off Bellingham's opposition, and at a pretty long price, under
the circumstances. And when we consider how very little Bellingham has
to offer against the presumption of his brother's death, it looks as if
Hurst hadn't much to say on his side."

"No," said Jervis, "he can't hold many trumps or he wouldn't be willing
to pay four hundred a year for his opponent's chance; and that is just
as well, for it seems to me that our own hand is a pretty poor one."

"We must look through our hand and see what we do hold," said
Thorndyke. "Our trump card at present--a rather small one, I'm
afraid--is the obvious intention of the testator that the bulk of the
property should go to his brother."

"I suppose you will begin your inquiries now?" I said.

"We began them some time ago--the day after you brought us the will, in
fact. Jervis has been through the registers and has ascertained that
no interment under the name of John Bellingham has taken place since
the disappearance; which was just what we expected. He has also
discovered that some other person has been making similar inquiries;
which, again, is what we expected."

"And your own investigations?"

"Have given negative results for the most part. I found Doctor
Norbury, at the British Museum, very friendly and helpful; so friendly,
in fact, that I am thinking whether I may not be able to enlist his
help in certain private researches of my own, with reference to the
change effected by time in the physical properties of certain
substances."

"Oh; you haven't told me about that," said Jervis.

"No; I haven't really commenced to plan my experiments yet, and they
will probably lead to nothing when I do. It occurred to me that,
possibly, in the course of time, certain molecular changes might take
place in substances such as wood, bone, pottery, stucco, and other
common materials, and that these changes might alter their power of
conducting or transmitting molecular vibrations. Now, if this should
turn out to be the case, it would be a fact of considerable importance,
medico-legally and otherwise; for it would be possible to determine
approximately the age of any object of known composition by testing its
reactions to electricity, heat, light and other molecular vibrations.
I thought of seeking Doctor Norbury's assistance because he can furnish
me with materials for experiment of such great age that the reactions,
if any, should be extremely easy to demonstrate. But to