"Do you know my errand?" asked Gebb, somewhat uncomfortably, for he was by no means pleased to find that the little solicitor was prepared for his reception, and could not conceive why it should be so. "Yes, Mr. Gebb, I do. If you had not called on me, it is probable that I should have paid you a visit." "It is two weeks since the crime was committed, Mr. Prain; so you have had ample time to call." "No doubt," returned Prain, dryly, "but it so chanced that I was abroad in Italy. However, when I saw the description of the Yellow Boudoir I hastened back at once." "You guessed by the description of the yellow room that the murdered woman was Miss Gilmar." "I did! But may I ask how you found it out?" "An ex-detective told me. He traced her identity by the same means as you did. But for his recollection of the room I should have known nothing." "Oh! So the Yellow Boudoir gave Parge the clue," said Prain, thoughtfully. "Yes! But how did you guess that I referred to Parge?" "He was the detective employed by the prosecution to hang my client; but he did not succeed, for Dean still lives." "Ah, does he? Do you know where he is to be found?" asked Gebb, sharply. "No!" replied Prain, shaking his head. "I know that he escaped about four years ago, and that Miss Gilmar, out of fear of him, left Kirkstone Hall lest he should kill her; I know no more." "You know one thing at least," retorted Gebb, astonished at the coolness of the man, "that Dean killed Miss Gilmar." "I deny that," said Prain, sharply; then after a pause, he added, "Do you know why I came back to England on reading about her death?" "No, I do not! How should I?" "And why I intended to call on you?" "No! You'll have to answer your own questions, Mr. Prain." "Then I'll tell you," said the solicitor, slowly. "I wish to find out if Miss Gilmar left a confession behind her stating why, and how, she killed John Kirkstone; it was for that reason I returned so quickly." "Miss Gilmar kill Kirkstone?" cried Gebb, thinking of his own suspicions. "Why, even your unhappy client did not accuse her." "My unhappy client, as you call him, was a fool," retorted Prain, coolly; "he thought that Laura Kirkstone was guilty, whereas I am sure that the housekeeper killed her master. But I could not bring the crime home to her, and Dean was condemned to penal servitude on account of a murder which I am certain he did not commit. When I heard of his escape I thought he might find out Miss Gilmar and make her confess. He always intended to escape, if possible, for that purpose." Gebb thought for a moment. "Perhaps he killed her, after all, because she would not confess," said he, with some hesitation. "No," replied Prain. "Dean was wild and wasteful, and, between you and me, Mr. Gebb, not altogether as well-behaved as he might have been, but I am sure he was not the man to commit a murder. Believe me, he is as innocent of this second crime as he was of the first."