"Have you ever had this curious stone in your possession, Kinlay?" he asked.
"Yes; I got it from my sister," replied Tom.
"Ericson," asked Mr. Duke, "how came the stone in your possession on Saturday?"
"Jessie and I found it at the head of the Cliff," I said. "It was that which made me believe that Thora was in the cave. She got the stone from me before I went away, and I thought she had maybe dropped it as she was getting over the cliff."
"But what on earth could the lass want in the cave?" asked Mr. Thomson.
"She was unhappy at home," I explained, "and had threatened to run away. I supposed she had taken refuge in the cave."
"Kinlay," said Mr. Duke, touching the coil of rope, "did you at any time make use of these lines to climb down the Gaulton cliffs?"
Tom was silent.
"If you do not care to tell us that, then, perhaps, you will say if you happened to make use of this gun on the night on which Colin Lothian met his death?"
Tom became perceptibly confused.