Trent himself did not know, as, by the advice of shrewd-headed Kind, the young man preserved an irritating silence, and the Rev. Michael Gowrie, wishing to make a dramatic announcement at a dramatic moment, kept his own counsel. That Herries might be exonerated never entered the Inspector's head for one moment, and he gathered together all procurable evidence so as to secure the committal of the prisoner by the local magistrate. And as various hints--which might have been traced to Gowrie--were given to the public that strange revelations might be expected, everyone was on tip-toe with excitement. Sir Simon had been a great magnate in Tarhaven, and it was natural that his death should arouse the deepest interest. The more so, as it was now commonly reported that, far from explaining the facts of the death and the motive for what looked like a purposeless crime, the evidence at the magisterial trial would probably deepen the mystery. In their frantic efforts to get at the truth, and narrate highly-coloured tales to their readers, several reporters attempted to interview Mrs. Herries, formerly Miss Elspeth Gowrie. By the advice of Sweetlips, the girl saw one of these enterprising young journalists who belonged to a half-penny paper with the very largest circulation in the world. Kind instructed her to tell the truth, even to the concealment in the caravan, as he thought that, if public sympathy could be awakened for the lovers, Herries would stand a better chance of acquittal. There was some risk in being thus explicit, as the Cheap-jack ran a deadly chance of being arrested as an accomplice after the fact. Were Herries condemned he would probably be so arrested, and Elspeth along with him. But before instructing Elspeth, Sweetlips had privately interviewed the old Scotch tutor, and from him had extracted the evidence which, as he averred, would save Herries from the gallows at the eleventh hour. Elspeth herself did not know what this evidence could be, but the fact that Kind was willing to risk his liberty on the strength of it, made her very cheerful, as it pointed to the certain discharge of Angus.