sir? Murder, eh?"

"No--fraud, embezzlement, defalcation--I forget what the proper legal
term 'ud be," replied Mr. Pursey. "But it was a bad case--a real bad
'un. We'd a working men's building society in Wilchester in those
days--it's there now for that matter, but under another name--and there
were two better-class young workmen, smart fellows, that acted one as
secretary and t'other as treasurer to it. They'd full control, those
two had, and they were trusted, aye, as if they'd been the Bank of
England! And all of a sudden, something came out, and it was found that
these two, Mallows, treasurer, Chidforth, secretary, had made away with
two thousand pounds of the society's money. Two thousand pounds!"

"Two thousand pounds?" exclaimed Stoner, whose thoughts went like
lightning to the half-sheet of foolscap. "You don't say!"

"Yes--well, it might ha' been a pound or two more or less," said the old
man, "but two thousand was what they called it. And of course Mallows
and Chidforth were prosecuted--and they got two years. Oh, yes, we
remember that case very well indeed in Wilchester, don't we, Maria?"

"And good reason!" agreed Mrs. Pursey warmly. "There were a lot of poor
people nearly ruined by them bad young men."

"There were!" affirmed Mr. Pursey. "Yes--oh, yes! Aye--I've often
wondered what became of 'em--Mallows and Chidforth, I mean. For from the
time they got out of prison they've never been heard of in our parts.
Not a word!--they disappeared completely. Some say, of course, that they
had that money safely planted, and went to it. I don't know. But--off
they went."

"Pooh!" said Myler. "That's an easy one. Went off to some colony or
other, of course. Common occurrence, father-in-law. Bert, old sport,
what say if we rise on our pins and have a hundred at billiards at the
Stag and Hunter--good table there."

Stoner followed his friend out of the little house, and once outside
took him by the arm.

"Confound the billards, Dave, old man!" he said, almost trembling with
suppressed excitement. "Look here!--d'you know a real quiet corner in
the Stag where we can have an hour's serious consultation. You do?--then
come on, and I'll tell you the most wonderful story you ever heard since
your ears were opened!"

Myler, immediately impressed, led the way into a small and vacant
parlour in the rear of a neighbouring hostelry, ordered refreshments,
bade the girl who brought them to leave him and his friend alone, a