doctor'll be able to certify. But there'll be a searching inquiry in this
murder affair, and as Gilverthwaite sent you to meet the man that's been
murdered--"

"Wait a bit!" said I. "You don't know, and I don't, that the man who's
been murdered is the man I was sent to meet. The man I was to meet may
have been the murderer; you don't know who the murdered man is. So you'd
better put it this way: since Gilverthwaite sent me to meet some man at
the place where this murder's been committed--well?"

"That'll be one of your lawyer's quibbles," said he calmly. "My meaning's
plain enough--we'll want to find out, if we can, who it was that
Gilverthwaite sent you to meet. And--for what reason? And--where it was
that the man was to wait for him? And I'll get the superintendent to
come down presently."

"Make it in, say, half an hour," said I. "This is a queer business
altogether, sergeant, and I'm so much in it that I'm not going to do
things on my own responsibility. I'll call Mr. Lindsey up from his bed,
and get him to come down to talk over what's to be done."

"Aye, you're in the right of it there," he said. "Mr. Lindsey'll know all
the law on such matters. Half an hour or so, then."

He made off to the county police-station, and Maisie and Tom and I went
on to our house, and were presently inside. My mother was so relieved at
the sight of me that she forbore to scold me at that time for going off
on such an errand without telling her of my business; but she grew white
as her cap when I told her of what I had chanced on, and she glanced at
the stair and shook her head.