t my views on religion had undergone a change
that made this impossible, and just about this time my father came into
a quite considerable property. Now, as it was his expressed intention
to leave the estate equally divided between my brother and me, there
was no need for me to take up any profession for a livelihood.
Archeology was already the passion of my life, and I determined to
devote myself henceforth to my favorite study, in which, by the way, I
was following a family tendency; for my father was an enthusiastic
student of ancient Oriental history, and John was, as you know, an
ardent Egyptologist.

"Then my father died quite suddenly, and left no will. He had intended
to have one drawn up, but had put it off until it was too late. And
since nearly all the property was in the form of real estate, my
brother inherited practically the whole of it. However, in deference
to the known wishes of my father, he made me an allowance of five
hundred a year, which was about a quarter of the annual income. I
urged him to assign me a lump sum, but he refused to do this. Instead,
he instructed his solicitor to pay me an allowance in quarterly
instalments during the rest of his life; and it was understood that, on
his death, the entire estate should devolve on me, or if I died first,
on my daughter, Ruth. Then, as you know, he disappeared suddenly, and
as the circumstances suggested that he was dead, and there was no
evidence that he was alive, his solicitor--a Mr. Jellicoe--found
himself unable to continue the payment of the allowance. On the other
hand, as there was no positive evidence that my brother was dead, it
was impossible to administer the will."

"You say the circumstances suggested that your brother was dead. What
circumstances were they?"

"Principally the suddenness and completeness of the disappearance. His
luggage, as you may remember, was found lying unclaimed at the railway
station; and there was another circumstance even more suggestive. My
brother drew a pension from the Foreign Office, for which he had to
apply in person, or, if abroad, produce proof that he was alive on the
date when the payment became due. Now, he was exceedingly regular in
this respect; in fact, he had never been known to fail, either to
appear in person or to transmit the necessary documents to his agent,
Mr. Jellicoe. But from the moment when he vanished so mysteriously to
the present day, nothing whatever has been hear