Mr. Harford ran his eye over the doc.u.ment and then read it through carefully word by word.

"This is an extraordinary statement," he said, gravely, "do you believe it, Mr. Hartington?"

"I believe it implicitly. I had the man practically at my mercy. As you know, there is a warrant out for his arrest and a word from me would have set the police on his track and led to an application for his extradition. Therefore he had every motive for telling me the truth, and I am as certain as I can be, that he did so."

"If so there can be no question that Mr. Brander had some very strong reason indeed for preventing the knowledge of this transfer having ever been made from being known; but in any case it must have come out when the bank failed and of course he must have had a pretty accurate knowledge of the state of its affairs."

"Yes, but it man be that he had an equally accurate knowledge of the state of my father's health. That would account for what c.u.mming says as to his offer to bolster up the bank for a time, and for a retraction of that offer within a few days after my father's death."

"But why on earth should he have run all this risk merely to ruin you?

He had no cause of enmity against you, had he, sir?"

"None, so far as I knew but now we come to the other doc.u.ment where you witnessed the signature without having seen it signed. If the signature on the transfer was a forgery, why not that on the mortgage, if it was the mortgage. If so you see the motive of the transfer. The smash of the bank brought a good many estates into the market and they would consequently go cheap. Not only would he get it far below its value, but by reason of this pretended mortgage he would get a further drawback of 15,000 from the price he would pay as its purchase."

"Good heavens, Mr. Hartington! You take my breath away! Have you any reason whatever for believing that the mortgage was a bogus one?"

"None, beyond the fact that I was ignorant of its existence. I was so surprised that I not only wrote to Brander himself but to the official liquidator. The former said he had advanced the money at the urgent request of my father, who told him he wished to settle a very long standing claim upon him, and that he desired that the transaction should be kept an absolute secret. The official liquidator said he had gone carefully into the question of the mortgage, that it was of three years, standing, that the receipts Mr. Brander had given my father for the half-yearly interest on the money had been found among my father's papers, and that Brander had moreover produced a doc.u.ment, showing that he had sold securities to that amount, and had drawn the money from his bankers in town by a singled check for 15,000. Do you remember whether such a deed was ever drawn up in the office?"

"Certainly it was not, but you see that proves nothing, for it was to be kept a secret. Brander might have had it drawn up by some solicitor in London."

"I see that. Well, then, this deed, whatever it was that you witnessed, was that drawn up in the office?"

"No. I remember Levison and I talked it over and said it was curious that a deed between Brander and Mr. Hartington should not have been given to us as usual to be drawn up."

"You witnessed his signature then as well as that of my father?"

"Yes, I have a particular reason for remembering that, for I had sat down hurriedly after he had signed it, and dipping my pen too deeply in the ink, made a blot. It was no doubt a stupid thing to do, but Brander was so unreasonably angry about it, and blew me up so roughly that I made up my mind there and then to stand it no longer, and wrote that very evening to my friend in my present office the letter which led to my getting the situation there two or three months later."

"That blot may be a most important one," Cuthbert said, "if it occurs on the mortgage deed on Fairclose, it is clear that doc.u.ment was not, as it professes on its face, executed three years earlier."

"That would be so indeed," Mr. Harford exclaimed, excitedly; "it would be a piece of evidence there would be no getting over, and that fact would account for Brander's anger, which seemed to me was out of all proportion to the accident. If you could show that the mortgage deed on which Brander claimed is really that doc.u.ment we witnessed, it would be all up with him. As to the receipts for the payments of interest they proved nothing as they were, of course, in Brander's own handwriting and were found where he put them. If you could find out that Brander had knowledge of Mr. Hartington's state of health about the time that transfer was produced you would strengthen your case. It seems to me that he must have got an inkling of it just before he filled up the transfer, and that he ante-dated it a week so that it would appear to have been signed before he learnt about his illness. I can see no other reason for the ante-dating it."

"That may have been the reason," Cuthbert agreed. "It was one of the points for which c.u.mming and I, talking it over, could see no motive.

Certainly he would wish that if anyone said to him you ought to have prevented Mr. Hartington buying those shares when you knew that he was in a precarious state of health, to be able to reply that when the shares were bought he had not the slightest idea of his being in anything but the best of health."

"At any rate I will see Dr. Edwardes, and ascertain exactly when he did tell Brander. He is certain to be able by turning back to his visiting book, to ascertain when he himself became aware of my father's danger, and is likely to remember whether he told Brander at once."

"But even without that, Mr. Hartington, if you can prove that question of the date of the deed you have him completely on the hip. Still it will be a very difficult case to carry through, especially if you cannot get c.u.mming to come into court."

