There was a silence after this declaration of Chaskin's, for neither of the young men knew what reply to make. The Vicar did not affirm his innocence¹, as he had done earlier in the interview; nor did he accuse anyone else of committing the crime with which he was charged. He took up a purely² negative attitude, and by doing so threw on Paul and Lovel the onus³ of proving their accusations⁴. Nothing in the way of defence could have been more unsatisfactory. On seeing their hesitation⁵ Chaskin reiterated⁶ his speech.  
"I do not repeat that I am innocent," he asserted. "If you think that I killed that unhappy girl, you must continue to do so. But," added the Vicar with irony⁷, "I fail to see what motive⁸ you can ascribe to me for such an act."
 
"The motive of jealousy⁹," said Lovel sullenly¹⁰; "you were in love with Milly. Oh, you need not deny it, Mr. Chaskin; I know it for a fact."
 
"My friend," said Chaskin coldly, "I do not intend to deny it; but I question your right to make such a statement. It is true that I loved Miss Lester; but she never knew of my passion. She was the promised wife of my friend, and as such I did not think myself justified¹¹ in revealing my feelings. You, Mr. Lovel, were less scrupulous¹²."
 
"I admit it," replied Lovel, attempting a weak defence; "but I loved her."
 
"All the village knew as much; but I do not call that love which debases its object. If you had said nothing to Miss Lester, she might have refused to meet you. And had she not met you," added Chaskin emphatically, "this tragedy would not have taken place."
 
"As to that, you know best!" sneered¹³ the younger man.
 
"As you please, sir," rejoined the Vicar. "I refuse to defend myself to you."
 
"Can you defend yourself at all?" questioned Mexton suddenly.
 
"I shall answer that question when I am asked it by the duly constituted authorities."
 
"At least tell us how you lost that pistol."
 
The Vicar rose from his chair, and walking across to a side table, lifted therefrom an oblong box of mahogany. This he opened and placed before his visitors.
 
"This is a remnant of my soldiering days," he said. "Once it contained two pistols; now, as you see, there is only one. The other, I admit freely, is the weapon which you showed to me, Mr. Mexton."
 
"The weapon with which Milly was murdered," said Lovel viciously.
 
"No doubt; but, as I told you, I lost it some four weeks ago,"
 
"How did you lose it?" asked Paul; for it seemed to him that Chaskin was evading¹⁴ the point.
 
"I cannot tell you," replied the Vicar; "the box stood always on that table. I see many people in this room; any one of them might have taken it."
 
"Mother Jimboy, for instance?"
 
"No; for the simple reason that Mother Jimboy never came to the Vicarage."
 
"Herne says she did," cried Lovel; "and that you saw her in this room before the murder."
 
Chaskin drew a long breath, and seemed to consider his reply: "Mr. Herne is mistaken," he said at length; "the gipsy was never in this room."
 
"Then somebody is telling a lie!" said Lovel, looking sharply at Chaskin.
 
"No doubt," he answered coolly; "but I am not bound to find the liar¹⁵ for you."
 
"Perhaps I know where he is to be found without your aid!"
 
The Vicar shut down the lid of the box with a snap, and once more rose to his feet. "This conversation has lasted long enough," he said with dignity, "and I have replied to your questions very patiently. I refuse to answer any more."
 
"You say you are innocent?" asked Paul.
 
"I say nothing."
 
"You know who is guilty?" insisted Lovel.
 
"I know nothing."
 
This was all the answer they could obtain from Chaskin, so, seeing that it was useless to prolong the interview with so obstinate¹⁷ a man, Paul and his friend departed. Their visit had been productive of no good, and--if Chaskin were guilty--they had only succeeding in putting him on his guard. But was he guilty? The two young men took different views of the question. Paul was inclined to side with the Vicar; while Lovel was equally bent¹⁸ on insisting that the Vicar was the assassin.
 
"If he has not killed Milly, he would declare that he was innocent," said he.
 
"He did so, when we first spoke¹⁹ to him. That is a point in his favour."
 
"I don't see it at all," said Lovel obstinately²⁰; "he did not know what evidence we could bring against him. When he knew, he took refuge in silence."
 
"Well," objected Paul, more just than his prejudiced companion, "if you remember, he denied that Mother Jimboy had stolen the pistol. If he were guilty, it is probable that he would seize on every chance to exculpate²¹ himself and inculpate²² others. The suggestion made by Herne would have been a good opportunity of shifting the blame from his own shoulders on to those of the gipsy; but, as you heard for yourself, Lovel, he declined to take advantage of the opening."
 
"Bah! that is his cunning. I daresay he has a defence all ready."
 
"If so, he did not entrust²³ us with it," rejoined Mexton, a trifle drily.
 
"No; he's not such a fool as to show his hand unless forced to do so. Should Drek arrest him, he would have lies in plenty to prove his innocence."
 
"I don't think there is sufficient evidence to arrest him."
 
"Drek may think otherwise," replied Lovel, looking at his watch. "Come to The Herne Arms, Mexton, for I expect the inspector²⁴ will be waiting for us there. We will tell him of our interview with the Vicar, and see what his opinion is about the matter; I should not be surprised if Mr. Chaskin was in gaol²⁵ by this evening."
 
"I should be very much surprised," said Paul emphatically. "As Lester is already accused of the crime, and is to stand his trial next week, Drek cannot arrest Chaskin as yet, however guilty he may think him. You can't have two people legally accused of the same crime. One must be proved innocent before the other can be imprisoned²⁶ as suspected of guilt¹⁶."
 
"As to these points of law, I know nothing about them," replied Lovel impatiently; "all I know is that to my mind Chaskin is the guilty person. The evidence of Gran Jimboy and the production of that pistol are sufficient to hang him. However, we shall see."
 
There was nothing more said at the moment, as the conversation threatened to become disagreeable, and the two men walked to The Herne Arms. Here they found Inspector Drek, who informed them that Lester had delivered the message, but could not be present at the interview, as he had been called out to see a patient some miles away, and did not expect to be back bef............