For the next twenty-four hours, Dr. Jim kept his counsel. He said sufficient to set Stephen's mind at rest about his mother, but did not tell the whole story or show the confession which he had obtained from Petronella. He wanted to turn matters over in his own mind before doing this. The fact is Jim was getting a little weary of the whole affair. Every new piece of evidence that came to light seemed only to complicate it. He had felt sure that the paper left by Mrs. Marsh would solve the mystery; but although it told much it did not reveal all. She declared in a half-hearted sort of way that Frisco was guilty. But she gave no proofs; the man in that hurried conversation at the door, had denied the charge, and beyond the fact of his flight there was no evidence against him. It occurred to Jim that the best thing to do would be to drop the matter altogether. It seemed useless to follow such a will-o-the-wisp.

"Still I do not like to do this on my own responsibility," he thought after much consideration, "it will be best for me to lay all the facts before Bess and Stephen, and go by what they say. If they want to go on with it, well and good. If not, I shall end it at once."

With this idea, a most sensible one under the circumstances. Herrick called a council of war. Bess came over from Biffstead, and met Stephen and Jim in the library by appointment. There Herrick again told the whole story of his dealings with the matter, and ended up by placing Mrs. Marsh's letter and its enclosure before them. When the Squire and Bess had read the documents, and were in possession of all the facts connected with the murder of Colonel Carr, Herrick made a speech to them on that basis.

"It seems to me," he said, "that it is foolish going on with this matter. From all that I can see Frisco is the guilty man. But he has disappeared, and I do not think it is worth while hunting him down. To hang him for the murder of a scoundrel like Carr--I beg your pardon Steve but your late uncle was a scoundrel--will be no gratification to any of us. Moreover if he were caught and tried, this letter might have to be produced. I think it best to stop short at this point."

Before Stephen could give his opinion, Bess interrupted him, to dwell, after the custom of a woman, on a minor point. "You foolish boy," she said in reproachful tones. "I see that you took the blame of your mother's doings on yourself. That was stupid. You might have trusted me!"

"My dear Bess, I could not blacken her memory, even to you.

"Perhaps not; but I should have understood. Now that I think of it," she added, "I wonder that I was so foolish as to believe you. It was entirely opposed to your nature to fire at a dead man."

Stephen winced. "Do not say anything more about it Bess," he said, "she did that. Let the matter rest there. And now about continuing the search. I agree with Jim;--it is best to do nothing more."

"I am not so sure of that," replied Bess obstinately, "you see Santiago may still try and get the money."

"No," said Jim positively, "I do not think so. He has been found out. His conspiracy is at an end. He knows that any further move on his part will meet with failure. Believe me, he will return to Mexico, and give up fighting. The wisest thing he can do."

"What about Joyce?" asked Marsh-Carr. "He is worse than useless. Take away Don Manuel, and Joyce is lost. He has neither the pluck nor the intelligence to carry through a plot on his own account."

"But his father Frisco may use him as an instrument."

"Frisco has to clear himself first. Joyce knows if he does anything with his father that, I can have him arrested. Rather than that should happen I believe he would give up Frisco to justice."

Bess shuddered. "His own father!" she exclaimed.

"Oh! as to that, you can hardly blame Joyce if he does not feel particularly filial. His father has done nothing for him. Besides Joyce senior deserted his wife, and Robin was devote to his mother. It is one of the best traits in his otherwise poor character. No, Bess, I think if Robin came to chose between his own skin and that of Frisco, his father would be the one to suffer. Robin believes in everyone for himself."

"He is a wicked little wretch!"

"He is and he is not. Weak rather than wicked. His scheme to mix you up in the murder by means of that pistol was invented by the Mexican. Joyce only did as he was told."

"But in that case," said Stephen looking up, "I do not see what Santiago had to gain. Robin wanted Bess to marry him. He wanted to inveigle her into the case so that she might not refuse out of fear. But what would that matter to Santiago. Her marriage with Joyce would not have helped on his schemes."

"True enough," said Herrick musingly, "but I daresay it was Frisco who suggested the marriage. He wanted to get the money through his son, and perhaps thought he would get more if he put off Robin with Bess."

Miss Endicotte reddened. "Thank you for nothing Jim," she said indignantly, "I was evidently to be a pawn in the game."

"It seems to me that we have all been pawns," said Jim grimly, "just consider the mistakes that have been made while we have been searching for the true assassin of Colonel Carr."

Bess laughed. "First of all I was suspected," she said.

