."