Lister groped in the corn wherein Durgo had flung the planks, and soon recovered these. With the aid of Bella he fixed them again on the tressels sunk in the mud, and the two passed dry-shod over the channel. In walking to Marshely the young man gave Bella the bag. "Take this, dear," he said. "The jewels are in it. Be careful of them."
"Oh, Cyril," said the girl, awestruck, "did Mrs. Vand steal them?"
"Yes, and in spite of what she says I believe she and Henry murdered your father—I mean Captain Huxham—for the sake of the jewels. They were in this bag, marked with the initials 'M. F.'—your father's initials."
"Just as Granny saw it in her trance."
"Very nearly, only she called the bag—and it is a bag, as you see—a portmanteau. Either Granny or the unseen are at fault. But it matters little since the jewels are now in your possession. Keep them carefully."
"But Cyril," said Bella, as they drew near the cottage, "does it seem right for us to keep jewels that already have caused two murders? My father was killed because of these gems by Captain Huxham, and he met with the same fate for probably the same reason."
"I daresay in ages past, many and many a wicked deed has been committed for the sake of these jewels. Do you remember what you heard Granny say in her trance?—that a Roman empress had secured the jewels by crime. My dear girl, all jewels have a history more or less, and if one feared the sort of thing you mention, not a woman would wear jewels. No, dear: God has given you this fortune, and you have every right to make use of it. Here's the door, and by the light in the window I see that Miss Ankers is sitting up."
"I promised to tell her why I went out," said Bella, kissing her lover, "so, as she is our good friend; she must know all."
"Just as you please: tell her everything from the beginning. I have to tell Inspector Inglis what I know shortly."
"Will you tell him about your father?" asked Bella faintly.