"Heron!" He rose to his feet. "What has he to do with all this?" "He is a friend of Neil's, and----" "A friend of Neil's?" Mr. Cass said, incredulously. "How can that be? They never even got on well together; they were rivals. I do not believe it." "Will you believe me when I tell you that Geoffrey is nursing Neil at Bognor in Mrs. Jent's house? He is, then. And Geoffrey wrote telling you that he was abroad--and Neil, too--to keep you away from Bognor." Mr. Cass stood as though turned to stone, and the haggard look on his face seemed to grow more marked. "There appears to be a lot of plotting going on behind my back," he said, quietly. "My own daughter is plotting against me. Why did you not tell me all this? No, never mind. You have told me so many lies that I cannot believe you. Do not answer that question. But I must ask you to tell me what this means?" "I have told no lies," cried Ruth, indignantly. "If you had been more open with me, papa, I would never have set to work to find out this affair. I will tell you all, just as it happened, and you can judge for yourself if I have been wrong." "Nothing can excuse your silence," he said, bitterly. "You don't know what harm may come of this meddling with what does not concern you. Well, I will hear your story." He sat down again and looked at the fire, while Ruth related all that had happened, and how Geoffrey and she had made up their minds to discover the truth. Mr. Cass listened without a word. Only when she had finished did he make an observation. "You have done wrong," he said, sternly. "You should have told me all this at once. I am the best friend that Neil Webster has, and it was my place to look after him, not Heron's." "But is Mrs. Jenner innocent?" Ruth asked, anxiously. "I cannot answer that question," he said, evasively, but he clenched his fist. "At all events I will see Heron and Neil, and hear what grounds they have for believing that she did not kill the unhappy man. I can only hope, Ruth, that you will refrain from meddling in the matter any more." "Oh, I have done with it, papa. I'm sorry if you think I have behaved badly; but I thought I was acting for the best. You can depend upon my doing nothing more. The matter is in Geoffrey's hands now." "And it will soon be in mine," her father said, coldly. "If Mrs. Jenner is to be released I am the person to see to it." Ruth noticed that he did not say "If Mrs. Jenner is guiltless," and her heart was like lead. She made up her mind to try the effect of the link, and, rising as if to go, drew it from her pocket. "I will go to bed now," she said, quietly. "By the way, here is something of yours," and she placed the piece of gold before him. "Yes, it is mine," he said, glancing at it. "I gave it to Mildred for her doll. How did it come into your possession?" She burst into teats. The strain was getting too much for her. "Oh, papa, say it is not yours," she wept, stretching out her hands.