"I do not. The shot was fired out of the darkness of the trees."
"Were you standing by the stile?"
"Yes; with Miss Lester."
"Then if I came towards that stile you must have seen me.
"I didn't see you, I admit," replied Lucas, somewhat disconcerted; "but if you are not guilty, Mr. Chaskin, you know who is."
"I can say neither one thing nor the other," said the Vicar; "if you think me guilty, you must do so."
CHAPTER XXIII.
[DREK'S OPINIONS.]
There was a silence after this declaration of Chaskin's, for neither of the young men knew what reply to make. The Vicar did not affirm his innocence, as he had done earlier in the interview; nor did he accuse anyone else of committing the crime with which he was charged. He took up a purely negative attitude, and by doing so threw on Paul and Lovel the onus of proving their accusations. Nothing in the way of defence could have been more unsatisfactory. On seeing their hesitation Chaskin reiterated his speech.
"I do not repeat that I am innocent," he asserted. "If you think that I killed that unhappy girl, you must continue to do so. But," added the Vicar with irony, "I fail to see what motive you can ascribe to me for such an act."