e said Edward Cossey was to be joined as
co-respondent.

"You will observe," said Mr. Quest, "that if you attempt to contest
the validity of this assignment, which you probably could not do with
any prospect of success, the attempt must recoil upon your own head,
because the whole scandal will then transpire. We shall require some
witnesses, so with your permission I will ring the bell and ask the
landlady and your servant to step up. They need know nothing of the
contents of the papers," and he did so.

"Stop," said Edward presently. "Where are the original letters?"

"Here," answered Mr. Quest, producing them from an inner pocket, and
showing them to him at a distance. "When the landlady comes up I will
give them to her to hold in this envelope, directing her to hand them
to you when the deeds are signed and witnessed. She will think that it
is part of the ceremony."

Presently the man-servant and the landlady arrived, and Mr. Quest, in
his most matter-of-fact way, explained to them that they were required
to witness some documents. At the same time he handed the letters to
the woman, saying that she was to give them to Mr. Cossey when they
had all done signing.

Then Edward Cossey signed, and placing his thumb on the familiar wafer
delivered the various documents as his act and deed. The witnesses
with much preparation and effort affixed their awkward signatures in
the places pointed out to them, and in a few minutes the thing was
done, leaving Mr. Quest a richer man by thirty thousand pounds than
when he had got up that morning.

"Now give Mr. Cossey the packet, Mrs. Jeffries," he said, as he
blotted the signatures, "and you can go." She did so and went.

When the witnesses had gone Edward looked at the letters, and then
with a savage oath flung them into the fire and watched them burn.

"Good-morning, Mr. Cossey," said Mr. Quest as he prepared to part with
the deeds. "You have now bought your experience and had to pay dearly
for it; but, upon my word, when I think of all you owe me, I wonder at
myself for letting you off at so small a price."

As soon as he had gone, Edward Cossey gave way to his feelings in
language forcible rather than polite. For now, in addition to all the
money which he had lost, and the painful exposure to which he had been
subjected, he was face to face with a new difficulty. Either he must
make a clean breast of it to Ida about the mortgages being no longer
in his hands or he mus