“Um! It’s a nice coil, for sure. I entertain the man who tried to murder me, and I set him on the trail of my cousin who was trying to bring him to justice. That is about as pretty a kettle of fish as——”
“But you did not tell Adrian Rayner where Roger had gone?” cried Joy, springing to her feet. “Surely you did not tell him?”
“At that time,” answered Bracknell slowly, “it seemed to me that I had little cause to love my Cousin Roger. You are to remember that I was in ignorance of much that I have learned this morning.”
“You told him?” cried Joy.
“I certainly put him on the track,” answered the man.
“Then God forgive you! God forgive you!” cried Joy in anguished tones.
Dick Bracknell’s face set hard, and only by an effort was he able to control himself. But after a moment he replied quietly, “As I have said, I did not know Rayner. I had no inkling of his game.”
“No!” said Joy stonily. “I understand that.”
“You hinted that there was another reason,” said Bracknell, watching her closely. “I wonder if you would mind telling me——”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all,” broke in Joy impulsively. “Your brother Geoffrey was killed whilst I was in England. Indeed, I was the one to find him dead. No one knew whether you were alive or dead, even I did not know, and Roger was regarded as the heir. But I knew that when he left North Star that he was going to try and learn what had really happened to you, and I was afraid that if there was a collision between you, and anything dreadful happened, people might say that he—that he——”