A Girl of the Commune

  CHAPTER XIX.

  Cuthbert, on calling upon the head of the great firm of accountants, wascourteously received by him.

  "Of course, I remember your name, Mr. Hartington, with reference to theAbchester Bank failure. It seemed a particularly hard case, and I knowour Mr. Wanklyn, who had charge of the winding up, took particularinterest in it, and personally consulted me more than once about it,though I cannot exactly recall the circumstances now. What is it thatyou say you want to examine?"

  "I want to have a look at the deed of mortgage that Mr. Brander, whopurchased the property, had upon it."

  "Yes, I remember now, that was one of the points on which Mr. Wanklynconsulted me. It struck him at first sight as being rather a remarkabletransaction, and he went into it carefully, but it was all proved to becorrect to his satisfaction. It is unfortunate that the system ofregistering mortgages is not enforced everywhere as it is in London--itwould save a great deal of trouble in such cases as the present."

  "Are the affairs of the bank quite wound up?"

  "Dear me, no, Mr. Hartington. Why, it is but two years since thefailure. There are properties to be realized that cannot be forced onthe market without ruinous loss. There are assets which will not beavailable until after death; it is not the assets of the bank, but theassets of individual shareholders and debtors of the bank that have tobe collected. I should say it will be at least twenty years before thelast dividend will be divided. I am sure Mr. Wanklyn will be happy tolet you see any document you desire. I will take you to him."

  Mr. Wanklyn had a room on the same floor with his principal, and Mr. Coxtook Cuthbert and introduced him to him.

  "Mr. Hartington wants to have a look at the mortgage that Brander heldon the late Mr. Hartington's estate. You remember we had several talksabout it at the time, and you took a good deal of pains about thematter. Mr. Hartington wrote to me about it from Paris, if yourecollect, and you replied to him in my name. I will leave him with youto talk it over."

  "Have you any particular reason for wanting to see the deed, Mr.Hartington?" the accountant asked, when Mr. Cox had left the room. "Ionly ask because I suppose the documents connected with the winding upof the bank must weigh several tons, and it will take a considerabletime for a clerk to hunt out the one in question. If you have really anymotive for examining it I will get it looked out for you by to-morrow,but it will put us to a great deal of trouble."

  "I am really anxious to see it for a special purpose, Mr. Wanklyn. Ihave reason to believe there was some irregularity in the matter."

  "I am afraid it will make but little difference to you whether it was soor not, Mr. Hartington. The creditors of the bank have been thesufferers if there was any irregularity in it."

  "Yes, I suppose so, and yet I assure you it is not a mere matter ofsentiment with me. Other questions might turn upon it."

  "Then I will certainly have it ready for you by to-morrow--give me untilthe afternoon. Will four o'clock suit you?"

  "Very well. I will, with your permission, bring with me one of theattesting witnesses to my father's signature. He was one of Mr.Brander's clerks at the time."

  Mr. Wanklyn looked up keenly.

  "You can bring whom you like," he said, after a pause, "and I will put aroom at your disposal, but of course the document cannot be taken away."

  "Certainly not, Mr. Wanklyn, and I am very much obliged to you forgranting my request."

  Cuthbert called for James Harford at the hour at which he had said hewent out to lunch, and told him of the appointment he had made.

  "I have been thinking it over, Mr. Hartington, and I should recommendyou to bring Cooper with you."

  "Who is Cooper?"

  "He is one of our greatest experts on handwriting. I don't know whetheryou have any of your father's letters in your possession."

  "Yes, I have several. I brought over the last two I had from him,thinking they might be useful."

  "Well, his opinion on the signatures may be valuable, though as a ruleexperts differ so absolutely that their evidence is always taken withconsiderable doubt, but it is part of his business to look out forerasures and alterations. It is quite possible Brander may have removedthat blot, and that he has done it so well that neither you nor I coulddetect it; but whether he did it with a knife or chemicals you may besure that Cooper will be able to spot it, whichever he used. I have verylittle doubt that your suspicions are correct and those parchments werereally the pretended mortgage deeds. If you like I will go round and seeCooper at once and arrange for him to meet us in Coleman Streetto-morrow at four o'clock."

  "Thank you very much. The idea of the blot being erased had never struckme."

  The next day Cuthbert met James Harford and Mr. Cooper at the door ofthe accountants, and after being introduced by the clerk to the expertthey went up together. On giving his name in the office a clerk cameacross to him.

