f events with profound interest. An attempt
had been made (by Mr. Jellicoe or some other person) to get the will
administered without producing the body of John Bellingham; and that
attempt had failed. The coroner's jury had refused to identify the
remains; the Probate Court had refused to presume the death of the
testator. As affairs stood the will could not be administered.

"What would be the next move?

"It was virtually certain that it would consist in the production of
something which would identify the unrecognized remains as those of the
testator.

"But what would that something be?

"The answer to that question would contain the answer to another
question: 'Was my solution of the mystery the true solution?'

"If I was wrong, it was possible that some of the undoubtedly genuine
bones of John Bellingham might presently be discovered; for instance,
the skull, the knee-cap, or the left fibula, by any of which the
remains could be positively identified.

"If I was right, only one thing could possibly happen. Mr. Jellicoe
would have to play the trump card that he had been holding back in case
the Court should refuse the application; a card that he was evidently
reluctant to play.

"He would have to produce the bones of the mummy's finger, together
with John Bellingham's ring. No other course was possible.

"But not only would the bones and the ring have to be found together.
They would have to be found in a place which was accessible to Mr.
Jellicoe, and so far under his control that he could determine the
exact time when the discovery should be made.

"I waited patiently for the answer to my question. Was I right or was
I wrong?

"And, in due course, the answer came.

"The bones and the ring were discovered in the well in the grounds of
Godfrey Bellingham's late house. That house was the property of John
Bellingham. Mr. Jellicoe was John Bellingham's agent. Hence it was
practically certain that the date on which the well was emptied was
settled by Mr. Jellicoe.

"The oracle had spoken.

"The discovery proved conclusively that the bones were not those of
John Bellingham (for if they had been the ring would have been
unnecessary for identification). But if the bones were not John
Bellingham's, the ring was; from which followed the important corollary
that whoever had deposited those bones in the well had had possession
of the body of John Bellingham. And there could be no doubt that that
p