"Let your mind go back to it, and to what you've since heard of it," said Cotherstone. "You know that on that afternoon Kitely had threatened me and Mallalieu with exposure about the Wilchester affair. He wanted to blackmail us. I told Mallalieu, of course--we were both to think about it till next day. But I did naught but think--I didn't want exposure for my daughter's sake: I'd ha' given anything to avoid it, naturally. I had young Bent and that friend of his, Brereton, to supper that night--I was so full of thought that I went out and left 'em for an hour or more. The truth was I wanted to get a word with Kitely. I went up the wood at the side of my house towards Kitely's cottage--and all of a sudden I came across a man lying on the ground--him!--just where we found him afterwards." "Dead?" asked the superintendent. "Only just," replied Cotherstone. "But he was dead--and I saw what had caused his death, for I struck a match to look at him. I saw that empty pocket-book lying by--I saw a scrap of folded newspaper, too, and I picked it up and later, when I'd read it, I put it in a safe place--I've taken it from that place tonight for the first time, and it's here--you keep it. Well--I went on, up to the cottage. The door was open--I looked in. Yon woman, Miss Pett, was at the table by the lamp, turning over some papers--I saw Kitely's writing on some of 'em. I stepped softly in and tapped her on the arm, and she screamed and started back. I looked at her. 'Do you know that your master's lying dead, murdered, down amongst those trees?' I said. Then she pulled herself together, and she sort of got between me and the door. 'No, I don't!' she says. 'But if he is, I'm not surprised, for I've warned him many a time about going out after nightfall.' I looked hard at her. 'What're you doing with his papers there?' I says. 'Papers!' she says. 'They're naught but old bills and things that he gave me to sort.' 'That's a lie!' I says, 'those aren't bills and I believe you know something about this, and I'm off for the police--to tell!' Then she pushed the door to behind her and folded her arms and looked at me. 'You tell a word,' she says, 'and I'll tell it all over the town that you and your partner's a couple of ex-convicts! I know your tale--Kitely'd no secrets from me. You stir a step to tell anybody, and I'll begin by going straight to young Bent--and I'll not stop at that, neither.' So you see where I was--I was frightened to death of that old affair getting out, and I knew then that Kitely was a liar and had told this old woman all about it, and--well, I hesitated. And she saw that she had me, and she went on, 'You hold your tongue, and I'll hold mine!' she says. 'Nobody'll accuse me, I know--but if you speak one word, I'll denounce you! You and your partner are much more likely to have killed Kitely than I am!' Well, I still stood, hesitating. 'What's to be done?' I asked at last. 'Do naught,' she said.