margaret carne's message as to her inability to come down to dinner was scarcely a veracious one. she was not given to headaches, and had not, so far as she could remember, been once laid up with them, but after what had been said, she did not feel equal to going downstairs and facing charlie gulston. she had never quite admitted to herself that she loved the young sailor who had for the last few weeks been so much at the house, and of whose reason for so coming she had but little doubt; but now, as she sat alone in the room, she knew well enough the answer she should give to his question, when it came.

at present, however, the discovery of her own feelings caused alarm rather than pleasure. there had been no signs of fear in her face when her cousin raged and threatened, but she did not believe that the threats were empty ones; he had often frightened her when she was a child by furious bursts of passion, and although it was many years now since she had seen him thus, she felt sure that he would do as he had threatened, and was likely enough to take any violent step that might occur to him in his passion, to carry out his threat.

although she had put a bold front on it, margaret felt at heart that his reproach was not altogether unjustified. there had been a boy and girl understanding between them, and although it had not been formally ratified of late years, its existence was tacitly recognised in both families, and until a few months before she herself had considered that in the natural course of events she should some day be ronald mervyn's wife.

had he reproached her gently, she would have frankly admitted this, and would have asked him to forgive her for changing her mind now that years had wrought a change in her feelings; but the harshness and suddenness of his attack had roused her pride, and driven her to take up the ground that there was no formal engagement between them, and that as he had not renewed the subject for years she was at perfect liberty to consider herself free. she had spoken but the truth in saying that their near relationship was in her eyes a bar to their marriage. of late years she had thought much more than she had when a girl over the history of the family and the curse of the carnes, and although she had tried her best to prevent herself from brooding over the idea, she could not disguise from herself that her brother was at times strange and unlike other men, and her recollections of ronald's outbursts of temper, as a boy, induced the suspicion that he, too, had not altogether escaped the fatal taint. still, had not charlie gulston come across her path, it was probable that she would have drifted on as before, and would, when the time came have accepted ronald mervyn as her husband.

the next morning, when ruth powlett went as usual to call her mistress, she started with surprise as she opened the door, for the blind was already up and the window open. closing the door behind her, she went in and placed the jug of hot water she carried by the washstand, and then turned round to arouse her mistress. as she did so a low cry burst from her lips, and she grasped a chair for support. the white linen was stained with blood, and margaret lay there, white and still, with her eyes wide open and fixed in death. the clothes were drawn a short way down in order that the murderer might strike at her heart. scarce had she taken this in, when ruth felt the room swim round, her feet failed her, and she fell insensible on the ground.

in a few minutes the cold air streaming in through the open window aroused her. feebly she recovered her feet, and, supporting herself against the wall, staggered towards the door. as she did so her eye fell on an object lying by the side of the bed. she stopped at once with another gasping cry, pressed her hand on her forehead, and stood as if fascinated, with her eyes fixed upon it. then slowly and reluctantly, as if forced to act against her will, she moved towards the bed, stooped and picked up the object she had seen.

she had recognised it at once. it was a large knife with a spring blade, and a silver plate let into the buckhorn handle, with a name, g. forester, engraved upon it. it was a knife she herself had given to her lover a year before. it was open and stained with blood. for a minute or two she stood gazing at it in blank horror. what should she do, what should she do? she thought of the boy who had been her playmate, of the man she had loved, and whom, though she had cast him off, she had never quite ceased to love. she thought of his father, the old man who had always been kind to her. if she left this silent witness where she had found it there would be no doubt what would come of it. for some minutes she stood irresolute.

"god forgive me," she said at last. "i cannot do it." she closed the knife, put it into her dress, and then turned round again. she dared not look at the bed now, for she felt herself in some way an accomplice in her mistress's murder, and she made her way to the door, opened it, and then hurried downstairs into the kitchen, where the servants, who were just sitting down to breakfast, rose with a cry as she entered.

"what is it, ruth? what's the matter? have you seen anything?"

ruth's lips moved but no sound came from them, her face was ghastly white, and her eyes full of horror.

"what is it, child?" the old cook said, advancing and touching her, while the others shrank back, frightened at her aspect.

"miss margaret is dead," came at last slowly from her lips. "she has been murdered in the night," and she reeled and would have fallen again had not the old servant caught her in her arms and placed her in a chair. a cry of horror and surprise had broken from the servants, then came a hubbub of talk.

"it can't be true." "it is impossible." "ruth must have fancied it." "it never could be," and then they looked in each other's face as if seeking a confirmation of their words.

