of amazement. 'Was he shot with this, Harry?'

'Without doubt!' replied Brace, gravely. 'Therefore, as it is your
property, I wish to know how it came to be used for that purpose.'

'Great Scott, Brace! you don't think that I killed the blackguard?'

'I think nothing so ridiculous,' protested Sir Harry, testily.

'You talk as if you did, though,' retorted George, smartly.

'I thrashed that Jentham beast for insulting Mab, but I didn't shoot
him.'

'But the pistol is yours.'

'I admit that, but--Good Lord!' cried Captain Pendle, starting to his
feet.

'What now?' asked Brace, turning pale and cold on the instant.

'Gabriel! Gabriel! I--I gave this pistol to him.'

'You gave this pistol to Gabriel? When? Where?'

'In London,' explained George, rapidly. 'When he was in Whitechapel I
knew that he went among a lot of roughs and thieves, so I insisted that
he should carry this pistol for his protection. He was unwilling to do
so at first, but in the end I persuaded him to slip it into his pocket.
I have not seen it from that day to this.'

'And it was found near Jentham's corpse,' said Brace, with a groan.

The two young men looked at one another in horrified silence, the same
thoughts in the mind of each. The pistol had been in the possession of
Gabriel; and Gabriel on the night of the murder had been in the vicinity
of the crime.

'It--it is impossible,' whispered George, almost inaudibly, 'Gabriel can
explain.'

'Gabriel _must_ explain,' said Brace, firmly; 'it is a matter of life
and death!'

CHAPTER XXXIII

MR BALTIC EXPLAINS HIMSELF

It was Miss Whichello, who, on the statement of Mrs Pansey as reported
by Mr Cargrim, had told George of his brother's presence on Southberry
Heath at the time of Jentham's murder. She had casually mentioned the
fact during an idle conversation; but never for one moment had she
dreamed of connecting Gabriel with so atrocious a crime. Nor indeed did
Captain Pendle, until the fact was rudely and unexpectedly brought home
to him by the production of the pistol. Nevertheless, despite this
material evidence, he vehemently refused to credit that so gentle a
being as Gabriel had slain a fellow-creature deliberately and in cold
blood, particularly as on the face of it no reason could be assigned for
so hazardous an act. The curate, in his loyal brother's opinion, was
neither a vindictive fool nor an aimless murderer.

With this latter opinion Sir Harry very heartily