e desire to recover some hidden treasure,
valuables, something of that sort, was at the bottom of it, and now
I'm all the surer because of what we've found out about this monastic
spoil. But there are things that puzzle me."

"Such as what?" he asked.

"Well, that eagerness of Salter Quick's to find a churchyard with the
name Netherfield on the stones," I replied. "And his coming to that
part of the Northumbrian coast expecting to find it. Because, so far
as the experts know, there is no such name on any stone, nor in any
parish register, in all that district. Who, then, told him of the
name? You see, if my theory is correct, and Baxter told him and Noah,
he'd tell them the exact locality."

"Ah, but would he?" said Scarterfield. "He mightn't. He might only
give them a general notion. Still--Netherfield it was that Salter
asked for."

"That's certain," said I. "And--I'm puzzled why. But I'm puzzled still
more about another thing. If the men who murdered Noah and Salter
Quick were in possession of the secret as well, why did they rip their
clothes to pieces, searching for--something? Why, later, did somebody
steal that tobacco-box from under the very noses of the police?"

Scarterfield shook his head: the shake meant a great deal.

"That fairly settles me!" he remarked. "Why, the murderer must have
been actually present at the inquest."

But at that I shook my head.

"Oh, dear me, no!" said I. "Not at all! But--some agent of his was
certainly there. My own impression is that Mr. Cazalette's eagerness
about that box gave the whole show away. Shall I tell you how I figure
things out? Well, I think there were men--we don't know who!--that
either knew, with absolute certainty, or were pretty sure that Noah
Quick, and Salter Quick were in possession of a secret and that one or
the other--and perhaps both--carried it on him, in the shape of
papers. Each was killed for that secret. The murderers found nothing,
in either case. But Mr. Cazalette's remarks, made before a lot of men,
drew attention to the tobacco-box, and the murderer determined to get
it. And--what was easier than to abstract it, at the inquest, where it
was exhibited in company with several other things of Salter's?"

"I can't say if it was easy or not, Mr. Middlebrook," observed
Scarterfield. "Were you there--present?"

"I was there," said I. "So were most people of the neighbourhood--as
many as could get into the room, anyway. A biggish room--there'