Having made up his mind to question Mrs. Grix, the detective, making a hurried meal, walked out to Kirkstone Hall, and arrived to find the old woman solacing herself with gin-and-water after the fatigues of the morning. She was excessively nervous when Gebb reappeared, as she was conscious she had said too much in her rage with Martin, and now guessed that she was about to be thoroughly examined touching all she knew concerning him. Mrs. Grix, to save her own skin, was quite prepared to equivocate, and Gebb guessed as much, for he went to work with her in a severe official way which frightened her considerably. "Now, Mrs. Grix," said he, when they were comfortably established in the kitchen, "I've come to ask you a few questions." "I don't know nothin', I don't," protested Mrs. Grix, beginning her tactics. "You know a great deal," replied Gebb, sharply. "And if you don't answer me truthfully, I'll arrest you on suspicion and put you in gaol 'longside of Dean; so now you know." "Lawk-a-mussy!" squealed Mrs. Grix, "have you put him in prison?" "Yes, I have; so you tell me the truth, or I'll put you in also!" "I'll speak out, sir," cried the old wretch, much terrified. "I don't want to go to prison. I've done nothing." "You have spied and listened and searched," retorted Gebb, "all for the sake of gaining possession of other people's secrets and extracting blackmail when possible. Now you answer my questions, or it will be the worse for you." "I'm willing, sir," said Mrs. Grix, meekly; "but I don't know as much as you think. I only suspects like." "Can you tell me who killed Kirkstone?" asked the detective. "That's one thing I don't know for certain," replied the dame; "but if you arsk me, sir, I bel've as Miss Gilmar did." "On what grounds do you suspect her?" "Becose she wrote out summat telling the truth and hid it; and she wouldn't have done that, unless she were guilty. Then she were in love with Mr. Dean, and Mr. Kirkstone wanted him to marry Miss Laura; so I thinks as Miss Ellen got 'em both out of the way. She was a clever one, was Miss Ellen." "Do you know where the confession is?" "No, I don't. Martin was always hunting for it to clear himself, but if he found it he didn't tell me." "And Martin is Dean?" "Yes, he is. It ain't no good tellin' lies, lovey! He is Dean!" "I thought there was a gardener here at the time of the murder called Martin?" "There was," replied Mrs. Grix, coolly. "And he was queer, too, I tell you; but not as queer as this Martin. I knowed he was Dean as soon as I clapped eyes on him, though he was sorely altered from the 'andsome man he was." "Then he impersonated Martin to save himself from the police?" "He did; he's no more mad than I am; but he thought it was safer to pretend being crazy. His songs was awful," said Mrs. Grix, shuddering. "Did Miss Wedderburn know the truth?"