"
There was a pause here and a passing of the snuffbox. Bailie Duke
then turned to Kinlay, holding the viking's stone in his fingers.
"Have you ever had this curious stone in your possession, Kinlay?"
he asked.
"Yes; I got it from my sister," replied Tom.
"Ericson," asked Mr. Duke, "how came the stone in your possession
on Saturday?"
"Jessie and I found it at the head of the Cliff," I said. "It was
that which made me believe that Thora was in the cave. She got the
stone from me before I went away, and I thought she had maybe
dropped it as she was getting over the cliff."
"But what on earth could the lass want in the cave?" asked Mr.
Thomson.
"She was unhappy at home," I explained, "and had threatened to run
away. I supposed she had taken refuge in the cave."
"Kinlay," said Mr. Duke, touching the coil of rope, "did you at any
time make use of these lines to climb down the Gaulton cliffs?"
Tom was silent.
"If you do not care to tell us that, then, perhaps, you will say if
you happened to make use of this gun on the night on which Colin
Lothian met his death?"
Tom became perceptibly confused.
"Mr. Duke," exclaimed Bailie Thomson, "what in the world are you
driving at?"
"I'm driving at the truth, Mr. Thomson," said Bailie Duke calmly,
"and I think I see it.
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