"To come to the point which I know you want to reach. On the night of Carr's murder I was at the rectory. It came to my ears through some words dropped by Frisco when he was intoxicated, that Carr intended to disinherit my son. Whom he intended to favour I do not know, nor do I care. But I could not stand meekly by and see the lad robbed of what was righteously his own. I went into Saxham that afternoon to see Carr and to remonstrate against his committing the monstrous injustice he contemplated. He saw me with the greatest coolness and behaved quite in accordance with his character. In vain did I point out that Stephen was the sole living representative of his blood, and was entitled by law to the property. Carr said that he had another relative living; a cousin descended from an uncle of his, who had been turned out of doors by his grandfather. This uncle had married in America, and had died, leaving a daughter who married a Yankee. It was the son of this daughter to whom Carr referred as his cousin. Furthermore he declared that his cousin had a son about the age of my Stephen. I asked him if he intended to leave the property to this cousin and his brat. But this he denied. He said that he had made the money himself and would leave it to whomsoever he pleased. In a word he defied me. I was helpless. I could do nothing, and that afternoon I left 'The Pines' mad with rage, after a threat to kill Carr. Needless to say he laughed at my threat. "Why did I not kill him then you will ask? Because I wanted to give the man one last chance. I warned him that I would shoot him if he persisted in his injustice. I said that I would return that evening for my answer. Then I went to the rectory and had dinner with Pentland Corn. "Here, my dear Herrick, I may state that I had brought a pistol with me--or rather a revolver. It belonged to Stephen who at one time had a craze for shooting. The revolver was put away in its case, which was on the mantelpiece of his study. I remembered that it was there, and on looking I found that all six chambers were loaded. I knew that Stephen never troubled about the weapon, so I took it with me to 'The Pines.' But on that afternoon I did not use it. Carr, I said to myself, should have his chance.