When the three were alone Tempest addressed Leo, who sat silently beside the table. "Leo," he said sadly, "I do not want you to get into trouble.
If you will confess to me that you did what Mrs Jeal says I will see about getting the cup back and say nothing more about the matter. I will give you money to leave the town."
"I tell you I am innocent!" cried Leo pa.s.sionately. "Why do you want me to confess a crime of which I am not guilty? I shall not leave Colester.
Here I stay until my innocence is acknowledged."
"But the evidence against you," urged the vicar, sorely perplexed. "You were seen about the chapel on the night the cup was stolen. Your debts are paid, yet Mrs Gabriel did not give you the money, and you have none of your own. And now Mrs Jeal says she saw you p.a.w.n the sacred vessel."
"I admit that the evidence is strong," said Leo, recovering his calmness. "All the same I am guiltless. I was at the chapel on that night. I was to meet Sybil since you had forbidden me to meet her."
"Please leave my daughter"s name out of this," said Tempest, an angry spot on each cheek. He was annoyed at the mention of the meeting, but in the presence of Raston he controlled himself out of pride.
"I can"t leave Sybil"s name out of it," said Leo, sadly. "I would if I could; but she is as anxious as I am that I should recover my good name.
I did meet Sybil, and she will tell you that I left her at the door of the Vicarage before ten o"clock. I therefore could not have stolen the cup. I got the money to pay my debts from Frank Hale."
"From Hale? Then he will say as much!" cried the vicar. "This will go far to prove your innocence, Leo."
"I don"t think Hale will help me much," said Leo, coldly. "However, we can talk of that later, or you can see Hale for yourself, Mr Tempest.
But I declare most solemnly that Hale lent me the money. As to p.a.w.ning the cup, I said before, and I say again, that I did no such thing. I did not take the cup. I was never in Battersea, and I do not know the man Mrs Jeal calls Old Penny. If you want to have me arrested, Mr Tempest, you will find me at Mr Pratt"s. Far from wishing to run away, I court an investigation."
"Leo," stammered the vicar, restlessly, "I do not want to get you into any trouble. If I can help--"
"I am in the deepest trouble," returned Leo, "and more will not matter.
You can have me arrested if you like. I know that Sybil believes me to be innocent, so does Pratt. I do not care for anyone else"s opinion. I think you are treating me cruelly, Mr Tempest, and some day you will be sorry that you showed so little charity. I go now, and I shall not see you again until such time as you give evidence against me in court," and with this last bitter speech Leo walked out of the room with his head in the air.
The two clergymen looked at one another. They did not know very well what to say. Tempest sat down with a sigh. "I do not know what to think."
"I do," said Raston, sharply. "Notwithstanding the woman"s story, I still believe that Haverleigh is guiltless. Circ.u.mstances have so culminated that he appears to be in the wrong. There is a mystery about the whole of this affair, and it seems to me that Haverleigh has some enemy."
"That may be so," admitted Tempest, struck by this remark. "But what is to be done? I can"t have Leo arrested. Even if he were guilty, which I am now inclined to doubt, I cannot ruin his life."
"What we need," replied the curate, "is some clever man who will get to the bottom of this. If you can spare me for a few days, Mr Tempest, I will go to London and see Marton?"
"Marton?" repeated the vicar. "Who is Marton?"
Raston laughed. "Such is fame," said he, lightly. "Marton is one of the best detectives in England. He was leaving college when I went up, and we met for a few weeks. When I was curate in the Battersea slums I met him again, as he has a wide acquaintance with the criminal cla.s.ses. We renewed our college friendship, and I still write to him. Now, with your permission, Mr Tempest, I will put this case into Marton"s hands.
It is just the kind of mystery he would love to solve."
"The man is a gentleman, I suppose, Raston?"
"Certainly. He is my friend. I know the p.a.w.nshop of Old Penny. He is a Scotsman, if you can grasp the idea of a Scotsman keeping a p.a.w.nshop.
I"ll tell Marton the whole case, and we can then go to this shop. If possible, we may get back the cup."
