"That negro? Then I am glad he is dead!" cried Mrs. Vand, who was getting more her old self every minute. "However, it's all done with now. You have the jewels, Henry is dead, and I don't care what becomes of me."
"But who murdered my father?" asked Bella earnestly.
"Jabez wasn't your father. Maxwell Faith was your father, for Luke overheard Edwin Lister say as much to Jabez."
"And what became of Edwin Lister?"
"I don't know; Luke never told me that. All he said was that he saw and heard the two talking. Then he left the window, and only returned to see Henry stab my brother."
"Oh!" Cyril and Bella both uttered ejaculations of horror.
"Yes, you may say 'oh' as much as you like, but it's true," said Mrs. Vand with great doggedness. "Henry came with me to the Manor-house on that night at ten o'clock. He did not stop at the boundary channel, as he declared. He only said that to save himself. But he came with me, and we saw my brother, who was in his study. We confessed that we were married, and then Jabez grew angry and said he would turn me as a pauper out of the house next morning. He drove Henry and myself out of the room. I fainted in the kitchen, and when I came to myself Henry was bending over me, very pale. He said he had killed Jabez with a knife which he found on the floor. I had seen the knife before when we were telling Jabez about our marriage. But in the excitement I didn't pick it up."
"Was there blood on the knife?" asked Cyril, remembering Granny Tunks' trance, as reported by Bella.
"I can't say; I don't know. I was too flurried to think about the matter. All I know is that Henry killed Jabez with that knife which Jabez brought from Nigeria, and then dropped it behind the desk."
"What took place exactly?" asked Cyril hastily, while Bella closed her eyes.