"This sort of thing's getting beyond me, Mr. Brereton," he said in a whisper. "Whether it is that I'm not used to such things--thank God! we've had little experience of violence in this place in my time!--or what it is, but I've got it into my head that this poor young fellow's death's connected in some way with Kitely's affair! I have indeed, sir!--it's been bothering me all the afternoon. For all the doctors--there's been several of 'em in during the last two hours--are absolutely agreed that Stoner was felled, sir--felled by a savage blow, and they say he may ha' been dead before ever he fell over that quarry edge. Mr. Brereton--I misdoubt it's another murder!"
"Have you anything to go on?" asked Brereton. "Had anybody any motive? Was there any love affair--jealousy, you know--anything of that sort?"
"No, I'm sure there wasn't," replied the superintendent. "The whole town and county's ringing with the news, and I should ha' heard something by now. And it wasn't robbery--not that he'd much on him, poor fellow! There's all he had," he went on, opening a drawer. "You can look at 'em, if you like."
He left the room just then, and Brereton, disregarding the cheap watch and chain and the pigskin purse with its light load, opened Stoner's pocket-book. There was not much in that, either--a letter or two, some receipted bills, a couple of much creased copies of the reward bill, some cuttings from newspapers. He turned from these to the pocket-book itself, and on the last written page he found an entry which made him start. For there again were the initials!
"--_M. & C._--_fraud_--_bldg. soc._--_Wilchester Assizes_--_81_--_£2000_--money never recovered--2 yrs.--K. _pres._"
Not much--but Brereton hastily copied that entry. And he had just written the last word when the superintendent came back into the room with a man who was in railway uniform.
"Come in here," the superintendent was saying. "You can tell me what it is before this gentleman. Some news from High Gill junction, Mr. Brereton," he went on, "something about Stoner. Well, my lad, what is it?"
"The station-master sent me over on his bicycle," replied the visitor. "We heard over there this afternoon about Stoner's body being found, and that you were thinking he must have fallen over into the quarry in the darkness. And we know over yonder that that's not likely."