"
Captain Copplestone gave this order to the butler, who had come out to
the hall on hearing the arrival of the post-chaise. The man bowed, and
departed on his errand.
"I fear you will gain nothing by questioning the household," said Mr.
Ashburne. "I have already made all possible inquiries, assisted by
Christopher Dimond here, but can obtain no information that throws the
smallest ray of light upon this most mysterious business."
"I thank you," replied the captain; "I am sure you have done all that
friendship could suggest; but I should like to question those people
myself. This business is a matter of life and death for me."
He went into the great dining-room--the room in which the inquiry had
been held respecting the cause of Sir Oswald's death. Mr. Ashburne and
Christopher Dimond accompanied him, and the servants of the household
came in quietly, two and three at a time, until the lower end of the
room was full. Mrs. Morden was the last to come. She made no
protestations of her grief--her self-reproach--for she never for a
moment imagined that any one could doubt the intensity of her feelings.
She stood before the captain, calm, collected, ready to answer his
questions promptly and conscientiously.
He questioned the servants one by one, beginning with Mrs. Smithson,
the housekeeper, who was ready to declare that no living creature,
except the members of the household, could have been within the castle
walls on the night of Gertrude Eversleigh's disappearance.
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