on by midday, and proceeded to the hotel for his
letters and lunch. After a cold meal served by a shivering waiter in the
chilly dining room he went to the garage where he had left his car, and
set out for Norwich. He arrived at the cathedral city late in the
afternoon, and drove to the hotel where Mr. Oakham had stayed. While
engaging a room, he told the clerk that he expected Mr. Oakham from
London, and asked to be informed immediately he arrived. After making
these arrangements the detective left the hotel and went to the city
library, where he spent the next couple of hours making notes from legal
statutes and the Criminal Appeal Act.

When he returned to the hotel for dinner the clerk informed him that Mr.
Oakham had arrived a short time previously, and had requested that Mr.
Colwyn would join him at dinner. Colwyn proceeded to the dining-room,
and saw Mr. Oakham dining in solitary state at a large table, reading a
London evening newspaper between the courses. He looked up as Colwyn
approached, and rose and shook hands.

"This is an unexpected pleasure," said the detective. "I hardly thought
you would get here before the morning."

"I had arranged to visit Norwich to-morrow, but in view of the urgent
nature of your telegram I decided to catch the afternoon train instead,"
replied the solicitor. "Will you dine with me, Mr. Colwyn, and we can
talk business afterwards."

Colwyn complied, and when the meal was finished, Mr. Oakham turned to
him with an eagerness which he did not attempt to conceal, and said:

"Now for your news, Mr. Colwyn. But, first, where shall we talk?"

"As well here as anywhere. There is nobody within hearing."

The solicitor followed his glance round the almost empty dining-room,
and nodded acquiescence. Drawing his chair a little nearer the
detective, he begged him to begin.

"I have not very much to tell you--at present. But since the conviction
of your client, James Ronald Penreath, I have been back to the inn where
the murder was committed, and I have discovered fresh evidence which
strengthens considerably my original belief that Penreath is an innocent
man. But I have reached a stage in my investigations when I need your
assistance in completing my task before I go to the authorities with my
discoveries. It is hardly necessary for me to tell a man of your
experience that it is one of the most difficult things in the world to
upset a jury's verdict in a case of murder."

"What hav