One of Joan’s duties, during these troublous days, was to deal with Sir Vernon’s private letters. The management of the Brooklyn Corporation had passed, for the time being, into the hands of a subordinate; but there were many private letters to be read and answered. Ill as he was, Sir Vernon liked to be consulted about some of these; and Joan always set aside a few to discuss with him each morning. On the day following Ellery’s successful investigation at the Cunningham Hotel, Joan sat opening the letters at breakfast. Most of them contained little of interest; but there was one, marked Private, which was clearly of importance. As Joan read it, she felt that yet another of the clues leading to the discovery of the murderer had come unexpectedly into her hands. The letter was from Sir John Bunnery, the successful solicitor, well-known in the sporting world as “the bookmaker’s attorney,” a nickname which he had earned by his long association with legal cases connected with the Turf. Sir John had been a friend of Sir Vernon’s in earlier years; but the two men had quarrelled many years ago, and since then they had seen nothing of each other. Carter Woodman, however, was, as Joan knew, a friend of Sir John’s, and she was not surprised when, glancing down the letter, she read his name. Sir John Bunnery began by offering his sympathy to an old friend in the misfortunes which had come upon him, adding that he hoped their drifting apart of late years would not make the sympathy less welcome. Then, having said the proper thing, he came to business. On the previous day, he explained, a somewhat curious request had come to him from Mr. Carter Woodman, who had asked for his help in securing a large loan, stating that there could be no doubt about the repayment of the money, as full security could be given that far more than the sum asked for would be available under the will of Sir Vernon Brooklyn. He, Carter Woodman, was one of the beneficiaries under the will, and he was also in a position to offer, in return for the loan, the joint guarantee of Mr. Walter Brooklyn, who had now, in tragic circumstances, become the principal beneficiary under the will. Woodman stated that he was Walter Brooklyn’s heir, and that he and Walter were prepared to make themselves jointly liable for the repayment of the sum asked for. Sir John said that he would, of course, be most pleased to assist Mr. Woodman, who was a personal friend; but although Woodman had approached him in confidence, and asked him not to mention the matter even to Sir Vernon, he had felt it necessary to write equally in confidence to Sir Vernon in order to ascertain whether Woodman and Walter Brooklyn were in fact the heirs. Sir Vernon would understand that he was asking for this information only in strict confidence, and he—Sir John—would quite accept the position if the answer was that Sir Vernon did not feel able to tell him how matters stood. In that case, however, he would feel compelled