charred and almost consumed by flames--but nevertheless the
identified body of Matthew Latron--was found in the smoking ruins of
his shooting lodge which burned to the ground two days before his
trial. I have stated correctly these particulars, have I not, Avery?"

"Yes." Avery was no longer sitting on the arm of the chair; he had
slipped into the seat--he was hunched in the seat watching the blind
man with growing conviction and fear.

"There were, of course," Santoine went on, "many of the violent and
passion-inflamed who carped at this timely intervention of fate and
criticised the accident which delivered Latron at this time. But these
were silenced when Latron's death was shown to have been, not accident,
but murder. A young man was shown to have followed Latron to the
shooting lodge; a witness appeared who had seen this young man shoot
Latron; a second witness had seen him set fire to the lodge. The young
man--Hugh Overton--was put on trial for his life. I, myself, as a
witness at the trial, supplied the motive for the crime; for, though I
had never met Overton, I knew that he had lost the whole of a large
fortune through investments recommended to him by Latron. Overton was
convicted, sentenced to death; he escaped before the sentence was
carried out--became a fugitive without a name, who if he ever
reappeared would be handed over for execution. For the evidence had
been perfect--complete; he had shot Latron purely for revenge, killed
him in the most despicable manner. For there was no doubt Latron was
dead, was there, Avery?"

Santoine waited for reply.

"What?" Avery said huskily.

"I say there was no doubt Latron was dead?"

"None."

"That was the time you came into my employ, Avery, recommended to me by
one of the men who had been closest to Latron. I was not connected
with the Latron properties except as an adviser; but many papers
relating to them must go inevitably through my hands. I was rather on
the inside in all that concerned those properties. But I could not
myself see the papers; I was blind; therefore, I had to have others
serve as eyes for me. And from the first, Avery, you served as my eyes
in connection with all papers relating to the Latron properties. If
anything ever appeared in those papers which might have led me to
suspect that any injustice had been done in the punishment of Latron's
murderer, it could reach me only through you. Nothing of that sort
ever did reach