"No. He told Sophy that Mr. Carrington had come down, but that he had traveled in another carriage. After all," went on Beatson thoughtfully, "there was no reason why the doctor should speak. He had only seen Mr. Carrington once when he called on him to get a cure for his toothache."
"Yes. I remember he went to see the doctor when he first came," replied Rupert mechanically. "I was in the church with Miss Mallien, and Carrington, on his way back to The Big House, looked in about his tooth on Tollart." He paused, then continued: "What train was it?"
"The one which leaves Liverpool Street at eight."
"That arrives here at a quarter past nine," said Hendle meditatively.
"Yes, and as the vicar was murdered at eleven, Mr. Carrington had plenty of time to make his plans."
"I can't believe that Carrington is the assassin," muttered Hendle, in dismay, for he dreaded lest he should prove the accusation to be true. "Did Dr. Tollart connect Carrington with the murder?"
"No. If he had, he would have spoken out. He took little notice of Mr. Carrington, thinking he was coming down on a visit to you. And as Mr. Carrington was with you the next day, of course the doctor believed that it was as he had thought."
"Yes, I see. But Carrington did not come on that night. He came by the midday train next day."
"The doctor didn't know that," said Kit, nodding; "in fact, he thought no more about the matter after he told Sophy, and he only told her as a piece of gossip, you understand."
"Yes! yes! I see that, as Carrington was with me the next day, his presence in the eight o'clock train on the previous night would arouse no suspicion in Tollart's mind. Still, his being at Barship on that night doesn't mean that he killed the vicar."
"Well," said Kit, with a wisdom beyond his years, "I rather think that it is very good evidence against him. You had told him about the will, and he knew what it meant to you. What he said when you kicked him out the other day shows that he wants a large sum of money. He intended perhaps to stun the vicar and get the will, so as to make his terms with you; but the vicar, having heart disease, died straightway. For that reason Mr. Carrington buried the will, and sent an anonymous letter to my mother."