"I can wait till to-morrow, Harold. I have no very great desire to go out into this dense fog. By the way, who is this Mr Pratt?"
"A newcomer to Colester. He has been here off and on for the last few months, and has decided to settle here. He is well off, and has travelled a great deal. His house is beautifully furnished."
"Quite an acquisition to the neighbourhood!" said Marton, drowsily. "I must make the acquaintance of your people here to-morrow. Just now I feel inclined to go to bed."
"But tell me your opinion of this case?"
"Well," said Marton, thoughtfully, "from all the evidence you give me it seems that Haverleigh is guilty."
"No, Marton," replied the curate, "I'll never believe that. And you forget that he claims to have obtained the money from Sir Frank Hale."
"Well, then, his possession of three hundred pounds is easily proved. I shall see Sir Frank Hale and question him. With regard to this Mrs Jeal, her story seems credible enough. I don't suppose she has any enmity against Haverleigh?"
"No. But she is a woman I neither like nor trust. A demure, cat-like creature, with a pair of wicked eyes."
"You make me long to see her," said Marton, waking up. "That is just the sort of person I like to meet. Do you think she may have stolen this cup herself, and have invented this wild story to account for the loss? I have heard of stranger and even more daring things."
"No. That is out of the question, Marton. On the night the cup was stolen Mrs Jeal was watching beside this sick girl—the mad creature I have told you about. She is innocent."