n with Phil Heredith, she
was seized with a mad fit of jealousy against her successful rival, and
under its influence had rushed upstairs and murdered her. Merrington had
also come to the conclusion that her mother knew nothing about the crime
until afterwards, and then she had endeavoured to shield her daughter by
lying to the police and sending Milly Saker out of the way.

Merrington was unable to account for Hazel's possession of the revolver
with which Mrs. Heredith had been killed. The girl maintained her
stubborn silence after her arrest, and refused to answer any questions
about the weapon or anything connected with the crime. The police
assumption was that she had obtained the revolver from the gun-room of
the moat-house shortly before the murder was committed. The gun-room was
underground. It had originally been the crypt of the Saxon castle which
had once stood on the site where the moat-house was built, and was
entered by a short flight of steps not far from the passage which led to
the housekeeper's rooms. It was rectangular in shape, and, like the
majority of gun-rooms in old English country mansions, contained a large
assortment of ancient and modern weapons.

Neither Sir Philip Heredith nor Miss Heredith was able to state whether
the revolver found in the housekeeper's room belonged to the moat-house
or was the property of one of the guests, and Phil Heredith was too ill
to be asked. As expert evidence at the inquest definitely determined
that the bullet extracted from the murdered woman had been fired from
the revolver, Merrington did not attach very much importance to the
question of ownership, but before his departure for London he arranged
that Caldew should return to the moat-house later with the revolver for
Phil's inspection, in the hope of settling the point before the trial.

Miss Heredith had undertaken to let the detectives know when her nephew
was well enough to be seen, but as time went on she doubted whether he
would ever recover. Although the delirium which had followed his seizure
had passed away, he was slow in regaining health, and remained in bed,
listless and indifferent to everything, sometimes reading a little, but
oftener lying still, staring at the wall. He was passive and quiet, and
obedient as a child. He seemed to have no recollection of the events of
the night of the murder, and his aunt did not dare to recall them to his
mind.

It was for Phil's sake, and for him only, that