s them any value at all."

Field jumped up in a great state of excitement. He had made an important
discovery.

"Then this is a forgery, after all," he cried. "4. 4. '93 means the
fourth of April 1893, and the deed is dated three years ago. How are you
going to get over that, sir? I take it, there are no mistakes in the
date?"

Even the lawyer was forced out of his calm manner for the moment. He
looked very closely at the red stamp through his glasses. It was some
time before he spoke.

"You are quite right," he said. "And as to there being a mistake in the
date, that is absolutely out of the question. You may be quite certain
that Somerset House makes no mistakes like that. It is most
extraordinary."

"I don't see anything extraordinary about it," Field said coolly. "That
rascal, clever as he is, has made a mistake. Not knowing anything of
legal matters in these minor points, it has never occurred to him to see
whether these parchment stamps are dated or not. He simply bought a skin
and got some engrossing clerk to make out the deed. Then he put in the
date, and there you are."

"Stop a minute, Mr. Field," Mr. Fleming put in. "There is one little
point that you have overlooked. I am quite prepared to take my oath to
the fact that the signature is genuine."

Field stared at the speaker. He could find no words for the moment. He
could see that Fleming was in deadly earnest. The silence continued for
some time.

"Well, I thought that I had got to the bottom of this business, but it
seems to me that I am mistaken," Field admitted. "In the face of the
evidence of forgery that I have just produced, your statement that the
signature is genuine fairly staggers me."

"The deed purporting to have been executed three years ago has only been
executed a few days, or a few months at the outside," Fleming said.
"What I think is this--there must have been some reason why the deed was
dated back. Perhaps the old one was destroyed and this one copied from
the other, and executed say a month or two ago. Would that not meet the
case? You see I am taking a legal view of it."

"You are still sure of the signature?" Field asked.

"Absolutely. On that head I do not hesitate for a moment. Whatever else
may happen, I am positive that Sir Charles wrote that signature."

Field scratched his head in a puzzled kind of way. It was some time
before he began to see his way clear again. Then a happy thought came to
him.

"If they are