"I don't know," he went on evasively, "whether Challoner murdered Hargraves or not."
"You don't know ..."
"No," returned the prosecutor; "so far the evidence is purely circumstantial."
Shirley Bloodgood had been hanging on his words. She drew a long breath and echoed excitedly: "Circumstantial—" There was a flicker of a smile on her face as she added:—
"Then the newspapers were wrong when they said it was a certainty!..."
Murgatroyd held up his hand and went on to explain:—
"What I tell you is confidential—you understand?"
"Yes, yes," she said impatiently; "but tell me about it—the real facts—that is, if you can."
"There's no reason why I shouldn't, I suppose," said the prosecutor of the pleas. "The real facts as we have them ... as we have them, mind, are simple. Challoner quarrelled with Colonel Hargraves——"
"What about?" asked Shirley impulsively.