“There, miss,” he said, speaking a little less harshly, “tears mend no bones. And there’s one thing clear in this and not to be denied—the men who have taken the lad are friends of your friend. And not a doubt he’s in it. We’ve traced them to a place not three hundred yards from here. They’ve vanished where he vanished, and there’s no need of magic to tell that the same hole hides all. I was on the track of the men with a warrant—for they are d——d Radicals as ever were!—when they slipped off and played this pretty trick by the way. Whether they have kidnapped the lad out of revenge, or for a hostage, I’m in the dark. But put-up job or not, you are not the young lady to back up such doings. I see that with half an eye,” he added cunningly, “and therefore——”
“Have you got it from her?”
Nadin turned with a frown—the interruption came from Mr. Hornyold. The justice had just entered, and stood booted, spurred, and pompous on the threshold. He carried his heavy riding-whip, and was in all points ready for the road.
“No, not yet,” Nadin answered curtly, “but——”
“You’d better; let me try her, then,” the magistrate rejoined, all fussiness and importance. “There’s no time to be lost. We’re getting together. I’ve a dozen mounted men in the yard, and they are coming in from Rydal side. We shall have two score in an hour. We’ll have the hills scoured before nightfall, and long before Captain Clyne is here.”
“Quite so, squire,” Nadin replied drily. “But if the young lady will tell us where the scoundrel lies we’ll be spared the trouble. Now, miss,” he continued, forgetting, under the impetus of Hornyold’s manner, the more diplomatic line he had been following, “we’ve a d——d clear case against you, and that’s flat. We can trace you to where they landed last night, and we know that you were there within a few minutes of the time; for we’ve their footsteps from the boat to the wood above the road, and your footsteps from the boat to the inn. There is as much evidence of aiding and abetting as would transport a dozen men! So do you be wise, and tell us straight off what we want.”
But two words had caught her ear.
“Aiding and abetting?” she muttered. And she turned her eyes, still bright with tears, upon him. Her flushed face and ruffled hair gave her a strangely childish appearance. “Aiding and abetting? Do you mean that you think that I—that I had anything to do with taking the child?”
“No, no,” Bishop murmured hurriedly, and cast a warning look at his colleague. “No, no, not knowingly.”
“Nay, but that depends,” Nadin persisted obstinately. His fibre was coarser, and his perceptions were less acute. It was his habit to gain his ends by fear, and he was unwilling to lose the hold he had over her. “That depends,” he repeated doggedly. “If you speak and tell us all you know, of course not. But if you do not speak, we shall take it against you.”