"Enough to hang him, if people could be hanged in Italy," Aurora
answered.
"I should have thought Folco too clever to do anything really against
the law," said Marcello, who did not seem much surprised at what she
said.
"The Professor believes that it was he that tried to kill you."
"How is that possible?" Marcello asked, in great astonishment. "You
would have seen him!"
"I did. You had not been gone three minutes when he came round to the
gap in the bank where I was standing. He came from the side towards
which I had seen you go. It was perfectly impossible that he should not
have met you. The Professor says he must have known that you were there,
looking at the storm, but that he did not know that I was with you, and
that he was lying in wait for you to strike you from behind. If we had
gone back together he would not have shown himself, that's all, and he
would have waited for a better chance. If I had only followed you I
should have seen what happened."
"That is the trouble," said Marcello thoughtfully. "No one ever saw what
happened, and I remember nothing but that I fell forward, feeling that I
had been struck on the back of the head. Did you not hear any sound?"
"How could I, in such a gale as was blowing? It all looks dreadfully
likely and quite possible, and the Professor is convinced that your
stepfather has done some worse things."
"Worse?"
"Yes, because he did not fail in doing them, as he did when he tried to
kill you.
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