"But, as I began by telling you, I cannot carry out the case to a legitimate conclusion, nor do I want the intervention of lawyers in the matter. I want the estate back again if I can get it, but rather than this matter should be made public I would not lift a little finger to regain the property. It happens," and he smiled dryly, "that Mr.

Brander's reputation is almost as dear to me as it is to him, for I am going to marry his daughter. We should not feel quite comfortable together, you see, at the thought that the father was working out a sentence of penal servitude."

"That is an unfortunate combination indeed, Mr. Hartington," Mr. Harford said seriously, though he could not repress a smile of amus.e.m.e.nt at the unexpected news. "Then it seems to me, sir, that Brander may in fact snap his fingers at any threat you may hold out, for he would feel certain that you would never take any steps that would make the matter public."

"Fortunately," Cuthbert replied. "Mr. Brander is wholly unaware of the little fact I have mentioned, and is likely to remain so until matters are finally arranged between us."

"That is indeed fortunate. Then I understand, Mr. Hartington, your object is to obtain so strong a proof of Brander's share in this affair as will place you in a position to go down to him, and force him into some satisfactory arrangement with you."

"That is it, and it is clear the first step will be to see the official liquidator and to obtain a sight of the mortgage."

"I suppose you know that he is the head of the firm of c.o.x, Tuke, and Atkinson, in Coleman Street. I suggest that the best plan will be to see him to-morrow, and to make an appointment with him for you to inspect the mortgage. You would wish me, of course, to be with you when you do so?"

"Think you very much. I will go round there in the morning, and will call at your office afterwards and let you know if I have arranged the matter, and the time at which I am to call to inspect the mortgage."

CHAPTER XIX.

Cuthbert, on calling upon the head of the great firm of accountants, was courteously received by him.

"Of course, I remember your name, Mr. Hartington, with reference to the Abchester Bank failure. It seemed a particularly hard case, and I know our Mr. w.a.n.klyn, who had charge of the winding up, took particular interest in it, and personally consulted me more than once about it, though I cannot exactly recall the circ.u.mstances now. What is it that you say you want to examine?"

"I want to have a look at the deed of mortgage that Mr. Brander, who purchased the property, had upon it."

"Yes, I remember now, that was one of the points on which Mr. w.a.n.klyn consulted me. It struck him at first sight as being rather a remarkable transaction, and he went into it carefully, but it was all proved to be correct to his satisfaction. It is unfortunate that the system of registering mortgages is not enforced everywhere as it is in London--it would save a great deal of trouble in such cases as the present."

"Are the affairs of the bank quite wound up?"

"Dear me, no, Mr. Hartington. Why, it is but two years since the failure. There are properties to be realized that cannot be forced on the market without ruinous loss. There are a.s.sets which will not be available until after death; it is not the a.s.sets of the bank, but the a.s.sets of individual shareholders and debtors of the bank that have to be collected. I should say it will be at least twenty years before the last dividend will be divided. I am sure Mr. w.a.n.klyn will be happy to let you see any doc.u.ment you desire. I will take you to him."

Mr. w.a.n.klyn had a room on the same floor with his princ.i.p.al, and Mr. c.o.x took Cuthbert and introduced him to him.

"Mr. Hartington wants to have a look at the mortgage that Brander held on the late Mr. Hartington's estate. You remember we had several talks about it at the time, and you took a good deal of pains about the matter. Mr. Hartington wrote to me about it from Paris, if you recollect, and you replied to him in my name. I will leave him with you to talk it over."

"Have you any particular reason for wanting to see the deed, Mr.

Hartington?" the accountant asked, when Mr. c.o.x had left the room. "I only ask because I suppose the doc.u.ments connected with the winding up of the bank must weigh several tons, and it will take a considerable time for a clerk to hunt out the one in question. If you have really any motive for examining it I will get it looked out for you by to-morrow, but it will put us to a great deal of trouble."

"I am really anxious to see it for a special purpose, Mr. w.a.n.klyn. I have reason to believe there was some irregularity in the matter."

"I am afraid it will make but little difference to you whether it was so or not, Mr. Hartington. The creditors of the bank have been the sufferers if there was any irregularity in it."

"Yes, I suppose so, and yet I a.s.sure you it is not a mere matter of sentiment with me. Other questions might turn upon it."

"Then I will certainly have it ready for you by to-morrow--give me until the afternoon. Will four o'clock suit you?"

"Very well. I will, with your permission, bring with me one of the attesting witnesses to my father's signature. He was one of Mr.

Brander's clerks at the time."

Mr. w.a.n.klyn looked up keenly.

"You can bring whom you like," he said, after a pause, "and I will put a room at your disposal, but of course the doc.u.ment cannot be taken away."

"Certainly not, Mr. w.a.n.klyn, and I am very much obliged to you for granting my request."

Cuthbert called for James Harford at the hour at which he had said he went out to lunch, and told him of the appointment he had made.