"A fairly easy matter in this particular case!" muttered Tansley, as the jurymen went out to discharge their distasteful, preliminary task of viewing the body of the murdered man. "I don't suppose there's a single man there who has the ghost of a theory, and I'm doubtful if he'll know much more to-night than he knows now--unless something startling is sprung upon us." Brent was the first witness called into the box when the court settled down to its business. He formally identified the body of the deceased as that of his cousin, John Wallingford: at the time of his death, Mayor of Hathelsborough, and forty-one years of age. He detailed the particulars of his own coming to the town on the evening of the murder, and told how he and Bunning, going upstairs to the Mayor's Parlour, had found Wallingford lying across his desk, dead. All this every man and woman in the court knew already--but the Coroner desired to know more. "I believe, Mr. Brent," he said, when the witness had given these particulars, "that you are the deceased's nearest blood-relative?" "I am," replied Brent. "Then you can give us some information which may be of use. Although the Mayor had lived in Hathelsborough some twelve years or so, he was neither a native of the town nor of these parts. Now, can you give us some particulars about him--about his family and his life before he came to this borough?" "Yes," said Brent. "My cousin was the only son--only child, in fact--of the Reverend Septimus Wallingford, who was sometime Vicar of Market Meadow, in Berkshire. He is dead--many years ago--so is his wife. My cousin was educated at Reading Grammar School, and on leaving it he was articled to a firm of solicitors in that town. After qualifying as a solicitor, he remained with that firm for some time. About twelve years ago he came to this place as managing clerk to a Hathelsborough firm; its partners eventually retired, and he bought their practice." "Was he ever married?" "Never!" "You knew him well?" "He was some twelve years my senior," answered Brent, "so I was a mere boy when he was a young man. But of late years we have seen a good deal of each other--he has frequently visited me in London, and this would have been my third visit to him here. We corresponded regularly." "You were on good terms?" "We were on very good terms." "And confidential terms?" "As far as I know--yes. He took great interest in my work as a journalist, and I took great interest in his career in this town." "And I understand that he has marked his sense of--shall we say, kinship for you by leaving you all his property?" "He has!" "Now, did he ever say anything to you, by word of mouth or letter, about any private troubles?" "No, never!" "Or about any public ones?" "Well, some months ago, soon after he became Mayor of Hathelsborough, he made a sort of joking reference, in a letter, to something that might come under that head." "Yes? What, now?"