"Your peace of mind, missy?" he asked, surprised. "Yes. I must tell you, as I know you will hold your tongue. But I think--I believe--no, I don't: but I fancy, that is. Durban"--she caught the man's shoulders and shook him in the roadway--"did Vivian Paslow murder Mr. Alpenny?" "Missy!" Durban looked startled, but his eyes sparkled. "No! no! One thousand times no! What makes you think that?" "The handkerchief--the key," and Beatrice, producing the handkerchief, told Durban the whole of what had happened. "And I am thankful that Mrs. Snow did not see me pick it up," she finished. "Wait till we get to The Camp, missy," said the old servant kindly, and led her along the short distance that intervened between where they had stopped and The Camp itself. Once there, Durban took her to the parlour-carriage and went away. He returned with some orange-blossom water, which is a good nerve tonic, and made her take it. When the girl was more composed, he stood before her with raised finger. "Missy," he said gravely, "I have been, and I am, a good friend to you." "Yes--yes, I know you are," she said, with a sigh. "The reason of my fidelity you shall know some day," he went on, "and a good reason it is. But you must ask me no more questions until I voluntarily tell you all that it is needful you should know. With regard to Mr. Paslow, you can set your mind at rest. He is quite innocent. The handkerchief you found was left behind by him on the day he had that quarrel with Mr. Alpenny." "Are you sure?" "I am absolutely certain. I saw it on master's desk when I went in to get that letter which I was to take to town. As to the key, I got it from Mr. Paslow himself." "When did you see him?" "Later on in the day--on that day when we found out the murder," explained Durban fluently. "I went outside, and found that Mr. Paslow was coming in, to see if you had got home safely. He told me that he possessed the key of the small gate, which you had dropped, and gave it to me. I replaced it on the nail in the counting-house, where the Inspector found it. Mr. Paslow went to London whenever he heard of the crime, and at my request." "But why, Durban?" asked Beatrice, relieved to find that Vivian had not been so callous or neglectful as she had thought. "I wanted him to see Mr. Alpenny's lawyer, and look after the will," said Durban steadily. "He wanted to see you; I would not allow that, as you were quite worried enough." "But the sight of Vivian would have done me good," protested the poor girl faintly, for she was quite worn out. "I can see that now," said Durban regretfully, "but I thought at the time that it was wiser to keep you quiet. If I had thought that you suspected him, I should have spoken before: but you never mentioned his name, so I deemed it best to be silent. But he is perfectly innocent, and, when he comes back, will be able to tell you where he went after he left you on that night. Meanwhile he is seeing after the will."