WHAT WAS THE SECRET? The two men who were presently ushered in were typical Colonials--big, hefty fellows as yet in early middle age, alert, evidently prosperous, if their attire and appointments were anything to go by, and each was obviously deeply interested in the occasion of his visit to Mr. Pawle. Two pairs of quick eyes took in the old solicitor and his companion, and the elder of the men came forward in a businesslike manner. "Mr. Pawle, I understand?" he said. "I'm Mr. Fosdick, of Melbourne, Victoria; this is my friend Mr. Stephens, same place." "Take a seat, Mr. Fosdick--have this chair, Mr. Stephens," responded Mr. Pawle. "You wish to see me--on business?" "That's so," answered Fosdick as the two men seated themselves by the solicitor's desk. "We saw your name in the newspapers this morning in connection with the murder of John Ashton. Now, we knew John Ashton--he was a Melbourne man, too--and we can tell something about him. So we came to you instead of the police. Because, Mr. Pawle, what we can tell is maybe more a matter for a lawyer than for a policeman. It's mysterious." "Gentlemen," said Mr. Pawle, "I'll be frank with you. I recognized your names as soon as my clerk announced them. Here's a cablegram which I have just received from Melbourne--you'll see your names mentioned in it." The two callers bent over the cablegram, and Fosdick looked up and nodded. "Yes, that's right," he said. "We came over with John Ashton in the _Maraquibo_. We knew him pretty well before that--most folk in Melbourne did. But of course, we were thrown into his company on board ship rather more than we'd ever been before. And we very much regret to hear of what's happened to him." "You say there is something you can tell?" observed Mr. Pawle. "If it's anything that will help to solve the mystery of this murder,--for there is a mystery,--I shall be very glad to hear it." Fosdick and Stephens glanced at each other and then at Viner, who sat a little in Mr. Pawle's rear. "Partner of yours?" asked Fosdick. "Not at all! This gentleman," replied Mr. Pawle, "is Mr. Viner. It was he who found Ashton's dead body. They were neighbours." "Well, you found the body of a very worthy man, sir," remarked Fosdick gravely. "And we'd like to do something toward finding the man who killed him. For we don't think it was this young fellow who's charged with it, nor that robbery was the motive. We think John Ashton was--removed. Put out of the way!" "Why, now?" asked Mr. Pawle.