  "If you will come with me, gentlemen, I will lead you to the room thatis ready for you. This is the document that you desire to see."

  As soon as they were alone they sat down at the table, and opened thedeed.

  "How is it for size?" Cuthbert asked.

  "It is about the same size, but that is nothing. All deeds are on two orthree sizes of parchment. The last page is the thing."

  Cuthbert turned to it. There were but four lines of writing at the topof the page, and below these came the signatures.

  "Of course I could not swear to it, Mr. Hartington, but it is preciselyin accordance with my recollection. There were either three, four, orfive lines at the top. Certainly not more than five, certainly not lessthan three. As you see there is no blot to my signature. Now, Mr.Cooper, will you be kind enough to compare the signatures of these twoletters with the same name there?"

  Mr. Cooper took the letter and deed to a desk by the window, examinedthem carefully, then took out a large magnifying glass from his pocket,and again examined them.

  "I should say they are certainly not by the same hand," he said,decisively. "I do not call them even good imitations. They are nothinglike as good as would be made by any expert in signing other people'snames. The tail of the 'J' in James in these two letters runs up intothe 'a' but as you will notice the pen is taken off and the letter 'a'starts afresh. Here on the contrary you see the pen has not been takenoff, but the upstroke of the 'J' runs on continuously into the 'a.' Morenaturally it would be just the other way. In these two letters thewriter would be signing his name more hurriedly than to a formal deed,and would be much more likely to run his letters into each other thanwhen making a formal signature on parchment.

  "Looking through this glass you will observe also that although theletters run on together there is a slight thickening in the upstrokebetween each letter as if the writer had paused, though without takinghis pen off, to examine the exact method of making the next letter in acopy lying before him. In the surname there are half a dozen points ofdifference. To begin with, the whole writing slopes less than in theother signatures. In both your father's letters the cross of the first't' is much lower than usual and almost touches the top of the 'r' andi.' The same peculiarity is shown in the second 't' in both letters,while on the deed the 't's' are crossed a good deal higher. The wholeword is more cramped, the flourish at the end of the 'n' is longer butless free. In the capital letter, the two downstrokes are a good dealcloser together. There has been the same pause between each letter asthose I pointed out in the Christian name, and indeed the glass showsyou the pen was altogether taken off the paper between the 'o' and the'n,' as the writer studied that final flourish. My opinion is that it isnot only a forgery but a clumsy one, and would be detected at once byanyone who had the original signatures before him. I will even go so faras to say that I doubt if any bank clerk well acquainted with Mr.Hartington's signature would pass it."

  "And now for the blot," Cuthbert said. "There was a blot somewhere nearthe signature of Mr. Harford."

  "Don't tell me where it was, Mr. Harford. I would rather not kn
ow itsexact position."

  With the aid of the magnifying glass the expert carefully examined theparchment and then held it up to the light.

  "The blot was in the middle of the signature and involved the letters'a' and 'r.' Is that right?"

  "That is right, Mr. Cooper; he used blotting paper to it at once, and itdid not show up very strongly."

  "An eraser has been used and a chemical of some sort, and the twoletters involved in the blot have been re-written, or at any ratetouched up, but they have run a little. You can see it quite plainlythrough this lens. The difference between their outline and that of theother letters is quite distinct, and by holding the parchment so thatthe light falls across it, you can see that, although it has beenrubbed, probably by the handle of a penknife to give it a gloss, thedifference between that gloss and the rest of the surface, is distinctlyvisible."

  "I see that," the clerk said, "and I should be quite prepared to swearnow, Mr. Hartington, that this is the document I signed some three weeksafter I signed as witness to the transfer."

  "That is quite good enough, I think," Cuthbert said. "Thank you, Mr.Cooper, you have quite settled the doubt I had in my mind. I do notthink I shall have occasion to ask you to go into court over thismatter, but should I have to do so I will, of course, give you duenotice."

  After paying the expert's fee Cuthbert went into the office and handedthe document over to the clerk from whom he had received it.

  "Would you kindly put it where it can be got at easily should it bewanted again. It is of the highest importance."

  After parting with Mr. Cooper at the door, Cuthbert walked westward withMr. Harford.

