he
whole, though he hardly admitted as much to himself, the man's
condition had been improved by the transactions of the morning.

"You don't quite agree with all that I have done this morning," said
Mr Apjohn, as soon as the two lawyers were in the fly together.

"I am lost in admiration at the clearness of your insight."

"Ah! that comes of giving one's undivided thoughts to a matter. I
have been turning it over in my mind till I have been able to see it
all. It was odd, wasn't it, that I should have foretold to you all
that happened, almost to the volume?"

"Quite to the volume!"

"Well, yes; to the volume of sermons. Your brother-in-law read
nothing but sermons. But you thought I shouldn't have asked those
questions."

"I don't like making a man criminate himself," said Mr Brodrick.

"Nor do I,--if I mean to criminate him too. My object is to let him
off. But to enable us to do that we must know exactly what he knew
and what he had done. Shall I tell you what occurred to me when you
shook the will out of the book? How would it be if he declared that
we had brought it with us? If he had been sharp enough for that, the
very fact of our having gone to the book at once would have been
evidence against us."

"He was not up to it."

"No, poor devil! I am inclined to think that he has got as bad as he
deserves. He might have been so much worse. We owe him ever so much
for not destroying the will. His cousin will have to give him the
L4000 which he was to have given her."

"Certainly, certainly."

"He has been hardly used, you know, by his uncle; and, upon my word,
he has had a bad time of it for the last month. I wouldn't have been
hated and insulted as he has been by those people up there,--not for
all Llanfeare twice over. I think we've quenched him now, so that
he'll run smooth. If so, we'll let him off easily. If I had treated
him less hardly just now, he might have gathered courage and turned
upon us. Then it would have been necessary to crush him altogether. I
was thinking all through how we might let him off easiest."

CHAPTER XXIII

Isabel's Petition

The news was soon all about Carmarthen. A new will had been found, in
accordance with which Miss Brodrick was to become owner of Llanfeare,
and,--which was of more importance to Carmarthen at the present
moment,--there was to be no trial! The story, as told publicly, was
as follows;--Mr Apjohn, by his sagacity, had found the will. It had
be