"You have done wrong," he said, sternly. "You should have told me all this at once. I am the best friend that Neil Webster has, and it was my place to look after him, not Heron's."
"But is Mrs. Jenner innocent?" Ruth asked, anxiously.
"I cannot answer that question," he said, evasively, but he clenched his fist. "At all events I will see Heron and Neil, and hear what grounds they have for believing that she did not kill the unhappy man. I can only hope, Ruth, that you will refrain from meddling in the matter any more."
"Oh, I have done with it, papa. I'm sorry if you think I have behaved badly; but I thought I was acting for the best. You can depend upon my doing nothing more. The matter is in Geoffrey's hands now."
"And it will soon be in mine," her father said, coldly. "If Mrs. Jenner is to be released I am the person to see to it."
Ruth noticed that he did not say "If Mrs. Jenner is guiltless," and her heart was like lead. She made up her mind to try the effect of the link, and, rising as if to go, drew it from her pocket.
"I will go to bed now," she said, quietly. "By the way, here is something of yours," and she placed the piece of gold before him. "Yes, it is mine," he said, glancing at it. "I gave it to Mildred for her doll. How did it come into your possession?"
She burst into teats. The strain was getting too much for her. "Oh, papa, say it is not yours," she wept, stretching out her hands.
"Ruth, you are hysterical," Mr. Cass said, with some severity; and the girl noticed even then that he was a trifle nervous. "Why should I deny that it is mine? I had a set of these links made many years ago when I was foolish enough to wear such things. One pair I lost, the other remained in my desk amongst a lot of rubbish, until one day I gave one piece of it to Mildred. I had intended to have the other pair replaced, but time went on, and somehow I never had it done. Why should you cry about these things, and why do you shew me this link?"
"Because I found one oval like this under the window of the Turnpike House."