f any one else told me that that sweet young lady had a
hand in such a matter, I would think him a fool; but I am bound to
follow my own conclusions. I know well that just as unlikely persons
have been proved guilty, when a whole court--all except the prosecution
who knew the facts, and the judge who had taught his mind to
wait--would have sworn to innocence. I wouldn't, for all the world,
wrong such a young lady; more especial when she has such a cruel weight
to bear. And you will be sure that I won't say a word that'll prompt
anyone else to make such a charge. That's why I speak to you in
confidence, man to man. You are skilled in proofs; that is your
profession. Mine only gets so far as suspicions, and what we call our
own proofs--which are nothing but ex parte evidence after all. You
know Miss Trelawny better than I do; and though I watch round the
sick-room, and go where I like about the house and in and out of it, I
haven't the same opportunities as you have of knowing the lady and what
her life is, or her means are; or of anything else which might give me
a clue to her actions. If I were to try to find out from her, it would
at once arouse her suspicions. Then, if she were guilty, all
possibility of ultimate proof would go; for she would easily find a way
to baffle discovery. But if she be innocent, as I hope she is, it
would be doing a cruel wrong to accuse her. I have thought the matter
over according to my lights before I spoke to you; and if I have taken
a liberty, sir, I am truly sorry."

"No liberty in the world, Daw," I said warmly, for the man's courage
and honesty and consideration compelled respect. "I am glad you have
spoken to me so frankly. We both want to find out the truth; and there
is so much about this case that is strange--so strange as to go beyond
all experiences--that to aim at truth is our only chance of making
anything clear in the long-run--no matter what our views are, or what
object we wish to achieve ultimately!" The Sergeant looked pleased as
he went on:

"I thought, therefore, that if you had it once in your mind that
somebody else held to such a possibility, you would by degrees get
proof; or at any rate such ideas as would convince yourself, either for
or against it. Then we would come to some conclusion; or at any rate
we should so exhaust all other possibilities that the most likely one
would remain as the nearest thing to proof, or strong suspicion, that
we could