y for the deceased. But we are all
disinterested witnesses so far as the document is concerned, so we'll
proceed to examine it."

With a penknife Britz slit open the long edge of the envelope and,
without waiting for authorization from his chief, spread the document
before him. It consisted of three sheets of legal cap, to the last page
of which Whitmore's signature and the names of two witnesses were
affixed.

"Two pages of minor bequests," commented Britz as he finished reading
the second sheet of the will.

On the final paragraph of the third sheet, the detective's eyes lingered
a long while. Half a dozen times he reread the significant clause, then
passed it to the chief. Manning perused it with widening orbs, finally
handing the paper to Greig. The latter absorbed the contents at a glance
and returned the paper to Britz.

"So Mrs. Collins inherits the residue--practically the entire Whitmore
estate!" exclaimed Manning. "What does it mean?"

Greig bounded out of his seat as if released by a spring. He stood a
moment as if to fling out a loud cry of exultation, but the serious
expression on the faces of the others checked his ardor. A shade of
doubt flitted across his face, but vanished instantly and was succeeded
by a look which seemed to imply a sudden clearness of vision.

"Yes, by George! it's as plain as daylight!" he burst forth. "She's the
one--I suspected her all the time! Now we have it--the motive and the
explanation of her silence! Her brother a bankrupt, perhaps a defaulter.
A fugitive, too! Her money sunk, her husband's money lost! She knew she
was the chief beneficiary of the will--don't you see what Whitmore's
death meant to her? We've deluded ourselves into the belief that it was
to her interest to keep Whitmore alive. What chumps we were."

Britz's glance was alternating between the excited Greig and the
impassive Manning, contrasting the riotous enthusiasm of the one with
the quiet deliberation of the other.

"What do you think of it, chief?" he asked.

"I think we ought to put it up to her good and strong," advised Manning.
"Threaten to lock her up if she doesn't explain."

"She's a clever one, all right," pursued Greig. "Went to Beard's house
to get the letter that her brother had written! They were begging
Whitmore for money. Don't you see the game? Whitmore turned them down.
So what was there to do except to kill him and get his estate?"

To the impressionable mind of Greig the evid