t Jellicoe is of the same opinion as I am: that John
Bellingham is dead."

"Still," I urged, "men do disappear from time to time, and turn up
again after years of absence."

"Yes, but for a definite reason. Either they are irresponsible
vagabounds who take this way of shuffling off their responsibilities,
or they are men who have been caught in a net of distasteful
circumstances. For instance, a civil servant or a solicitor or a
tradesman finds himself bound for life to a locality and an occupation
of intolerable monotony. Perhaps he has an ill-tempered wife, who
after the amiable fashion of a certain type of woman, thinking that her
husband is pinned down without a chance of escape, gives a free rein to
her temper. The man puts up with it for years, but at last it becomes
unbearable. Then he suddenly disappears; and small blame to him. But
this was not Bellingham's case. He was a wealthy bachelor with an
engrossing interest in life, free to go whither he would and to do
whatsoever he wished. Why should he disappear? The thing is
incredible.

"As to his having lost his memory and remained unidentified, that,
also, is incredible in the case of a man who had visiting-cards and
letters in his pocket, whose linen was marked, and who was being
inquired for everywhere by the police. As to his being in prison, we
may dismiss that possibility, inasmuch as a prisoner, both before and
after conviction, would have full opportunity of communicating with his
friends.

"The second possibility, that he may have died suddenly and been buried
without identification, is highly improbable; but, as it is conceivable
that the body might have been robbed and the means of identification
thus lost, it remains as a possibility that has to be considered,
remote as it is.

"The third hypothesis, that he may have been murdered by some unknown
person, is, under the circumstances, not wildly improbable; but, as the
police were on the lookout and a detailed description of the missing
man's person was published in the papers, it would involve the complete
concealment of the body. But this would exclude the most probable form
of crime--the casual robbery with violence. It is therefore possible,
but highly improbable.

"The fourth hypothesis is that Bellingham was murdered by Hurst. Now
the one fact which militates against this view is that Hurst apparently
had no motive for committing the murder. We are assured by Jellicoe
that n