"The strange death of that man--Braden." "Well ?" she asked, with a sudden look of uneasiness.

"What of it ?" "It's being rumoured--whispered--in the town that Dr.Ransford had something to do with that affair," answered Bryce.
"Unpleasant--unfortunate--but it's a fact." "Impossible!" exclaimed Mary with a heightening colour.

"What could he have to do with it?
What could give rise to such foolish--wicked--rumours ?" "You know as well as I do how people talk, how they will talk," said Bryce.

"You can't stop them, in a place like Wrychester, where everybody knows everybody.

There's a mystery around Braden's death--it's no use denying it.