"What persons were in the room at the time besides yourself and the testator?" "Mr. Tew, and the two witnesses--Peter Grice, the groom, and Mike Denny, the under-gardener." "Were you aware that Mr. Tew had brought two wills with him?" "I was, I saw both of them." "On entering the room what did he do with them?" "He gave them both to the Squire." "And what happened next?" "The Squire thrust one of them under his pillow, and gave the other back to Mr. Tew for him to read it aloud." "And what happened when the reading had come to an end?" "The bell rang for me--I had been ordered out of the room while the reading took place--and, on entering, Mr. Tew told me that the Squire was ready for the witnesses, whom I had been careful to have close at hand, so that there should be no delay." "Proceed." "The witnesses were brought into the room and placed where they could see all that went forward. Pen and ink were in readiness. I raised the Squire in bed--he was too weak to sit up without help--and supported him with an arm round his waist. Mr. Tew placed the will in front of him, gave him the pen, pointed out the place for him, and with that Mr. Cortelyon slowly and carefully signed his name. Then Mr. Tew took the will to the table and caused Grice and Denny to sign it one after the other. When that was done the two men were dismissed." "Yes, and after that?" "Following the men into the corridor, by the Squire's orders I made each of them a present of a crown piece. That done, I at once went back to the room. Mr. Tew was standing by the table with the folded will in his hand. 'Seal it up,' said my master to me. Mr. Tew having handed to it to me, I at once proceeded to enclose it in the sheet of parchment, out of which it was taken by Mr. Piljoy a little while since, sealing the packet in two places with my master's own seal. Then I held him up again, and with a trembling hand he wrote on the envelope, 'Ambrose Cortelyon--His Will.' That done, the packet was given into the custody of Mr. Tew, and the business was at an end." "Not quite, Andry, not quite--at least as far as we are concerned. You are forgetting the duplicate will. What became of that?" "Mr. Tew had not been five minutes gone before my master drew the other will from under his pillow, and, giving it to me, said, 'Burn it now--at once.' There was a fire in the room, and, taking the will, I thrust it between the bars. Mr. Cortelyon never took his eyes off the grate till it was burnt to ashes." "You have no reason whatever for supposing that the unsigned will was substituted for the signed one during the time you were out of the room?" "No, sir--how should I? Mr. Tew never left the room, and when I went back it was from his hands I received the will in order to seal it up."