ted me then and there," retorted Cuthbert. "I
promised my uncle to hold my tongue. But now--"

"You will tell me all. My dear fellow, make a clean breast of it."

"Rest easy, you shall learn everything. You know that the house at the
back of Rose Cottage has been deserted for something like twenty years
more or less."

"Yes. You told me about it the other night."

"Caranby ran a fifteen-feet wall round it and the inside is a regular
jungle. Well, the house is supposed to be haunted. Lights have been
seen moving about and strange noises have been heard."

"What kind of noises?"

"Oh, moans and clanking chains and all that sort of thing. I heard
indirectly about this, through Juliet."

"Where did she hear the report?"

"From Miss Loach's cook. A woman called Pill. The cook asserted that
the house was haunted, and described the noises and the lights. I
don't believe in spooks myself, and thought some tricks were being
played, so one day I went down and had a look."

"That day I was there?" asked Jennings, recalling Cuthbert's presence.

"Before that--a week or two. I saw nothing. The house is rotting and
nothing appeared to be disturbed. I examined the park and found no
footmarks. In fact, there wasn't a sign of anyone about."

"You should have gone at night when the ghost was larking."

"That's what Caranby said. I told him when he came back to London. He
was very annoyed. You know his romance about that house--an absurd
thing it is. All the same, Caranby is tender on the point. I advised
him to pull the house down and let the land out for building leases.
He thought he would, but asked me to go at night and stir up the ghost.
I went on the night of the murder, and got into the grounds by climbing
the wall. There's no gate, you know."

"At what time?"

"Some time between ten and eleven. I'm not quite sure."

"Good heavens! man, that is the very hour the woman was killed!"

"Yes. And for that reason I held my tongue; particularly as I got over
the wall near the cottage."

"Where do you mean?"

"Well, there's a field of corn nearly ready to be cut near the cottage.
It's divided from the garden by a fence. I came along the foot-path
that leads from the station and jumped the fence."

"Did you enter Miss Loach's grounds?"

"No. I had no right to. I saw a light in the basement, but I did not
take much notice. I was too anxious to find the ghost. Well, I ran
along the fence--o