was there; and a crowd of men, and
an old woman or two. Among the women was Trumbull's sister, the wife
of a neighbouring farmer, who, with her husband, a tenant of Mr.
Gilmore's, had come over just before the arrival of Mr. Fenwick.
The body had been found on the stairs, and it was quite clear that
the farmer had fought desperately with the man or men before he had
received the blow which despatched him.

"I told 'um how it be,--I did, I did, when he would 'a all that money
by 'um." This was the explanation given by Mr. Trumbull's sister,
Mrs. Boddle.

It seemed that Trumbull had had in his possession over a hundred
and fifty pounds, of which the greater part was in gold, and that
he kept this in a money-box in his bedroom. One of the two women
who lived in his service,--he himself had been a widower without
children,--declared that she had always known that at night he took
the box out of his cupboard into bed with him. She had seen it there
more than once when she had taken him up drinks when he was unwell.
When first interrogated, she declared that she did not remember, at
that moment, that she had ever told anybody; she thought she had
never told anybody; at last, she would swear that she had never
spoken a word about it to a single soul. She was supposed to be a
good girl, had come of decent people, and was well known by Mr.
Fenwick, of whose congregation she was one. Her name was Agnes Pope.
The other servant was an elderly woman, who had been in the house all
her life, but was unfortunately deaf. She had known very well about
the money, and had always been afraid about it; had very often spoken
to her master about it, but never a word to Agnes. She had been woken
in the night,--that was, as it turned out, about 2 A.M.,--by the
girl who slept with her, and who declared that she had heard a great
noise, as of somebody tumbling,--a very great noise indeed, as though
there were ever so many people tumbling. For a long time, for perhaps
an hour, they had lain still, being afraid to move. Then the elder
woman had lighted a candle, and gone down from the garret in which
they slept. The first thing she saw was the body of her master, in
his shirt, upon the stairs. She had then called up the only other
human being who slept on the premises, a shepherd, who had lived for
thirty years with Trumbull. This man had thrown open the house, and
had gone for assistance, and had found the body of the dead dog in
the yard.

Be