"Oh, no; that was only a half-hearted attempt on the part of Frisco and his precious son. There was no real evidence to implicate you Bess. I think--speaking for myself--that I first suspected Robin Joyce. It was your remark about his income Stephen, that aroused my suspicions. Well the chain runs as follows," and Herrick ticked off on his fingers, "Joyce first on the authority--mainly--of the pistol. He said he got it from the Don so I suspected Manuel. He proved his innocence, and accused Pentland Corn. I saw him and he told me he had picked up the pistol on the lawn of this house. It was his belief that Mrs. Marsh was guilty."

"And myself?" said Stephen with a smile.

"No, you were like Bess and came into the matter on your own account. I never believed you had anything to do with the affair. But your step-mother is the last whom I believed might have something to do with it. Certainly she had; but from her letter we know she didn't kill the man. And here we come to a dead stop."

"What about Frisco?" said Marsh-Carr.

"I believe he is the guilty person," said Dr. Jim positively, "are you going to defend him, Bess?"

The girl looked troubled. "I admit that matters look black against him," she said slowly. "He threatened the Colonel; he was alone in the house with him, and Mrs. Marsh found him ready to fly. On the other hand there is something to be said in his favour. Evidently he should have had a share in this treasure. For some reason the Colonel would not give it to him during his life, and only afforded him a chance of getting it after Stephen's death--"

"Not even then," interrupted Herrick "for if Stephen had fulfilled the conditions of the will, the fortune would become his absolutely and he would be able to will it away."

"Then I can't understand it," said Bess, "unless Frisco knew of this unjust will--for that it is, if he helped to get the treasure--and murdered the Colonel out of revenge."

"I believe he did," said Stephen.

"No!" put in Dr. Jim briskly, "I do not agree with you. It is my opinion that what Mrs. Marsh said to me before she died was the right view."

"What was that?"

"Frisco and the Colonel fought a duel. I believe that Frisco came back from the inn drunk and filled with fur against the Colonel. It might have been, that through the visit to Mrs. Marsh in the afternoon he had found out all about the will. The Colonel probably defied him, and then Frisco would suggest a duel. He fired first and the Colonel fell with his still loaded weapon in his hand."

"That is all theory," said Bess still defending the ex-sailor, "but you seem to forget Jim that the death shot was fired with that clumsy pistol. If there had been a duel Frisco would have had at least as good a weapon as the Colonel. There are plenty of revolvers of the new pattern in the gun-room. I am sure Frisco would not have placed himself at such a disadvantage. And again the silver bullet. Why should Frisco have used that?"

Dr. Jim rubbed his head with a vexed air. "I am afraid you are right Bess," he said, "a duel is out of the question. I can't see anything ahead. So far as I am concerned, I give up trying to solve the riddle."

"So do I," said Marsh-Carr, "I know now that my poor mother did not kill the man, so that is all I care about. Let the matter rest Herrick. You can send Santiago to Mexico I suppose?"

"Yes, but I think he will want some money."

"Give him what he wants and let him go."

"I think that will be best, and as for Joyce I'll see that he keeps quiet."

Bess struck in. "What about Frisco?"

"He must look after himself," said Dr. Jim, "innocent or guilty we can do nothing with him so long as he remains in hiding."

"But you can find him?"

"Through Joyce. Yes, I can. But on the whole I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie. No, Bess. The whole thing is ended. Now come the peaceful times. It is necessary to cultivate our garden, as says Voltaire."

Stephen laughed. "I think so too," said he, "for my part I intend to put the whole matter out of my head and arrange with Ida as to the date of our marriage. As my poor mother has died so lately, we can have a quiet wedding; but married I shall be and as soon as I can."

"Why?" asked Bess.

"In the first place I want Ida to be my wife because I love her dearly, and in the second I want to marry her and make my will after the marriage in her favour."

"Why can't you make it now?"

"It would not be legal. Marriage invalidates a will."

Herrick who had been thinking, looked up with bright eyes. "Stephen," he said, "you are afraid of Frisco."

"Yes, I am. He may try and murder me to get the money, so by marrying Ida and leaving it to her, I shall put the matter out of his power. Once he gets to know that the money has gone from him for ever, he may leave me alone. He tried through Santiago to kill me once, and failed. He may not fail the second time."

"There is something in that," said Herrick, and then the council of war--as Bess called it--broke up. The final decision of the three was to let the case stand where it was. They washed their hands of the whole affair.

For the next fortnight there was absolute peace. Stephen and Ida arranged to be married in two months, and Dr. Jim began to talk of his future wit............