r came to take those shares, just at the moment
when the bank was so shaky."

"That is more than I can tell you, Mr. Hartington. It has been a puzzle
to myself."

"But they were your shares that were transferred to him."

"That is so, and the money came in useful enough, for I knew that the
smash must take place soon, and that possibly I might not be able to lay
my hands on much ready cash. However, I will tell you exactly how it
came about. Brander, the lawyer came to me and said his client, Mr.
Hartington, wanted fifty shares. I own I was astounded, for Brander knew
perfectly well that things were in a very bad way. By the way he spoke I
saw there was something curious about the affair, but as he put the
screw on, and as much as hinted that if I did not follow his
instructions he would blow the whole thing into the air, I made no
objections, especially as he proposed that I should transfer some of my
own shares. The transfer was drawn up in regular form. He brought it to
me duly signed by your father.

"I noticed that his own clerks witnessed the signature, so I supposed it
was done in the office. He made a point that I should get the transfer
passed with some others without the attention of the directors being
called to the matter. I got the transfer signed and sealed by two of the
directors while there was a talk going on about other things, and they
signed without looking at names. So far as I am concerned that was the
beginning and ending of the matter. Oh, there was another point, the
transfer was ante-dated three weeks. Of course, it might have been lying
in Brander's office all the time. It was dated on the day after the
previous board meeting, so that in the ordinary course it would not be
passed until the next meeting, and it might very well have remained in
Brander's hands until he knew that the directors were going to meet
again. I have often wondered what Brander's game was, and of course I
thought all the more of it when I saw that he had bought Fairclose. He
was a crafty old fox, Brander, but I have never been able to understand
why he permitted your father to ruin himself."

Cuthbert remained silent for some time.

"Your explanation only thickens the mystery," he said. "I can no more
understand his motive than you can. Brander's explanation of the affair
to me was that my father insisted against his advice in buying the
shares, as he did not believe in the rumors to the discredit of the
bank. He