Cotherstone leaned forward and tapped his host on the arm.
"I do!" he said significantly. "You're right in that. I--do!"
The superintendent laid down his pipe and looked at his visitor gravely.
"Then for goodness sake, Mr. Cotherstone," he exclaimed, "for goodness sake, tell! For as sure as we're sitting here, as things are at present, Mallalieu 'll hang if you don't! If he doesn't hang for Stoner, he will for Kitely, for if he gets off over Stoner he'll be re-arrested on the other charge."
"Half an hour ago," remarked Cotherstone, "I shouldn't have minded if Mallalieu had been hanged half a dozen times. Revenge is sweet--and I've good reason for being revenged on Mallalieu. But now--I'm inclined to tell the truth. Do you know why? Why--to show these Highmarket folks that they're wrong!"
The superintendent sighed. He was a plain, honest, simple man, and Cotherstone's reason seemed a strange--even a wicked one--to him. To tell the truth merely to spite one's neighbour--a poor, poor reason, when there was life at stake.
"Aye, Mr. Cotherstone, but you ought to tell the truth in any case!" he said. "If you know it, get it out and be done with it. We've had enough trouble already. If you can clear things up----"
"Listen!" interrupted Cotherstone. "I'll tell you all I know--privately. If you think good, it can be put into proper form. Very well, then! You remember the night of Kitely's murder?"
"Aye, I should think so!" said the superintendent. "Good reason to!"
"Let your mind go back to it, and to what you've since heard of it," said Cotherstone. "You know that on that afternoon Kitely had threatened me and Mallalieu with exposure about the Wilchester affair. He wanted to blackmail us. I told Mallalieu, of course--we were both to think about it till next day. But I did naught but think--I didn't want exposure for my daughter's sake: I'd ha' given anything to avoid it, naturally. I had young Bent and that friend of his, Brereton, to supper that night--I was so full of thought that I went out and left 'em for an hour or more. The truth was I wanted to get a word with Kitely. I went up the wood at the side of my house towards Kitely's cottage--and all of a sudden I came across a man lying on the ground--him!--just where we found him afterwards."