was left to work its poison.  Silver, of course, clamored for his blackmail, but Miss Greeby promised to recompense him, and also threatened if he did not hold his tongue that she would accuse him and Garvington of the murder.  Since the latter had forged the letter and the former had borrowed the revolver which had killed Pine, it would have been tolerably easy for Miss Greeby to substantiate her accusation.  As to her share in the crime, all she had to do was to deny that Silver had passed the borrowed revolver on to her, and there was no way in which he could prove that he had done so.  On the whole, Silver had judged it best to fall in with Miss Greeby’s plans, and preserve silence, especially as she was rich and could supply him with whatever money he chose to ask for.  She was in his power, and he was in her power, so it was necessary to act on the golden rule of give and take.

And the final statement which Silver made to Lambert intimated that Garvington was ignorant of the truth.  Until the bullet was produced in the library to fit the revolver it had never struck Garvington that the other weapon had been used to kill Pine.  And he had honestly believed that Silver—­as was actually the case—­had remained in his bedroom all the time, until he came downstairs to play his part.  As to Miss Greeby being concerned in the matter, such an idea had never entered Garvington’s head.  The little man’s hesitation in producing the revolver, when he got an inkling of the truth, was due to his dread that if Silver was accused of the murder—­and at the time it seemed as though the secretary was guilty—­he might turn king’s evidence to save his neck, and explain the very shady plot in which Garvington had been engaged.  But Lambert had forced his cousin’s hand, and Silver had been brought to book, with the result that the young man now sat in his room at the inn, quite convinced that Miss Greeby was guilty, yet wondering what motive had led her to act in such a murderous way.

Also, Lambert wondered what was best to be done, in order to save the family name.  If he went to the police and had Miss Greeby arrested, the truth of Garvington’s shady dealings would certainly come to light, especially as Silver was an accessory after the fact.  On the other hand, if he left things as they were, there was always a chance that hints might be thrown out by Chaldea—­who had everything to gain and nothing to lose—­that he and Agnes were responsible for the death of Pine.  Of course, Lambert, not knowing that Chaldea had been listening to the conversation in the cottage, believed that the girl was ignorant of the true state of affairs, and he wondered how he could inform her that the actual criminal was known without risking her malignity.  He wanted to clear his character and that of his wife; likewise he wished to save the family name.  But it seemed to him that the issue of these things lay in the hands of Chaldea, and she was bent upon injuring him if she could.  It was all very perplexing.