"i must go up and see," the cook said. "susan and harriet, you come along with me; the others see to ruth. sprinkle some water on her face. she must have been dreaming."

affecting a confidence which she did not feel, the cook, followed timidly by the two frightened girls, went upstairs. she stood for a moment hesitating before she opened the door; then she entered the room, the two girls not daring to follow her. she went a step into the room, then gave a little cry and clasped her hands.

"it is true," she cried; "miss margaret has been murdered!"

then the pent-up fears of the girls found vent in loud screams, which were echoed from the group of servants who had clustered at the foot of the stairs in expectation of what was to come.

a moment later the door of reginald carne's room opened, and he came out partly dressed.

"what is the matter? what is all this hubbub about?"

"miss margaret is murdered, sir," the two girls burst out, pausing for an instant in their outcry.

"murdered!" he repeated, in low tones. "you are mad; impossible!" and pushing past them he ran into margaret's room.

"ah!" he exclaimed, in a long, low note of pain and horror. "good god, who can have done this?" and he leaned against the wall and covered his face with his hands. the old servant had advanced to the bed, and laid a hand on the dead girl. she now touched her master.

"you had better go away now, mr. reginald, for you can do nothing. she is cold, and must have been dead hours. we must lock the door up till the police come."

so saying, she gently led him from the room, closed the door and locked it. reginald carne staggered back to his room.

"poor master," the old servant said, looking after him, "this will be a terrible blow for him; he and miss margery have always been together. there's no saying what may come of it," and she shook her head gravely; then she roused herself, and turned sharply on the girls.

"hold your noise, you foolish things; what good will that do? get downstairs at once."

driving them before her, she went down to the kitchen, and out of the door leading to the yard, where one of the maids was at the moment telling the grooms what had happened.

"joe, get on a horse and ride off and fetch dr. arrowsmith. he can't be of any good, but he ought to come. send up job harpur, the constable, and then ride on to mr. volkes; he is the nearest magistrate, and will know what to do."

then she went back into the kitchen.

"she has come to, mrs. wilson; but she don't seem to know what she is doing."

"no wonder," the cook said, "after such a shock as she has had; and she only just getting well after her illness. two of you run upstairs and get a mattress off her bed and two pillows, and lay them down in the servants' hall; then take her in there and put her on them. jane, get some brandy out of the cellaret and bring it here; a spoonful of that will do her good."

a little brandy and water was mixed, and the cook poured it between ruth's lips, for she did not seem to know what was said to her, and remained still and impassive, with short sobs bursting at times from her lips. then two servants half lifted her, and took her into the servants' hall, and laid her down on the mattress. all were sobbing and crying, for margaret carne had been greatly loved by those around her.

in half an hour the doctor arrived.

"is it possible the news is true?" he asked as he leapt from his gig; the faces of those around were sufficient answer. "good heavens, what a terrible business! tell mr. carne i am here."

reginald carne soon came down. he was evidently terribly shaken. he held out his hand in silence to the doctor.

"what does it all mean?" the latter said, huskily. "it seems too horrible to be true. can it be that your sister, whom i have known since she was a child, is dead? murdered, too! it seems impossible."

"it does seem impossible, doctor; but it is true. i have seen her myself," and he shuddered. "she has been stabbed to the heart."

the doctor wiped his eyes.

"well, i must go up and see her," he said. "poor child, poor child. no, you need not ring. i will go up by myself."

dr. arrowsmith had attended the family for many years, and knew perfectly well which was margaret's room. the old cook was standing outside the door of the drawing-room.

"here is the key, sir. i thought it better to lock the door till you came."

"quite right," the doctor replied. "don't let any one up till mr. volkes comes. the servant said he was going for him. ah, here is harpur. that is right, harpur; you had better come up with me, but i shouldn't touch anything if i were you till mr. volkes comes; besides, we shall be having the chief constable over here presently, and it is better to leave everything as it is." they entered the room together.

"dear, dear, to think of it now," the constable murmured, standing awe-struck at the door, for the course of his duty was for the most part simple, and he had never before been face to face with a tragedy like this.

the doctor moved silently to the bed, and leant over the dead girl.

"stabbed to the heart," he murmured; "death must have been instantaneous." then he touched her arm and tried to lift it.

"she has been dead hours," he said to the constable, "six or seven hours, i should say. let us look round. the window is open, you see. can the murderer have entered there?" he looked out. the wall was covered with ivy, and a massive stem grew close to the window. "yes," he went on, "an active man could have climbed that. see, there are some leaves on the ground. i think, harpur, your best plan will be to go down and take your station there and see no one comes along or disturbs anything. see, this jewel-box on the table has been broken open and the contents are gone, and i do not see her watch anywhere. well, that is enough to do at present; we will lock this room up again until mr. volkes comes."

when they came downstairs, the cook again came out.