  "So far you have proved that your suspicions are correct, sir, and Ihave not the least doubt that your father's signature to the transferwas, like this, a forgery. May I ask what step you propose to take next?Of course if your object was not to prevent publicity your course wouldbe clear. You would first apply for a warrant for the arrest of Branderon a charge of double forgery. When that was proved, you would have totake steps to apply to have it declared that your father's name waswrongfully placed among the shareholders of the bank, and then endeavorto obtain a decree ordering the liquidator to reimburse the proceeds ofthe sale of the estate and all other moneys received by him from yourfather's executor. Lastly, you would apply to have the sale annulled,not only on the ground of fraud on the part of Mr. Brander, but becausethe liquidators could not give a title. Of course in all these steps youwould have to be guided by a firm of high standing, but as youparticularly wish to avoid publicity, I suppose your first step will beto confront Brander with the proofs of his guilt. I suppose you wouldwish me to go down with you. I shall be able to do so withoutdifficulty, for I took no holiday last year and can, therefore, get twoor three days whenever I choose to ask for them."

  "Thank you, Mr. Harford. It will certainly be desirable that I should bebacked up by your presence. The first thing I shall do will be to godown to Abchester to see Dr. Edwardes. I want to ascertain from him whenhe first knew of my father having heart-disease. That he did know itbefore his death I am aware, though, at my father's particular request,he abstained from informing me of the fact. He may also know whenBrander first became acquainted with it. It will strengthen my case muchif I am in a position to show that it was after he had the knowledgethat my father's death might take place at any moment, that he committedthese frauds. As soon as I find this out, which will probably be in afew hours after my arrival there, I will send you a telegram. I amanxious to lose no time, because I do not want Brander to know of myarrival in Abchester until I confront him. If I could find out what hedid with the L15,000 he proved to the liquidator that he had drawn outon the day this mortgage was said to have been executed, I should havethe chain of evidence complete, but I don't see how that is to be gotat."

  "It might be got at by advertisements, Mr. Hartington; L15,000 is alarge sum, and were you to advertise a reward of L100 for information asto whom Mr. Brander paid the sum of L15,000 on the date named in themortgage, it is quite probable you might obtain the information."

  "I might get it that way, but unless it is absolutely necessary I wouldrather not do so. Were I to advertise before I see him, he might havehis attention drawn to it, and it would put him on his guard. I can butresort to it afterwards if he refuses to come to terms."

  Accordingly, the next day Cuthbert went down to Abchester, travelling bya train that arrived there after dark, and taking a fly, drove to Dr.Edwardes'.

  The servant took in his name and the doctor at once hurried out into thehall.

  "Why, my dear Cuthbert, I am glad indeed to see you, though from yourletter I had hardly hoped to do so for some little time. Come in, comein; my wife will be delighted to see you. Dinner is just on the table,so you have arrived at precisely the right moment."

  "Dear me, Mr. Hartington, you are looking terribly ill," Mrs. Edwardesexclaimed, after the first greetings were over.

  "I have been ill, but I am quite convalescent now. I did rather afoolish thing, Doctor. I joined a corps of Franc-tireurs raised in theschools and studios, and the Germans put a bullet through my body. Itwas a very near squeak of it, but fortunately I was taken to theAmerican ambulance, which was far the best in Paris, and they pulled methrough. It is but ten days since I was discharged cured, but of courseit will be some little time before I quite get up my strength again."

  "Where was it, Cuthbert? Then you were fortunate indeed," he went on, asCuthbert laid his finger on the spot; "the odds were twenty to oneagainst you. Did they get the bullet out?"

  "It went out by itself, Doctor. We were at close quarters in the villageof Champigny when we made our sortie on the 1st of December, so the ballwent right through, and almost by a miracle, as the surgeon said,without injuring anything vital. There is the dinner-bell, Doctor. Iwill go into your surgery and wash my hands. I remember the ways of theplace, you see."

  During dinner-time the talk was entirely of the siege. When the meal wasover, the doctor and Cuthbert went to the former's study, where thedoctor lighted a cigar and Cuthbert his pipe.

  "How are they getting on at Fairclose?" Cuthbert asked, carelessly.

  The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

  "I should say they heartily regret having changed their quarters. Ofcourse it was her doing that they did so. She is a curious mixture ofcleverness and silliness. Her weak point is her ambition to be in countysociety, and to drop the town altogether. She has always been hankeringfor that. No doubt it is partly for the sake of the girls--at least shealways lays it to that. But when I used to attend them as babies, shewas always complaining to me that the air of the town did not suit her.However, so far from gaining by the exchange, she has lost.

