"I cannot believe it," he exclaimed, in a hoarse whisper. "I tell you,
man, you must, have made some senseless mistake. The will cannot have
been destroyed."
"I had the fragments in my hand," answered Reginald. "I saw my name
written on the worthless scrap of burnt paper. All that was left
besides that wretched fragment were the ashes in the grate."
"I saw the will executed--I saw it--within a few hours of Sir Oswald's
death."
"You saw it done?"
"Yes, I was outside the window of the library."
"And you--! oh, it is too horrible," cried Reginald.
"What is too horrible?"
"The deed that was done that night."
"That deed is no business of ours," answered Victor; "the person who
destroyed the will was your uncle's assassin, if he died by the hand of
an assassin."
"Do you really believe that, Carrington; or are you only fooling me?"
"What else should I believe?"
The two men parted. Reginald Eversleigh knew that his presence would be
required at the coroner's inquest. The surgeon did not attempt to
detain him.
For the time, at least, this arch-plotter found himself suddenly
brought to a stand-still.
The inquest commenced almost immediately after Reginald's return to the
castle.
The first witness examined was the valet, who had been the person to
discover the death; the next were the two medical men, whose evidence
was of a most important nature.
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