And yet Francis Ferrars had never been called, in any sense, a "ladies' man." [Pg 75] [Pg 75] CHAPTER VII. RENUNCIATION. CHAPTER VII. RENUNCIATION. Ferrars had predicted that nothing would be gained by the inquest, and the result proved him a prophet. Peter Kramer, the poor half-wit who had given the first clue to the whereabouts of the murdered man, was found, and his confidence won by much coaxing, and more sweets and shining pennies, the only coin which Peter would ever recognise as such. But the result was small. Asked had he seen the teacher, the reply was, "Yep." Asked where, "Most by Injun hill." Asked what doing, "Settin' down." "Had he heard the pistol fired?" asked the doctor. "Un! Uh! Heard nawthin." "And whom did you see, Peter, besides the teacher?" Again the look of affright in the dull eyes, the arm lifted as in self-protection, and the only word they could coax from his lips was, "Ghost!" uttered in evident fear and trembling. [Pg 76] [Pg 76] And this was repeated at the inquest. This, and no more, from Peter. Mrs. Fry, Charles Brierly's landlady, told how the dead man had appeared at breakfast, and her testimony did not accord with the statement of her little daughter. "Miss Grant has told me of my little girl's mistake," she said. "Mr. Brierly was down-stairs unusually early that morning, and he did not look quite as well as usual. He looked worried, in fact, and ate little. He was always a small eater, and I said something about his eating even less than usual, I can't recall
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