  "As the leading solicitor here, and I may say the leading man in theplace, Brander went a good deal into the county. Of course his wife didbelong to a county family, and no doubt that helped open the doors ofmany good houses to him. Well, he is in the county now, but he is not ofthe county. There was naturally a lot of bad feeling about the smash ofthat bank. A good many men besides yourself were absolutely ruined, andas everyone banked there, there was scarce a gentleman in the county ora tradesman in the town, who was not hit more or less severely. The ideawas that Brander, whose name had been a tower of strength to the bank,had been grossly negligent in allowing its affairs to get into such astate. I think they were wrong, for I imagine from what I heard, thatBrander was correct in saying that he was not in any way in the counselsof the directors, but confined himself to strictly legal business, suchas investigating titles and drawing up mortgages, and that he was onlypresent at the Board meetings when he was consulted on some legalquestions.

  "Still there is no stemming the tide of popular opinion. Abchesterdemanded a scapegoat. Cumming had disappeared, the five directors wereruined, and so they fell upon Brander. He could have got overthat--indeed he has got over it as far as the town is concerned--but hispurchase of Fairclose set the county against him. They considered
thathe got it for L20,000 below its value, which was true enough; the otherestates that went into the market were all sold at an equaldepreciation, but it was felt somehow that he at least ought not to haveprofited by the disaster, and altogether there was so strong a feelingagainst him that the county turned its back on Fairclose."

  "By the way, Doctor, can you tell me when and how you first became awareof the state of my father? The loss was so recent that I asked but fewquestions about it when I was here, though you told me that you hadknown it for some little time."

  "I can give you the exact date," the doctor said, stretching out hishand for a book on his desk. "Yes, here it is; it was the 23rd of March.His man rode down with the news that he had found him insensible. Ofcourse I went up as hard as my horse could carry me. He had recoveredconsciousness when I got there, and his first request was that I shouldsay nothing about his illness. When I examined him, I found that hisheart was badly diseased, so badly that I told him frankly he had notmany weeks to live, and that, as the slightest shock might prove fatal,I absolutely forbade him to ride. He said he hated to be made a fuss of.I urged him at least to let me write to you, but he positively refused,saying that you would be greatly cut up about it, and that he would muchrather go on as he was. The only exception he made was Brander. He wasthe only soul to whom I spoke of it. I called in and told him directly Igot back here and he went that afternoon to Fairclose."

  The date was conclusive to Cuthbert. The transfer had been ante-datedsome three weeks; and the two clerks, therefore, attested it on the 24thor 25th of March; so Brander had lost no time in conceiving his plan andcarrying it into execution.

  "By the way, Doctor," he said, after a pause, "I shall be glad if youwill not mention to anyone that I am here. I don't want people to becoming to see me, and I would especially rather not see Brander. I neverdid like the man from the time I was a boy, and I don't think I couldstand either his business manner or his hearty one. I thought I wouldcome down and have the pleasure of a chat with you again for a day ortwo, but I don't mean to stir out while I am here."

  The next morning Cuthbert obtained a telegraph form from the doctor andsent his man with it to the post-office. It was directed to Harford, andcontained only the words, "Come down this evening if possible. Put up atthe George. Come round in the morning to Dr. Edwardes.'"

  Cuthbert was really glad of the day's rest, and felt all the better forit. On the following morning Harford's name was brought in just asbreakfast was over.

  "It is the man who was Brander's clerk, Doctor," he said. "I met him intown and he has come down to see me on a little matter of business."

  "Take him into the consulting-room, Cuthbert, I am not likely to haveany patients come for the next half-hour."

  "That settles it, sir," the clerk said, when he heard from Cuthbert ofthe date which he had obtained from the doctor, "though I cannot swearto a day."

  "I hear that Brander comes to his office about eleven o'clock. He issure to be there, for I hear that Jackson has gone away for a few days.I will go at half-past. If you will call here for me at that time wewill walk there together. I will go in by myself. I will get you to calltwo or three minutes after me, so that I can call you into his privateroom if necessary."

  "You have soon done with him," the doctor said, as Cuthbert returned tothe breakfast-room.

  "I have given him some instructions and he will call again presently,"Cuthbert replied. "By the way, we were talking of Brander; how have histwo girls turned out? I mean the two younger ones; I met Mary in Parisduring the siege."

  "Ah. I heard from Brander that she was shut up there, and I waswondering whether you had run against her. He is very savage at what hecalls her vagaries. Did she get through the starvation all right?"

  "Oh, yes, she was living in a French family, and like most of the middleclass they had laid in a fair stock of provisions when it became evidentthe place was to be besieged, and though the supply of meat was stintedI don't think there was any lack of other things."

