medicine. I asked her permission
to accompany her, and then took her home to Little Sark. It was when I
was coming back that I met Tom Hamon."

"Yes, little Nance came to me about half-past ten," said the Doctor, "I
remember I asked her if she was not afraid to go all that way home
alone, and she said she had a friend with her."

"Was there any specially bad feeling between you and Tom Hamon?"

"There had always been bad feeling, but any one who knows anything about
it knows that it was not of my making."

"Will you explain it to us?"

"If you say I must. One does not like to say ill things of the dead."

"We want to get to the bottom of this matter, Mr. Gard. Tell us all you
know that will help us."

"Very well, sir, but I am sorry to have to go into that. It all began
through Tom's bad treatment of his stepmother and step-sister and
brother when I lived at La Closerie. I took sides with them and tried to
bring him to better manners. We rarely met without his flinging some
insult after me. They were generally in the patois, but I knew them to
be insults by his manner and by the way they were greeted by those who
did understand."

"Had you met last night before you met near the Coupee?"

"We passed Tom by La Vauroque as we came from the Doctor's. He shouted
something after us, but I did not understand it."

"You don't know what it was that he said?" an unfortunate question on
the part of the Senechal, and quite unintentionally so on his part. It
necessitated the introduction of matters Gard would fain have kept out
of the enquiry.

"Well," he said, with visible reluctance, "I learned afterwards, and by
accident, something of what he said or meant."

"How was that, and what was it?"

"Is it necessary to go into that? Won't it do if I say it was a very
gross insult?"

The three at the table conferred for a moment. Then the Senechal said
very kindly, "I perceive we are getting on to somewhat delicate ground,
Mr. Gard, but, for your own sake. I would suggest that no occasion
should be given to any to say that you are hiding anything from the
court."

"Very well, sir, I have nothing whatever to hide, and I have still less
to be ashamed of. I found Miss Hamon was weeping bitterly at what her
brother had said, and I tried to get her to tell me what it was, but she
would not. I said I knew it was something against me, but I hoped by
this time she had learned to know and trust me. I told her her sobs cut
me