"Yes and no. According to Rebb, Geary gave the knife to Bellaria, and certainly I shot Geary in the right arm, so on the night of the murder he was in no condition to kill the woman. Geary, I believe, is guiltless; but he knows Rebb's secrets, and I wish to force him into telling them." "Hum," said Tod, nursing his chin. "Do you believe that Rebb----" "I don't know what to believe of Rebb," interrupted Gerald quickly. "As I told you, Mr. Arnold thinks that Rebb stabbed Bellaria. He may have done so, or he may not: at all events I am going down to find out." Then Haskins related what he had learned about the coral hand, and how Venosta had disclaimed the murder. "Which he would not have done, Tod, had the society executed vengeance on Bellaria." "But by confessing he would run his neck into a noose." "No. He would simply deny having told me, and his guilt would be difficult to prove, since both Mrs. Crosbie and Mrs. Berch say that they did not tell him about Bellaria's terror of the amulet. Moreover he would clear out of England back to his own country, and could laugh at the English law. No, Tod; I feel certain that Venosta and his accursed society are innocent." "And you believe that Geary is innocent also? You leave only Rebb to be accused. However, I'll come down with you and scour the country after a conversation with this Arnold. We can then learn what strangers were in the neighborhood of Leegarth on the night of the murder." "What then? No stranger had any reason to murder Bellaria?" "Well, I don't know. The crime may be the work of a tramp. I daresay there were rumors of jewels and money and all the rest of it. A tramp might----" "No," said Gerald very decidedly. "Mavis declares that Bellaria received a letter which excited her. I should not be surprised to learn that the letter asked her to come to the gate at midnight, so that she might meet with her death." "Ah! Then you think this letter was written by the assassin? If so, Rebb is guiltless. He would not commit himself to making an appointment in writing, when he could have met Bellaria easily without doing so. Where is this letter?" "I don't know. Mavis says that Bellaria had it on her person: but it could not have been found, else it would have been produced at the inquest. I know, from reading the papers, that it was not." "Hum," said Tod again. "Well, let us go down to Devonshire and then we can look into things." "It is very good of you to cut short your honeymoon to help me," said Gerald, patting Macandrew on the back. "It is very good of me, indeed," assented Tod readily, "and I wouldn't have done it for another living soul. Come now take me out to dinner at the Troc, and amuse me with the best play in London."