posed--at the Lord Proprietor's own wish; but doubtless
it reverts to me, and, in any case, this is no time to discuss
proprieties. Will you tell me what has happened and what has already
been done?"

"Done? I have done nothing except send for the constable, with word
that he was to follow me here to the Barracks and take your orders."

"But where is the body?"

"The body?" Mr. Pope shivered. "God knows. That, my dear Commandant, is
the cruellest part of the mystery--at least, according to Sam Leggo. It
appears that Sir Caesar, Leggo and Eli Tregarthen were at North Inniscaw
this afternoon, taking stock of the farm, which Sir Caesar was
persuading Tregarthen to rent. Tregarthen was sullen--you may have
heard that he resents being given notice to quit his holding on Saaron.
In the end, on some chance word of Sir Caesar's he blazed up, completely
lost control of himself, and used threats of personal violence. Leggo
will swear to this; but it is immaterial, for I myself have heard him
indulge in similar threats, and so has Abe, the gardener. Well,
Tregarthen swung off in a huff, took his way down across Pare Coppa--it
was there, just under the Cam, that the outbreak occurred--apparently
for the landing-quay by the school, where his boat lay. He left Sir
Caesar and Sam Leggo standing there."

"At what time?"

"The time, according to Leggo, was close upon sunset. Sir Caesar--as his
habit is--carried a gun under his arm; but whether or not the gun was
loaded Leggo is unable to say. After expressing surprise at
Tregarthen's display of temper, Sir Caesar turned the conversation upon
an old adit which lies under the seaward face of the Cam, and leads (I
am assured) down to Ogo Vean. Its existence is known to very few--and
Leggo was surprised to hear him mention it; but it now appears that he
had learnt of it this very afternoon, in casual talk with old Abe. He
desired then and there to explore it, and--having examined the
entrance--either because the adit itself is dark, or as a precaution in
the gathering dusk, he sent Leggo back to the farmhouse to fetch a
lantern. Leggo declares that it took him less than fifteen minutes to
reach the farm, find the lantern, and return with it to the lower gate
of Parc Coppa; also that he used his best speed because the dusk was
gathering. As he reached the gate he heard a shot from somewhere on the
edge of the cliffs. This did not perturb him, for he supposed that the
Lord Proprietor wa