"Poor Henry!" he exclaimed. "Poor little woman! I wonder that nothing has transpired to give the police a clue. To my mind, Boyd, there was some mysterious element in Courtenay's life that he entirely hid from his friends. In later years he lived in constant dread of assassination." "Yes, that has always struck me as strange," I remarked. "Has nothing yet been discovered?" asked my chief. "Didn't the police follow that manservant Short?" "Yes, but to no purpose. They proved to their own satisfaction that he was innocent." "And your friend Jevons--the tea-dealer who makes it a kind of hobby to assist the police. What of him? Has he continued his activity?" "I believe so. He has, I understand, discovered a clue." "What has he found?" demanded the old man, bending forward in eagerness across the table. He had been devoted to his friend Courtenay, and was constantly inquiring of me whether the police had met with any success. "At present he will tell me nothing," I replied. Sir Bernard gave vent to an exclamation of dissatisfaction, observing that he hoped Jevons' efforts would meet with success, as it was scandalous that a double tragedy of that character could occur in a civilized community without the truth being revealed and the assassin arrested. "There's no doubt that the tragedy was a double one," I observed. "Although the jury have returned a verdict of 'Found Drowned' in the widow's case, the facts, even as far as at present known, point undoubtedly to murder." "To murder!" he cried. "Then is it believed that she's been wilfully drowned?" "That is the local surmise." "Why?" he asked, with an eager look upon his countenance, for he took the most intense interest in every feature of the affair. "Well, because it is rumoured that she had been seen late one night walking along the river-bank, near the spot where she was found, accompanied by a strange man." "A strange man?" he echoed, his interest increased. "Did anyone see him sufficiently close to recognise him?" "I believe not," I answered, hesitating at that moment to tell him all I knew. "The local police are making active inquiries, I believe." "I wonder who it could have been?" Sir Bernard exclaimed reflectively. "Mrs. Courtenay was always so devoted to poor Henry, that the story of the stranger appears to me very like some invention of the villagers. Whenever a tragedy occurs in a rural district all kinds of absurd canards are started. Probably that's one of them. It is only natural for the rustic mind to connect a lover with a pretty young widow." "Exactly. But I have certain reasons for believing the clandestine meeting to have taken place," I said. "What causes you to give credence to the story?" "Statements made to me," I replied vaguely. "And further, all the evidence points to murder." "Then why did the jury return an open verdict?" "It was the best thing they could do in the circumstances, as it leaves the police with a free hand."