"Don't scold the old lady," he began without preface. "I suppose she hadn't any barbed wire except that on her chin--it is rather like one of the gooseberries we used to make on the old wiring-course. I had to see you." "Had breakfast? Have a cup of coffee?" I asked him. "Nothing, thanks. Well, I think I saved friend Philip a certain amount of trouble yesterday," he said, putting down his hat, stick and gloves. I don't think Mackwith buys a glossy new silk topper every time he goes out, but I do honestly believe he buys a new pair of lemon-colored gloves. "Oh? How was that?" "At the inquest on that fellow," he replied. "And by the way, I saw the _Roundabout_ too. I suppose it has its humorous side, but it's very annoying too. I should go for 'em for libel. A house can be libeled, you know. Anyway, it's a good job he's out of town." I was on the point of saying, "A good job he's what?" when I checked myself. If you remember, I had last seen William Mackwith, K.C., when I had left him at Sloane Square Station an hour or two after that confounded aeroplane accident. He and Hubbard had gone off to keep their respective appointments, while I myself had followed our check-coated friend Westbury into a public-house. Whether either Esdaile or Hubbard had seen him since I didn't know. I now gathered that Billy at any rate hadn't seen Esdaile. "Yes?" I said. "What trouble have you been saving him?" "Well, I told you--I saved him the bother of stopping for the inquest." I had of course known that there must be an inquest, but I suppose I had been busy and had forgotten it again. This began to be interesting. "Tell me about the inquest," I said. He took a cigarette from his case and offered me one. Then he continued between puffs. "Well, as a matter of fact there wasn't very much trouble. One man seemed inclined to be cantankerous, but we brought it in Misadventure all right. We----" I imagine that at this point he caught sight of the expression on my face, for he stopped suddenly. "Esdaile did go out of town, didn't he?" he asked. "I'll tell you about Esdaile in a moment. Go on about the inquest." He seemed puzzled, but went on. "Of course, that was my idea in speaking to that Inspector that morning. It would have been a pity to upset the Esdailes' plans. So I explained this to the Inspector and gave him my card--said I hadn't seen very much, but as much as anybody else--result, I was made foreman of the jury." Here I had a little flash of illumination as regards Inspector Webster too. Esdaile, if you remember, had said to him, "Yes, that was Mr. Mackwith, the King's Counsel; didn't you know?" and Webster had answered, "Was he indeed, sir?" My respect for the Inspector's powers of giving nothing away went up several hundreds per cent. Apparently it was the Inspector who had seen to it that Billy had been put on the jury. "Well, you were made foreman. You said one man gave trouble. Who, and why?"