"I'm sorry," Selwyn repeated. "I don't mean anything." He didn't bother to point out that if Farod was barely walking and talking when his parents died, he must have been very slow. Selwin and Farrowd were about the same age, and if Ommiller and his wife Lina had been burned down, Ommiller and his wife Lina would have died at the age of 5 at night. Selwin and his family could smell the smoke in their house, which was outside seven farmsteads. Derian not only raised Farrow, but was also the one who saved him from the fire. "I didn't expect that," Selwyn said.

Farrow snorted. "For change."

Selwyn wanted to know how to get the conversation back to where it needed to be.

But while he was still studying the matter, Farrod said, "If Linton kills me — I don't think he killed — but if he does, how are you going to get him to admit it?" ”

Selwyn spoke slowly, still trying to figure out what to do as he spoke, "Well, someone saw me in the village after dark. Maybe someone saw Linton too. ”

"Linton lived in the village," Farrod was quick to point out, "with his parents and his three brothers and two sisters. ”

Selwyn could only hear him spinning the little bat's eyeballs. Does he know how lucky he is that the branches hanging from the branches are out of reach? "Yes, but Derian said the three of you had dinner together, and then Linton went home. Perhaps someone saw him returning, and later, back to the mill. ”

"Whoever saw it didn't want to mention it before — when you were sentenced to death — but would they say it now?"

Selwyn squirmed at Farod's sarcasm. "Before," he said, "everybody was convinced that I had killed you, and they probably wouldn't have thought of mentioning Linton's activities." ”

"Oh, quite possibly. That says it all. ”

Infuriatingly, Farrod was right. "And," Serwyn continued, "I need to find out who has a chance to find or steal my knife. ”

"Your knife?"

Selwyn thought Farrod's voice sounded strange, so she looked over.

"I was killed by your knife?"

Does Farrow need to make sure Selwyn wasn't the one who killed him again? "Yes," Selwyn said.

But all Farod said was "oh".

"What?" Selwyn asked, confused.

"I have your knife," Farod admitted.

"What?" Selwyn repeated.

"Don't talk to me like that," Farrow warned, sounding a lot like Selwyn's mother when she said the same thing.

Selwyn refused to get involved in the controversy. "You stole my knife, don't talk to me."

"I'm just kidding," Mr. Farrow said. "Can't you make a joke? I'll give it back to you. ”

"A joke is to give it back a day later. You've been using it for three weeks. ”

"yes, well......" said Farod, but apparently couldn't think of anything else to add. He readjusted his wings. "It's not going to make us any progress," he scoffed.

Selwyn still wanted to shake him until his eyeballs rattled. He took two deep breaths and gritted his teeth. "Does anyone know," he asked, gritting his teeth, "that you have that knife?" Like, Linton? ”

"No," said Farrowd slowly, thinking, "not Linton. Merton. ”

"Merton?" Selwyn repeated in surprise. Merton was the brother of his best friend, Redan, and his friend. Or, at least, Selwyn thought he was a friend. It was bad enough to realize that – he had been frantically searching for that lost knife all those days – and Merton knew where it was. It made him as bad as Farrow. But even worse was what happened at Bowdoin's house: upon Bowden's questioning, Selwyn explained that he had lost the blade, and Merton agreed that it was true. It is also never mentioned that Farrow was in possession of the knife all along. Even if Bowden announced that the knife had been missing for so long, it would not prove that Selwyn had been planning to murder Farrow.

"Merton knows you got my knife?" He asked, just to make sure he understood correctly. "All the time?" It can't be like this all the time.

"He was the one who found it," Mr. Farrow said. "You dropped it that day, and everyone was mowing the hay for Snell's widow. Merton found it in the grass after we had eaten, and we thought it would be a good joke because you showed it off, because usually-"

"I ......," Selwyn protested, interrupting him. But he couldn't deny it. He was proud of the knife his father had brought back from the war. Whenever he had an excuse to show off an elaborate handle, he did have a tendency to take it out, a blade finished from high-quality steel that was much sharper than the villagers' regular blades. Instead, he asked, "Does Redan know too?" ”

Farrow shrugged. "I didn't tell him. But maybe Merton told him. We've heard enough of you boasting about it," he said at last. "I said I'd keep it because we all know that if Merton had it, once you started asking him, he would never be able to keep a straight face. But I'll give it back to you. ”

"Does he know where you put it?" Merton? He thought. Merton, and maybe Redan?

Farrow shrugged his shoulders with his tenacious wings. "I don't think I ever said anything in particular," he told Selwyn. "But it's in my closet – it's easy to find."

"I don't think a person went into another person's room with the intent to kill him before he thought of starting a search for a weapon."

"Why did Merton enter my room and try to kill me?" Farrow asked.

"Otherwise, why would he come in in the middle of the night and be so quiet that he didn't wake you?"

"We didn't know he did." Farrow raised his voice, just like Selwyn. "I thought you said Linton killed me."

"I don't know," Selwyn yelled at him. "I don't know who did it. I said it might be Linton. Merton, perhaps. Maybe someone else. I wasn't there at the time, stupid enough to wake up from being murdered: you are. "It's hard to imagine Merton as a murderer, but it's also hard to imagine him as a thief—or at best a liar, and even if Selwyn is left in a cave, he's willing to let the ruse go on to die.

"Well, don't take your bad temper out on me," Farrod said. "I'd rather eat bugs than be abused like this." He flapped his wings and flew into the night, leaving Selwyn alone.