"Murdered!" she came to her feet with utterance of the word. "You cannot think that!"
"I know it, Miss Natalie; the evidence is beyond question; he was murdered in cold blood."
"But by whom? for what purpose?"
"These points are not yet determined; I am only sure of the crime."
"Yes, but—but you suspect Jim Hobart. Isn't that true? You came here seeking him—yes, and me. You even think I know how this death occurred. You—you connect it with my fortune."
"No, Miss Natalie," he protested stoutly, moved by her agitation. "The cause is a mystery, and who did it equally mysterious. The evidence thus far unearthed is all circumstantial."
"Then why did you come out here searching for Hobart?"
"Because of his strange meeting with Percival Coolidge the very day of his death; because his sudden disappearance furnished the only clue."
"And that is all the knowledge you possess, absolutely all?"
"Yes; I am no more than groping in the dark. My main object in coming was to put you on your guard."