  "I liked Mary," the doctor said, warmly; "she was a straightforward,sensible girl, till she got that craze about woman's rights in her mind;in all other respects she was a very nice girl, and differed from therest of them as much as chalk from cheese."

  "And what are the sisters like?"

  "They are like their mother, vain and affected, only without hercleverness. They feel bitterly their position at Fairclose, and makematters worse by their querulous complainings. I never go into the houseunless I am sent for professionally, for their peevishness and badtemper are intolerable. If things had gone differently, and they hadmade good marriages, they might have turned out pleasant girls enough.As it is they are as utterly disagreeable as any young women I ever cameacross."

  "Then Brander must have a very bad time of it."

  "Yes, but from what I have seen when I have been there I don't thingthey show off before him much. I fancy Brander's temper has notimproved of late. Of course, in public, he is the same as ever, but Ithink he lets himself loose at home, and I should say that the girls arethoroughly afraid of him. I have noticed anyhow that when he is at homewhen I call, they are on their best behavior, and there is not a word ofany unpleasantness or discontent from their lips. However, I suppose thefeeling against Brander will die out in time. I think it was unjust,though I don't say it was not quite natural, but when the soreness wearsoff a bit, people will begin to think they have been rather hard onBrander. There's the surgery bell, now I must leave you to your owndevices."

  At half-past eleven James Harford called, and Cuthbert at once went outwith him, and they walked towards Mr. Brander's office, which was but acouple of hundred yards away.

  "How do you do, Mr. Levison?" Cuthbert asked as he entered. "Is Mr.Brander alone?"

  "Yes, he is alone, Mr. Hartington. I am glad to see you again, sir."

  With a nod Cuthbert walked to the door of the inner office, opened it,and went in. Mr. Brander started, half rose from his chair with theexclamation--

  "My dear----!" then he stopped.

  There was something in the expression of Cuthbert's face that checkedthe words on his lips.

  "We need not begin with any greetings, Mr. Brander," Cuthbert said,coldly. "I have come to tell you a story."

  "This is a very extraordinary manner of address, Mr. Hartington," thelawyer said, in a blustering tone, though Cuthbert noticed his color hadpaled, and that there was a nervous twitching about the corners of hislips. Brander had felt there was danger, and the blow had come sosuddenly that he had not had time to brace himself to meet it. Withoutpaying any attention to the words, Cuthbert seated himself andrepeated--

  "I have come to tell you a story, Mr. Brander. There was once a man whowas solicitor, agent, and friend of a certain land-owner. One day he hadheard from his client's doctor that he had had an attack ofheart-disease and that his life was only worth a few weeks' purchase;also that the landowner desired that an absolute silence should beobserved as to his illness. Then, like another unjust steward, thelawyer sat down to think how he could best turn an honest penny by thenews. It was rather a tough job; it would involve forgery among otherthings, and there was a good deal of risk, but by playing a bold game itmight be managed."

  "What do you mean by this?" the lawyer exclaimed, furiously.

  "Calm yourself, Mr. Brander. There is no occasion for you to fit the capon to your own head yet. If you think there is anything in my story of alibellous nature you are at liberty to call your two clerks in to listento it. Well, sir, the scheme this lawyer I am telling you about workedout did credit to his genius--it was complicated, bold, and novel. Ithappened he was solicitor to a bank. He knew the bank was hopelesslyinvolved, that it could last but a few weeks longer, and that itsfailure would involve the whole of the shareholders in absolute ruin.If, therefore, he were to contrive to place his client's name on theregister of shareholders that point would be achieved. Accordingly,having forms by him he filled one up, forging the name of his client. Itwould n
ot have done to have had the date of the transfer later than theseizure of that gentleman, for manifestly no man, aware that he had buta few days or weeks to live, would have entered on a fresh investment.He, therefore, ante-dated the transfer by some three weeks.

