Sparling had left him, in great excitement, convinced that the chief
obstacle in the way of her complete control of Wing and his money lay in
the wife. There again--as to the weapon--I had no means of refuting him.
As far as the appearance--after the murder--of the racks holding the
arms was concerned, the weapon might have been taken from either place.
And again--on the whole--the jury believed Wing. The robbery of the
sister's money--the incredible rapidity of Juliet Sparling's
deterioration--had set them against her. Her wild beauty, her proud and
dumb misery in the dock, were of a kind rather to alienate the plain man
than to move him. They believed her capable of anything--and it was
natural enough.
"But Wing confessed to me that he knew perfectly well that the dagger
belonged to the stand in the gallery. He had often examined the arms
there, and was quite certain of the fact. He swore this to the priest.
Here, again, you can only explain his evidence by a desire for revenge."
Sir James paused. As he moved a little away from his companion his
expression altered. It was as though he put from him the external
incidents and considerations with which he had been dealing, and the
vivacity of manner which fitted them.
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