"Did you think he had committed the crime?"
"No, I thought that Michael had. He had forged a check, and I thought that he would quarrel with Sir Simon and kill him."
The boy spoke in all earnestness, so apparently Julius had been clever enough to keep the fact of his own guilt secret. But for the handkerchief it would have been difficult to have accused him. Conniston asked a final question. "How much do you get for all this?"
"Two thousand pounds if Michael died."
"If you poisoned him?" asked Bernard.
"Yes," said Jerry, sulkily. "I did intend to poison him, as I wanted the two thousand pounds. I came on here, and was then going to hide in London. After that, I should have sent for Victoria, and when Mr. Beryl paid, we would have gone to America."
"And why didn't you carry out this clever plan?" asked Gore.
Jerry turned still more sulky. "Because I saw you, and then I knew the game was up. Even if Michael had died, you would have been able to claim the property."
"Then Beryl really believed I was dead?"
"Yes, he did—so did I. When Victoria wrote me that you were here, I thought you were Michael. And when Michael came over to the Bower, I thought he had come from here. If I had known the truth——"