First George sent a telegram to the City for the broker. Then, while the old clerk still stood beside the safe, and Mr. Dering continued to show signs of agitation uncontrollable, sometimes walking about the room and sometimes sitting at his table, sometimes looking into the empty shelves of the safe, he began to look through the copied letters, those, that is, which had gone out of Mr. Dering's office. He searched for six months, working backwards. 'Nothing for six months,' he said.--'Checkley, give me the letters.' He went through these. They were the letters received at the office, all filed, endorsed, and dated. There was not one during the letters of six months which he examined which had anything to do with the sales of stocks and shares. 'If,' he said, 'you had written to Ellis & Northcote, a copy of your letter would be here in this book. If they had written to you, these letters would be among these bundles. Very well. Since no such letters are here, it is clear that no such letters were written. Therefore, no sales.' 'Then,' said Mr. Dering, 'where are my certificates? Where are my dividends?' 'That we shall see. At present, we are only getting at the facts.' Then Mr. Ellis, senior partner of Ellis & Northcote, arrived, bearing a small packet of papers. Everybody knew Mr. Ellis, of Ellis & Northcote, one of the most respectable stockbrokers in London--citizen and Lorimer. He belonged eminently to the class called worthy: an old gentleman, carefully dressed, of smooth and polished appearance, pleasing manners, and great integrity. Nobody could look more truly _integer vitæ_ than Mr. Ellis. Nor did his private practice belie his reputation and his appearance. His chin and lips looked as if they could not possibly endure the burden of beard or moustache; his sentiments, one observed at a glance, would certainly be such as one expects from a citizen of his respectability. 'Here I am, dear sir,' he said cheerfully--'here I am, in immediate obedience to your summons. I hope that there is nothing wrong; though your request that I would bring with me certain papers certainly made me a little apprehensive.' 'There is, I fear, a good deal wrong,' said Mr. Dering. 'Sit down, my old friend.--Give Mr. Ellis a chair, Checkley.--Austin, you will tell him what he wants to know.' 'You wrote to Mr. Dering yesterday recommending a certain investment----' 'I certainly did. A very favourable opportunity it is, and a capital thing it will prove.' 'You mentioned in your letter certain transfers and sales which, according to your letter, he had recently effected.' 'Certainly.' 'What sales were they?' Mr. Ellis looked at his papers. 'February last--sale of various stock, all duly enumerated here, to the value of 6,500_l_. March last, sale of various stock, also all duly enumerated, to the value of 12,000_l_. odd. April last, sale of stock to the value of 20,000_l_.--more or less--realising----'