The carpenter’s wife had propped it up against the tea-caddy on the kitchen mantelpiece, but Vera, her eldest, had got the tea that day, and had left the envelope lying flat on the high shelf when she reached the caddy down, with the result that when she returned the caddy to the mantelpiece she stood it on the letter without noticing, and her mother had forgotten all about the letter until the next day, when she was dusting and it fell into the hearth.

Emming, having read it, and then compared it with the first one, had decided to come to Jonathan, (who was a Justice of the Peace in addition to being now the local squire), with both epistles. They were, as the vicar’s had been, in typescript, and the first one, in content, was worded in much the same terms as was the one received by the vicar. It commented on Emming’s birth, contained some coarse remarks, and then added something which had not been in the vicar’s letter.

‘And we know what you done about it, too, so don’t think we don’t. You can’t keep everything dark for thirty years, you—’ Followed a rude description.

‘And the second letter?’ said Mrs Bradley, when she had been told the tale up to this point and had read the first letter. ‘To what extent does it embroider the theme?’

‘To a very considerable extent. It states that Bill Fullalove was murdered, and accuses me of murdering him to shut his mouth,’ said Emming. ‘Absurd, as well as nasty, because if this—’ he hesitated – ‘this person knows something about me it wouldn’t be much good my murdering Fullalove. The whole thing’s ridiculous, but it stinks, and I want to know what I ought to do about it. Of course, even if Fullalove did know anything about me, I really can’t see that he would be particularly interested. After all—’ he gave a short laugh – ‘I’m not the only bastard in the country!’

‘So the actual fact is true?’ said Mrs Bradley. She had been wondering how to put this question (although she had guessed the truth from a remark made previously by her nephew) but now the way was clear. The young man’s expression became good-humoured. It was obvious that he was relieved.