ary in one of the said parishes. In any other
event, it is virtually certain that he will be buried in some place
other than that which he desired, and that his brother will be left
absolutely without provision or recognition."

"John Bellingham could never have intended that," I said.

"Clearly not," agreed Thorndyke; "the provisions of the will furnish
internal evidence that he did not. You note that he bequeathed five
thousand pounds to George Hurst, in the event of clause two being
carried out; but he has made no bequest to his brother in the event of
its not being carried out. Obviously, he had not entertained the
possibility of this contingency at all. He assumed, as a matter of
course, that the conditions of clause two would be fulfilled, and
regarded the conditions themselves as a mere formality."

"But," Jervis objected, "Jellicoe must have seen the danger of a
miscarriage and pointed it out to his client."

"Exactly," said Thorndyke. "There is the mystery. We understand that
he objected strenuously, and that John Bellingham was obdurate. Now it
is perfectly understandable that a man should adhere obstinately to the
most stupid and perverse disposition of his property; but that a man
should persist in retaining a particular form of words after it has
been proved to him that the use of such form will almost certainly
result in the defeat of his own wishes; that, I say, is a mystery that
calls for very careful consideration."

"If Jellicoe had been an interested party," said Jervis, "one would
have suspected him of lying low. But the form of clause two doesn't
affect him at all."

"No," said Thorndyke; "the person who stands to profit by the muddle is
George Hurst. But we understand that he was unacquainted with the
terms of the will, and there is certainly nothing to suggest that he is
in any way responsible for it."

"The practical question is," said I, "what is going to happen? and what
can be done for the Bellinghams?"

"The probability is," Thorndyke replied, "that the next move will be
made by Hurst. He is the party immediately interested. He will
probably apply to the Court for permission to presume death and
administer the will."

"And what will the Court do?"

Thorndyke smiled dryly. "Now you are asking a very pretty conundrum.
The decisions of Courts depend on idiosyncrasies of temperament that no
one can foresee. But one may say that a Court does not lightly grant
permission t