"The revolver of Mr. Marsh?" "Si! Si! She took it from the case in the room of the young Signor Stefano. I saw her. I knew that if the devil-man laughed at her she would kill him. Yes. She would." "No, Petronella," said Dr. Jim soothingly, "she only meant to frighten him. So she said in the letter you gave me." "No Signor," replied the old woman indignantly, "the daughter of the Micholotti would not be so weak. She would have killed him." "Upon my soul," muttered Herrick, "I believe she would." "I was in great alarm Signor," went on Petronella. "I thought if she did so, that she would be put in prison. It was terrible to think so. I was angered against the devil-man. He had struck me; he had looked upon me with the evil eye. Now he would tempt my Signora to kill him and so be put in prison. I saw that all would be lost. Then I said to myself, to me Petronella, that I would kill him alone." The old woman drew herself up in bed, and looked majestic as she spoke. Herrick was profoundly sorry for her. She had carried her feudal instinct to excess, and so had jeopardised her life for the sake of her mistress. He understood well how she had been urged to this. The blow, the evil eye, the possibility of her young master being ruined by another will, and above all, the chance that her Signora might kill the man herself--a fiery faithful creature like Petronella could not let such things be. As she said, she made up her mind to kill Carr, before Mrs. Marsh could see him. Where she made the mistake was, that she thought her mistress would see the man at night. As a matter of fact she did, but already had seen him in the day. Perhaps Mrs. Marsh guessed what Petronella might do, and she had told a falsehood about the time of calling at "The Pines." "When the Signora departed," said Petronella, rocking to and fro, for she was in pain, "I got my pistol. Si, Signor, it was the pistol of my husband. He fought for the King when we freed Italy. I too, was in the war. I shot many--oh many. He showed me; I was not afraid to shoot." "This piece of information showed Herrick how it was Carr had been shot through the heart. Petronella, having been in the Italian war of liberation, knew how to handle firearms. Probably she was an excellent markswoman. The shooting of Carr proved her to be so. "I had bullets," said Petronella, "but they were of lead. I knew that the devil man protected by the Wicked One, could not be slain by only a leaden bullet. I wanted a silver one. Ah Gran' Dio! there was no silver in this house. Then I thought of the cup I had taken. I got it and melted it down over a big fire. I made three bullets in the mould of my husband. I took his powder flask, but it was empty. The young Signor Stefano had powder in his room--I stole it. Then I loaded the pistol and set it aside till the night." "Where was Mr. Marsh all this time?" asked Herrick. "He was in the house in the afternoon, and went to eat with a friend of his, Signor Barker--"