"This, of course," he began, "is a quite informal meeting. We are here, as I understand matters, to hear why you, Mr. Barthorpe Herapath, object to your late uncle's will, and why you intend to dispute it. So I suppose the next thing to do will be to ask you to state your grounds." But Barthorpe shook his head with a decisive motion. "No," he answered. "Not at all! The first thing to do, Mr. Halfpenny, in my opinion, is to hear what is to be said in favour of the will. The will itself, I take it, is in your possession. I have seen it--I mean, I have seen the document which purports to be a will of the late Jacob Herapath--so I admit its existence. Two persons are named on that document as witnesses: Mr. Tertius, Mr. Burchill. They are both present now; at your request. I submit that the proper procedure is to question them both as to the circumstances under which this alleged will was made." "I have no objections to that," answered Mr. Halfpenny. "I have no objection--neither, I am sure, has Miss Wynne--to anything you propose. Well, we take it for granted that this document exists--it is, of course, in my safe keeping. Every person has seen it, one time or another. We have here the two gentlemen who witnessed Jacob Herapath's signature and each other's. So I will first ask the elder of the two to tell us what he recollects of the matter. Now, Mr. Tertius?" Mr. Tertius, who since his arrival had shown as much nervousness as would probably have signalised his appearance in a witness-box, started at this direct appeal. "You--er, wish me----" he began, with an almost blank stare at Mr. Halfpenny. "You want me to----" "Come, come!" said Mr. Halfpenny. "This is as I have already said, an informal gathering. We needn't have any set forms or cut-and-dried procedure. I want you--we all want you--to tell us what you remember about the making of Jacob Herapath's will. Tell us in your own way, in whatever terms you like. Then we shall hear what your fellow-witness has to say." "Perhaps you'll let me suggest something," broke in Barthorpe, who had obviously been thinking matters over. "Lay the alleged will on the table before you, Mr. Halfpenny--question the two opposed witnesses on it. That will simplify things." Mr. Halfpenny considered this proposition for a moment or two; then having whispered to Peggie and received her assent, he went across to a safe and presently returned with the will, which he placed on a writing-pad that lay in front of him.