his victim; those who had
seen him that day remembered him as being utterly unlike himself; he was
known to have been at Falmer Park that afternoon about six, and to have
driven home along the Falmer Road in his car an hour or so later. And in
a copse close by to where the body of the murdered man was found had been
discovered a thick bludgeon of a stick, broken it would seem by some
violent act, into two halves. On the top half was rudely cut with a
pen-knife M. ASSHE ... What was puzzling, however, was the apparent
motive of robbery about the crime; it will be remembered that the
victim's watch was missing, and that no money was found on him.

But since Morris had been brought up for committal at the police-court it
was believed that a quantity more evidence of a peculiarly incriminating
kind had turned up. Yet in spite of this, so it was rumoured, the
prisoner apparently did more than bear up; it was said that he was quite
cheerful, quite confident that his innocence would be established. Others
said that he was merely callous and utterly without any moral sense. Much
sympathy of course was felt for his mother, and even more for the family
of the Templetons and the daughter to whom it was said that Morris was
actually engaged. And, as much as anyone it was Mr. Taynton who was the
recipient of the respectful pity of the British public. Though no
relation he had all his life been a father to Morris, and while Miss
Madge Templeton was young and had the spring and elasticity of youth, so
that, though all this was indeed terrible enough, she might be expected
to get over it, Mr. Taynton was advanced in years and it seemed that he
was utterly broken by the shock. He had not been in Brighton on the day
on which Morris was brought before the police-court magistrates, and the
news had reached him in London after his young friend had been committed.
It was said he had fainted straight off, and there had been much
difficulty in bringing him round. But since then he had worked day and
night on behalf of the accused. But certain fresh evidence which had
turned up a day or two before the Assizes seemed to have taken the heart
out of him. He had felt confident that the watch would have been found,
and the thief traced. But something new that had turned up had utterly
staggered him. He could only cling to one hope, and that was that he knew
the evidence about the stick must break down, for it was he who had
thrown the fragments into