"No," replied Dr. Jim, "and yet I always thought he had a martial air about him. Why did he leave the army?" "He said he had a call. No!" added Bess hastily seeing the doctor's lip curl, "I do not think he is a hypocrite. He is most devout." "Humph! I do not believe much in that emotional religion," said Jim with a shake of his head, "a call had he, and left the army for that? I should like to hear a more feasible story. He was a friend of Colonel Carr's?" "Yes, he was the only person the Colonel saw, and he used to go very often to 'The Pines.' But I do not think he did Colonel Carr much good." "On the contrary it is probable that the Colonel did a weak man like that a good deal of harm," Herrick stopped; then said suddenly. "He knows something about this murder?" "What makes you think so?" said Bess startled. "Well! He did not come to the inquest, and seeing that he was the parson of the parish and a great friend of the dead man I think that strange myself. Also when I met him in the morning after the murder he talked nonsense, sheer nonsense, and was in a sort of hysterical condition." "That might have been because of the shock," replied Bess thoughtfully, "I know one thing at least about Mr. Corn. He will not look upon a corpse." "Why not?" "I don't know, nor does anyone else. The parishioners are sometimes annoyed because he will not come and see their dead. Mr. Corn will pray with a dying person but he will not look on a dead one." "Humph! And he was a soldier!" said Herrick. "I must look into this." "You have quite enough to do at present I think. I will see to the pistol, and you can go now to Joyce." "Then we can meet and compare notes. And Bess, we understand one another?" Miss Endicotte flushed. "I wish you would not talk nonsense," she cried, "there are other and more important things to think of." Dr. Jim would have protested, but she re-entered the house, and left him to his own thoughts. These were pleasant in spite of the discovery of Robin's iniquities. Jim now saw that he had been in love with Bess without knowing it. The shock of Joyce's wooing had brought about the discovery. "And what a fool I have been not to see it before!" said Dr. Jim. "No wonder they say Love is blind," and he whistled light-heartedly. CHAPTER XV ROBIN JOYCE EXPLAINS HIMSELF