"please, sir, will you come in here? ruth powlett, miss margaret's maid, seems very bad; it was she who first found it out, and it's naturally given her a terrible shock. she came down looking like a mad woman, then she fainted off, and she doesn't seem to have any sort of consciousness yet."

"ruth powlett! why, i have been attending her for the last three weeks. yes, such a shock may be very serious in her case," and the doctor went in.

"have you any sal volatile in the house?" he asked, after he had felt her pulse.

"there's some in the medicine chest, i think, sir, but i will soon see."

she went out and presently returned with a bottle. the doctor poured a teaspoonful into a glass and added a little water. then he lifted ruth's head, and forced it between her lips. she gasped once or twice, and then slightly opened her eyes.

"that is right, ruth," the doctor said, cheeringly, "try and rouse yourself, child. you remember me, don't you?" ruth opened her eyes and looked up.

"that's right, child, i mustn't have you on my hands again, you know." ruth looked round with a puzzled air, then a sharp look of pain crossed her face.

"i know, ruth," said the doctor, soothingly; "it is terrible for every one, but least terrible for your poor young mistress; she passed away painlessly, and went at once from life into death. every one loved her, you know; it may be that god has spared her much unhappiness."

ruth burst into a paroxysm of crying; the doctor nodded to the old servant.

"that's what i wanted," he whispered, "she will be better after this. get a cup of hot tea for her, or beef-tea will be better still if you have any, make her drink it and then leave her for a time. i will see her again presently."

immediately the doctor left him, reginald carne wrote a telegram to the chief constable of the county, and despatched a servant with orders to gallop as fast as he could to the station and send it off.

mr. volkes, the magistrate, arrived half an hour later, terribly shocked by the news he had heard. he at once set about making inquiries, and heard what the doctor and constable had to say. no one else had been in the room except the old cook, mr. carne, and the poor girl's own maid.

"it would be useless for you to question the girl to-day, volkes. she is utterly prostrate with the shock, but i have no doubt she will be able to give her evidence at the inquest. so far as i can see there does not seem to be the slightest clue. apparently some villain who knows something about the house has climbed through the window, stabbed her, and made off with her jewellery."

"it is a hideous business," the magistrate said; "there has not been such a startling crime committed in the county in all my experience. and to think that margaret carne should be the victim, a girl every one liked; it is terrible, terrible. what's your opinion, doctor? some wandering tramp, i suppose?"

"i suppose so. certainly it can be none of the neighbours. in the first place, as you say, every one liked her and in the second, a crime of that sort is quite out of the way of our quiet devonshire people. it must have been some stranger, that's evident. yet on the other hand it is singular that the man should have got into her room. i don't suppose there has been a window fastened or a door locked on the ground floor for years; the idea of a burglary never occurs to any one here. by the way, the coroner ought to be informed at once. i will speak to carne about it; if we do it this morning he will have time to send over this evening and summon a jury for to-morrow; the sooner it is over the better. directly the chief constable arrives he will no doubt send round orders everywhere for tramps and suspicious persons to be arrested. plymouth is the place where they are most likely to get some clue; in the first place it's the largest town in this part, and in the second there are sure to be low shops where a man could dispose of valuables."

in the afternoon, captain hendricks, the chief constable, arrived, and took the matter in hand. in the first place he had a long private conversation with job harpur, who had been steadily keeping watch in the garden beneath the window, leaving him with strict orders to let no one approach the spot.

he then, with a sergeant who had arrived with him, made a thorough search of the bedroom. after this he examined every one who knew anything about the matter, with the exception of ruth powlett, for whom the doctor said absolute quiet was necessary, as to all they knew about it. then he obtained a minute description of the missing watch and jewels, and telegraphed it to plymouth and exeter. having done this he went out into the garden again, and there a close search was made on the grass and borders for the marks of footsteps. when all this was done he had a long private conversation with reginald carne.

