'His murderer may naturally have feared to take anything likely to lead to detection. His money was taken.'
'Yes. It may have been for that. Yet it seems strange that he should have been chosen out of so many—that he should have been the only victim—murdered for the sake of a few pounds.'
'Unhappily, sordid as the motive is, that is a common kind of murder,' replied Maurice.
'But might not some one have a stronger motive than that?'
'I can imagine none. James never in his life made an enemy.'
'Are you quite sure of that?'
'As sure as I can be of anything about a young man whom I knew as well as if he had been my brother,' replied Maurice, wondering at the girl's calm clear tone. At this moment she seemed older than her years—his equal, or more than his equal in shrewdness and judgment.
'Is there any one who would be a gainer by his death?' she asked.
'Naturally. The next heir to the Penwyn estate is a very considerable gainer. For him James Penwyn's death means the difference between a hard-working life like mine and a splendid future.'
'Could he have anything to do with the crime?'