“Oh,” Lambert drew a breath of relief, “so Silver laid a trap, did he?”

“Yes, my lord, and a very clever one.  The letter was arranged by Silver to fall into Sir Hubert’s hands.  That unfortunate gentleman came to the blue door at the appointed time, then Miss Greeby, who had climbed out of the window of her bedroom to hide in the shrubbery, shot the unsuspecting man.  She then got back into her room—­and a very clever climber she must have been, my lord—­and afterward mingled with the guests.”

“But why did she think of luring Sir Hubert to be shot?” asked Noel with feigned ignorance, “when she ran such a risk of being discovered?”

“Ah, my lord, therein lies the cleverness of the idea.  Poor Lord Garvington had threatened to shoot any burglar, and that gave Miss Greeby the idea.  It was her hope that your late cousin might kill Sir Hubert by mistaking him for a robber, and she only posted herself in the shrubbery to shoot if Sir Hubert was not killed.  He was not, as we know that the shot fired by Lord Garvington only broke his arm.  Miss Greeby made sure by killing him herself, and very cleverly she did so.”

“And what about my late cousin’s philanthropic visit to Silver?”

“Ah, my lord, that was a mistake.  His lordship was informed of the forged letter by Chaldea the gypsy girl, who found it in Sir Hubert’s tent, and for the sake of your family wished to get Silver out of the country.  It would have been dreadful—­as Lord Garvington rightly considered—­that the name of his sister and your name should be mentioned in connection with an elopement even though it was untrue.  He therefore went to induce Silver to leave the country, but the man, instead of being grateful, stunned his lordship with a blow from a poker which he had picked up.”

“How was that known, Mr. Inspector?”

“Miss Greeby had the truth from his own lips.  Silver threatened to denounce her, and knowing this Chaldea went to London to warn her.”

“Oh,” muttered Lambert, thinking of what Gentilla Stanley had said, “how did she find out?”

“She overheard a conversation between Silver and Lord Garvington in the cottage.”

Lambert was relieved again, since Miss Greeby had not evidently mentioned him as being mixed up with the matter.  “Yes, Mr. Inspector, I can guess the rest.  This unfortunate woman came down to get Silver, who could have hanged her, out of the country, and he set fire to the cottage.”

“She set fire to it,” corrected Darby quickly, “by chance, as she told me, she overturned a lamp.  Of course, Lord Garvington, being senseless, was burned to death.  Gentilla Stanley was also burned.”

“How did she come to be there?”

“Oh, it seems that Gentilla followed Hearne—­he was her grandson I hear from the gypsies—­to The Manor on that night and saw the shooting.  But she said nothing, not feeling sure if her unsupported testimony would be sufficient to convict Miss Greeby.  However, she watched that lady and followed her to the cottage to denounce her and prevent the escape of Silver—­who knew the truth also, as she ascertained.  Silver knocked the old woman down and stunned her, so she also was burned to death.  Then Silver ran for the motor car and crushed Miss Greeby—­since he could not manage the machine.”