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ing your time leaving tracts here,' and so she was. . . .

"Mad, sir? Oh dear no, not what you could call mad. Of course we all have our own little ways, haven't we, sir? and as I was telling you, Mr. Brotherood was singular, but not demented; I should never have stopped with Mr. Brotherood had he been demented. . . . Suicide? Of course it was suicide; and there's some say Mr. Marryatt won't bury him in holy ground, don't they? Well, you take my word for it, Mr. Brotherood wouldn't mind about a little thing like that. Some people seem not to mind what happens to them once they're gone: Mr. Bramston was like that, while he was spared to me; never seemed to mind if we were to take a spade and bury him in the back garden, that's the way he looked at it. But of course, I wouldn't have that, and he was buried properly in holy ground, Mr. Bramston was, and the minister recited the service over him beautiful. . . . What, must you be going already, sir? Well, I'm sure it's been a great privilege to me to afford you information. Good morning, sir."

This is an abridged account of the interview, but it contains all the material disclosures made by Mrs. Bramston. Reeves found himself pitying the coroner who would have to face and to stem that seething torrent of conversation. He came back to the dormy-house to find that it was already nearly time for luncheon, and Gordon was waiting for him, returned from his errand at Binver.