"Who is to pay four hundred pounds for it?" asked Tempest.
"We"ll see," replied Raston, quietly. "I shall do nothing without Marton"s advice. Have I your permission?"
Tempest nodded. "I think it is the best thing you can do. Go to London and keep me advised of everything. I should like to know Mr Marton"s opinion of the matter."
"It is probable he"ll come down here later on," said the curate; "but in the meantime, Mr Tempest, do nothing to Haverleigh."
"I promise you that," replied the vicar, and the matter being settled in this way, the two men shook hands. Afterwards Raston went to prepare for his departure.
While this was taking place, Leo was talking in the chapel with Hale.
Haverleigh had gone up to see if Sybil was about, as he wished to tell her of this new development of the conspiracy against him. Leo felt sure by this time that there was a conspiracy, and that Hale was concerned in it. He was therefore rather pleased when he saw the cripple walking up the hill before him. Leo made up his mind to force the truth out of him, and hurried on so as to catch him. Hale heard his steps, and turned with a queer smile on his face. He was not at all abashed by the presence of the man to whom he had told a lie, but, on the contrary, welcomed him in the most friendly manner. Haverleigh was irritated by this false behaviour. "Either you think me innocent, and wish to be my friend," he said, "or you believe that I am guilty and have some reason to be feigning good fellowship. I must have some understanding with you, Hale. Come into the chapel. We will not be disturbed there as it is mid-day and everyone is at dinner," and Leo, without waiting for a reply, entered the door.
The chapel was empty; even Sybil was not in sight. Hearing the halting steps of the cripple behind him, Leo led the way into the crusaders"
chapel, where he sat down beside one of the tombs. Hale paused before him and looked down in a whimsical manner. "You have chosen a strange place," he said, looking round.
"It is a sacred place," replied Leo, coolly; "and you may be the less inclined to tell lies. I presume you have some religion."
"How dare you say I tell lies?" cried the baronet, scowling.
"Because I have had some experience of your capability in that direction. And now I should like to know what you mean by denying that you lent me the three hundred pounds?"
Hale shrugged his unshapely shoulders and sat down with a painful effort, placing his crutch beside him. "You were fool enough to speak to me in the presence of my sister," he said. "I could only say what I did say. Now that we are alone I am willing to answer any questions you may put to me."
"You will answer truthfully, I hope?"
"a.s.suredly. It is time we understood one another. Go on."
"You lent me three hundred pounds?" said Leo, in the form of a query.
"In gold," a.s.sented Sir Frank, coolly.
"Why did you lend it to me in gold?"
"A whim of mine."
"I don"t think so," said Leo, slowly. "You had some scheme in your head.
I believe you wanted to deny the loan if you found it convenient."
"You are very clever, Haverleigh. That is just what I did want. Had I given you a cheque you could have proved the loan. Even notes might have shown the truth. But I wanted to be free to act as I pleased, so I went to the trouble of getting gold from the bank."
"Then it seems to me that you had this cup stolen by some confederate, and intended to lay the blame on me so as to get me into a trap!"
"Indeed, no," protested Hale, so loudly that Leo believed he was speaking the truth. "The stealing of the cup, and the subsequent blame being thrown on you, was unexpected. But I took advantage of the opportunity. You can prove your innocence only by my help, Haverleigh, and I give my evidence only on conditions."
"I was prepared for such a speech," said Leo, calmly; "but it won"t do, my friend. You must go to Tempest and tell him that you gave me three hundred pounds to pay my debts. Perhaps then he may disbelieve this ridiculous story of my being a thief."
Hale sat up alertly. "Then you didn"t steal the cup?"
"Certainly not. How dare you suggest such a thing? I suspect you know more about the loss of the cup than I do."
The baronet looked down on his crooked leg and smiled ironically. "Do you mean to infer that I thrust this misshapen body through that window?"
"No! But you have plenty of money to pay for any rascality."
"I am not so fond of parting with money," said Hale, dryly. "I know nothing about the cup. But I really thought you stole it. Mrs Jeal"s tale--"