the news of margaret carne's murder created an excitement in carnesford, such as had never been equalled since the day when lady carne murdered her child and the curse of carne's hold began its work. there was not a soul in the valley but knew her personally, for margaret had taken great interest in village matters, had seen that soups and jellies were sent down from the hold to those who were sick, had begged many a man off his rent when laid up or out of work, and had many pensioners who received weekly gifts of money, tea, or other little luxuries. she gave prizes in the school; helped the parson with his choir; and scarcely a day passed without her figure being seen in the streets of carnesford. that she could be murdered seemed incredible, and when the news first arrived it was received with absolute unbelief. when such confirmation was received that doubt was no longer possible, all work in carnesford was suspended. women stood at their doors and talked to their neighbours and wept freely. men gathered in knots and talked it over and uttered threats of what they would do if they could but lay hands on the murderer. boys and girls walked up the hill and stood at the edge of the wood, talking in whispers and gazing on the house as if it presented some new and mysterious attraction. later in the day two or three constables arrived, and asked many questions as to whether any one had heard any one passing through the street between one and three in the morning; but carnesford had slept soundly, and no one was found who had been awake between those hours.

the little conclave in the sanctum at the "carne's arms" met half an hour earlier than usual. they found on their arrival there a stranger chatting with the landlord, who introduced him to them as mr. rentford, a detective officer from plymouth.

"a sad affair, gentlemen, a sad affair," mr. rentford said, when they had taken their seats and lit their churchwardens. "as sad an affair, i should say, as ever i was engaged in."

"it is that," jacob carey said. "here's mr. claphurst here, who has been here, man and boy, for nigh eighty years. he will tell you that such an affair as this has never happened in this part in his time."

"i suppose, now," the detective said, "there's none in the village has any theory about it; i mean," he went on, as none of his hearers answered, "no one thinks it can be any one but some tramp or stranger to the district?"

"it can't be no one else," jacob carey said, "as i can see. what do you say, hiram powlett? i should say no one could make a nearer guess than you can, seeing as they say it was your ruth as first found it out."

"i haven't seen ruth," hiram said; "the doctor told me, as he came down, as she was quite upset with the sight, and that it would be no good my going up to see her, as she would have to keep still all day. so i can't see farther into it than another; but surely it must be some stranger."

"there was no one about here so far as you have heard, mr. powlett, who had any sort of grudge against this poor lady?"

"not a soul, as far as i know," hiram replied. "she could speak up sharp, as i have heard, could miss carne, to a slatternly housewife or a drunken husband; but i never heard as she made an enemy by it, though, if she had, he would have kept his tongue to himself, for there were not many here in carnesford who would have heard a word said against miss carne and sat quiet over it."

"no, indeed," jacob carey affirmed, bringing down his fist with a heavy thump on his knee. "the squire and his sister were both well liked, and i for one would have helped duck any one that spoke against them in the dare. she was the most liked, perhaps, because of her bright face and her kind words and being so much down here among us; but the squire is well liked, too; he is not one to laugh and talk as she was, but he is a good landlord, and will always give a quarter's rent to a man as gets behindhand for no fault of his own, and if there is a complaint about a leaky roof or any repairs that want doing, the thing is done at once and no more talk about it. no, they have got no enemies about here as i know of, except maybe it's the poachers down at dareport, for though the squire don't shoot himself, he preserves strictly, and if a poacher's caught he gets sent to the quarter sessions as sure as eggs is eggs."

"besides," the old clerk put in, "they say as miss carne's watch and things has been stolen; that don't look as if it was done out of revenge, do it?"

"well, no," the detective said, slowly; "but that's not always to be taken as a sign, because you see if any one did a thing like that, out of revenge, they would naturally take away anything that lay handy, so as to make it look as if it was done for theft."

the idea was a new one to his listeners, and they smoked over it silently for some minutes.

"lord, what evil ways there are in the world," reuben claphurst said at last. "wickedness without end. now what do you make out of this, mister? of course these things come natural to you."

the detective shook his head. "it's too early to form an opinion yet, mr. claphurst—much too early. i dare say we shall put two and two together and make four presently, but at present you see we have got to learn all the facts, and you who live close ought to know more than we do, and to be able to put us on the track to begin with. you point me out a clue, and i will follow it, but the best dogs can't hunt until they take up the scent."

"that's true enough," the blacksmith said, approvingly.

"have there been any strangers stopping in the village lately?" the detective asked.

"there have been a few stopping off and on here, or taking rooms in the village," the landlord answered; "but i don't think there has been any one fishing on the stream for the last few days."

"i don't mean that class; i mean tramps."

"that i can't tell you," the landlord replied; "we don't take tramps in here; they in general go to wilding's beershop at the other end of the village. he can put up four or five for the night, and in summer he is often full, for we are just about a long day's tramp out from plymouth, and they often make this their first stopping-place out, or their last stopping-place in, but it's getting late for them now, not many come along after the harvest is well over. still, you know, there may have been one there yesterday, for aught i know."

"i will go round presently and ask. any one who was here the night before might well have lain in the woods yesterday, and gone up and done it."