  "As to the witnesses to the forged signature there was no difficulty. Hewaited for a few days till his client called upon him, and then, afterhis departure, called in his two clerks, who witnessed the signature asa matter of course,--an irregular proceeding, doubtless, but notaltogether uncommon. That matter concluded he went to the bank. It wasabove all things important that none of the directors should becognizant of his client having been put on the register, as beingfriends of that gentleman they might have mentioned the matter to himwhen they met him. Having the manager a good deal under his thumb, fromhis knowledge of the state of affairs, he requested him to pass thetransfer with others at the next board meeting, in such a way that itshould be signed as a matter of routine without the names being noticed,suggesting that the manager should transfer some of the shares he held.This little business was satisfactorily performed and the name passedunnoticed on to the register. There was one thing further to be done inthis direction, namely, that the bank should not fail before the deathof his client, and he therefore requested the manager to let him knowshould there be any pressure imminent on the bank's resources, offeringto get some of the mortgages it held transferred, and so to bolster upthe bank for a considerable time. As a matter of fact he did raiseL20,000 in this manner, and so kept the bank going until after hisclient's death, when he withdrew the offer, there being no longer anyoccasion to keep it on its legs. You follow this, I hope, Mr. Brander.It is interesting for ingenuity and boldness."

  The lawyer made no reply. As Cuthbert spoke the ruddy color on hischeeks had been replaced by a ghastly pallor. An expression ofbewilderment had come across his face, the perspiration stood out in bigdrops on his forehead.

  "Thus far you see, Mr. Brander," Cuthbert went on, "the first part ofthe scheme had been ably carried out, but it still remained to reap thebenefit of this ingenuity. In the first place it was certain that theestate of his client would, on the failure of the bank, come into themarket. Under such circumstances, and seeing there would be widespreadruin in the county, the estate would fetch far under its value. It wouldbe advisable to get it cheaper still, and this could be managed by theproduction of a mortgage upon it, and by the invention of a plausibletale to account for that mortgage having been kept a secret even fromthe dead man's son. As to the deed itself, the matter was easy enough;the document would only have to be drawn up by himself, or in someoffice in London, the signature of his client affixed as before and thetwo clerks be called in to witness it.

  "It would be necessary to satisfy the official liquidator, however, whomight make some inquiries concerning it. It happened that some timebefore the lawyer had had occasion to pay over the sum of L15,000, as hewould be able to prove by his bank-book. Therefore, L15,000 was the sumfixed upon for the mortgage, and the date of that document was made tocoincide with that of the payment of that amount. It was easy enough toplace among the dead man's papers receipts for the half-yearly paymentof this interest. It was not necessary to show that his client had paidthese sums by check, as they would, of course, have been deducted fromthe amount to be handed over by him as agent to his client.

  "The scheme worked admirably. After the death of his client, the bankwas allowed to break, the estate fell into the hands of the officialreceiver of the bank, the mortgage was presented, and the proofsconsidered satisfactory. The lawyer bought the estate for some L20,000below its value, and this with the mortgage brought the purchase moneydown from L70,000 to half that sum. The story is interesting, and ifanyone should doubt it I am in a position to prove it up to the hilt. Ihave the sworn statement of the bank manager as to the particulars ofthe interview with him, the injunction that the transfer should bepassed unnoticed, the offer to support the bank, and the partialfulfilment of that offer. I have the opinion of an expert that thesignature is not only a forgery but an exceedingly clumsy one. I havethe statement of one of the clerks that the signature of both thetransfer and the mortgage was witnessed by him and his fellow-clerk inobedience to the orders of the solicitor, but they did not see thesignature affixed.

  "Lastly, I have a singular piece of evidence that the mortgage wassigned not on the date it purported but shortly after the seizure of theclient. The clerk might have had some difficulty in swearing that thismortgage was the document that he signed, as the signatures were writtenon the last sheet of the parchment, and he saw nothing of the contents.But it happened that there were only four lines of writing on that page,and there are four on the mortgage in the hands of the officialliquidator, but this is not the crucial point. The clerk, in making hissignature, dropped a blot of ink on the parchment. Now it was clear thatthis blot of ink might prove the means o identifying this document andof proving the time at which it was signed; therefore it was necesssarythat it should be erased. This the lawyer proceeded to do and socleverly that an unpracticed eye would not detect it. The expert,however, though not knowing where the blot had fallen, detected theerasure at once, and noticed that in erasing it two of the letters ofthe name had been involved, and these had been retouched so as to makethem the same darkness as the rest. The chain of evidence is thereforecomplete."

  The last blow had proved too crushing. There was a sudden rush of bloodto his face, and, with a gasping sob, Mr. Brander fell back in his chairinsensible. Cuthbert ran to the door and opened it.

  "Mr. Levison, your employer is taken ill. Send the other clerk to fetchDr. Edwardes at once, he will not have started on his rounds yet. Bringsome water in here."

  With the assistance of the clerk, Cuthbert loosened the lawyer's necktieand collar, swept the papers off the table, and laid him upon it,folding up his great coat and placing it under his head.