ear now?" whispered Mr. Lindsey in my ear.
"Didn't I tell you there'd be revelations about Gilverthwaite, Hugh, my
lad? Well, there's something coming out! But what can this parson know?"

As it soon appeared, Mr. Ridley knew a good deal. After a bit of
preliminary questioning, making things right in the proper legal fashion
as to who he was, and so on, the coroner put a plain inquiry to him. "Mr.
Ridley, you have had some recent dealings with this man James
Gilverthwaite, who has just been mentioned in connection with this
inquiry?" he asked.

"Some dealings recently--yes," answered the clergyman.

"Just tell us, in your own way, what they were," said the coroner. "And,
of course, when they took place."

"Gilverthwaite," said Mr. Ridley, "came to me, at my vicarage, about a
month or five weeks ago. I had previously seen him about the church and
churchyard. He told me he was interested in parish registers, and in
antiquities generally, and asked if he could see our registers, offering
to pay whatever fee was charged. I allowed him to look at the registers,
but I soon discovered that his interest was confined to a particular
period. The fact was, he wished to examine the various entries made
between 1870 and 1880. That became very plain; but as he did not express
his wish in so many words, I humoured him. Still, as I was with him
during the whole of the time he was looking at the books, I saw what it
was that he examined."

Here Mr. Ridley paused, glancing at the coroner.

"That is really about all that I can tell," he said. "He only came to me
on that one occasion."

"Perhaps I can get a little more out of you, Mr. Ridley," remarked the
coroner with a smile. "A question or two, now. What particular registers
did this man examine? Births, deaths, marriages--which?"

"All three, between the dates I have mentioned--1870 to 1880," replied
Mr. Ridley.

"Did you think that he was searching for some particular entry?"

"I certainly did think so."

"Did he seem to find it?" asked the coroner, with a shrewd glance.

"If he did find such an entry," replied Mr. Ridley slowly, "he gave no
sign of it; he did not copy or make a note of it, and he did not ask any
copy of it from me. My impression--whatever it is worth--is that he did
not find what he wanted in our registers. I am all the more convinced of
that because--"

Here Mr. Ridley paused, as if uncertain whether to proceed or not; but at
an encouraging nod from