"Abner's innocent," said Mary, stubbornly.

"Mebby so.... Mebby so."

"Will you help me clear him, Mr. Baines?"

"I'll help you find out the truth, Mary, if that'll keep you
satisfied. Calculate I'd like to know the truth myself. Had a look at
Asa's face a-layin' there by the road, and it interested me."

"Did you see that?" Mary asked, with sudden excitement.

"What?" asked Scattergood, curiously.

"The mark.... Sometimes it showed plain. It was a mark put on Asa
Levens's face as a warning to folks that God mistrusted him."

"When he was dead it was different," said Scattergood, with solemnity.
"It said he had r'iled God past endurance."

Mary nodded. She comprehended. "The truth will do," she said,
confidently.

"Did Abner mention last Tuesday to you?" Scattergood asked.

"No."

"Where was Asa Levens last Tuesday? Do you know, Mary?"