"i don't believe as you will ever find anything about it. there's a curse on carne's hold, as every one knows, and curses will work themselves out. if i were the squire, i would pull the place down, every stick and stone of it, and i would build a fresh one a bit away. i wouldn't use so much as a brick or a rafter of the old place, for the curse might stick to it. i would have everything new from top to bottom."

"yes, i have heard of the curse on carne's hold," the detective said. "a man who works with me, and comes from this part of the country, told me all about it as we came over to-day. however, that has nothing to do with this case."

"it's partly the curse as that heathen woman, as sir edgar brought home as his wife, laid on the place," the old clerk said, positively; "and it will go on working as long as carne's hold stands. that's what i says, and i don't think as any one else here will gainsay me."

"that's right enough," the blacksmith agreed, "i think we are all with you there, mr. claphurst. it ought to have been pulled down long ago after what has happened there. why, if mr. carne was to say to me, 'have the house and the garden and all rent free, jacob carey, as long as you like,' i should say, 'thank you, squire, but i wouldn't move into it, not if you give me enough beside to keep it up.' i call it just flying in the face of providence. only look at hiram powlett there; he sends his daughter up to be miss carne's maid at the hold, and what comes of it? why, she tumbles down the hill a-going up, and there she lies three weeks, with the doctor coming to see her every day. that was a clear warning if ever there was one. who ever heard of a girl falling down and hurting herself like that? no one. and it would not have happened if it hadn't been for the curse of carne's hold."

"i shouldn't go so far as that," hiram powlett said. "what happened to my lass had nothing to do with the hold; she might have been walking up the hill at any time, and she might have slipped down at any time. a girl may put her foot on a loose stone and fall without it having anything to say to the hold one way or the other. besides, i have never heard it said as the curse had aught to do except with the family."

"i don't know about that," the smith replied. "that servant that was killed by the spanish woman's son; how about him? it seems to me as the curse worked on him a bit, too."

"so it did, so it did," hiram agreed. "i can't gainsay you there, jacob carey; now you put it so, i see there is something in it, though never before have i heard of there being anything in the curse except in the family."

"why, didn't miles jefferies, father of one of the boys as is in the stables, get his brains kicked out by one of the old squire's horses?"

"so he did, jacob, so he did; still grooms does get their brains kicked out at other places besides the hold. but there is something in what you say, and if i had thought of it before, i would never have let my ruth go up there to service. i thought it was all for the best at the time, and you knows right enough why i sent her up there, to be away from that george forester; still, i might have sent her somewhere else, and i would have done if i had thought of what you are saying now. sure enough no good has come of it. i can't hold that that fall of hers had aught to do with the curse of the carnes, but this last affair, which seems to me worse for her than the first, sure enough comes from the curse."

"who is this george forester, if you don't mind my asking the question?" the detective said. "you see it's my business to find out about people."

"oh, george hadn't nothing to do with this business," hiram replied. "he's the son of a farmer near here, and has always been wild and a trouble to the old man, but he's gone away weeks ago. he got into a poaching scrape, and one of the keepers was hurt, and i suppose he thought he had best be out of it for a time; anyhow, he has gone. but he weren't that sort of a chap. no, there was no harm in george forester, not in that way; he was lazy and fonder of a glass than was good for him, and he got into bad company down at dareport, and that's what led him to this poaching business, i expect, because there was no call for him to go poaching. his father's got a tidy farm, and he wanted for nothing. if he had been there he couldn't have wanted to steal miss carne's jewellery. he was passionate enough, i know, and many a quarrel has he had with his father, but nothing would have made me believe, even if he had been here, that old jim forester's son had a hand in a black business like this; so don't you go to take such a notion as that into your head."

"he would not be likely to have any quarrel with miss carne?" the detective asked.

"quarrel? no," hiram replied sharply, for he resented the idea that any possible suspicion of margaret carne's murder should be attached to a man with whom ruth's name had been connected. "i don't suppose miss carne ever spoke a word to him in her life. what should she speak to him for? why, he had left the sunday school years before she took to seeing after it. 'tain't as if he had been one of the boys of the village."

as jacob carey, reuben claphurst, and the landlord, each gave an assenting murmur to hiram's words, the detective did not think it worth while to pursue the point further, for there really seemed nothing to connect this george forester in any way with margaret carne's death.

"well," he said, taking up his hat, "i will go round to this beershop you speak of, and make inquiries as to whether any tramps have been staying there. it is quite certain this young lady didn't put an end to herself. what we have got to find out is: who was the man that did it?"