"Humph!" said Fanks, rather struck by the description, which was not unlike that of Renshaw, "we will discuss Dr. Binjoy later on. In the meantime, just enlighten me as to your precise relationship with the present baronet." "It's easily understood. Gregory's father, Sir Francis--after whom I was named--had a brother and sister. She married my respected father, Richard Garth, and I am the sole offspring." "And the brother was the father of the present Sir Louis?" "Exactly. There is a great deal of similarity between all three cases. Gregory was an only child and his parents are dead; Louis is an only child, and his parents have also gone the way of all flesh; I am an only child, and I am likewise an orphan." Fanks made a note of the family tree in his book. "So far so good," he said, with a nod. "Sir Gregory is dead and Sir Louis has succeeded him; if Louis dies without issue, you are the heir. And failing you?" "The property goes to the Crown," replied Garth. "Louis and I are the sole representatives of the Fellengers." "The race has dwindled considerably. Now what about your dead cousin. He was a trifle rapid, I believe?" "A regular bad lot; but I kept in with him because--well, because he was useful to me. Understand?" "Perfectly," replied Fanks, who knew of Garth's financial difficulties. "We will pass that. Have you any idea what took him to Tooley's Alley?" "Not the slightest. I saw him two days before his death--on the nineteenth--and he said nothing about going there then." "Did he behave as usual towards you?" "No. He was out of sorts. He had lost a lot of money at cards, I believe, and he was crabbed in consequence." "There was no other trouble; no financial difficulty?" "Not that I know of. Fast as he was, he could not get through ten thousand a year before the age of twenty-eight." "I have known men who have done so," said Fanks dryly. "However, if it was not a question of money, what about the inevitable woman?" "I don't think it was that, either," demurred Garth. "It was a man he met--a negro--not a woman." "True. Well, you were at the inquest?"-- "How do you know?" asked Garth, starting. "I saw you there in the crowd." "You see everything, Fanks." "It is my business to see everything, Garth. It is because you were at the inquest that I sought you out to-day. Now that you have explained to me your relationship to Sir Gregory I understand why you were present. But to return to the main point. You heard the theory of Dr. Renshaw?" "Yes," replied Garth reflectively. "There might be something in that secret society business. Not, mind you, that Gregory was the man to meddle with rubbish of that kind. He was too much of a fool; but one never knows; a man does not have a cross tattooed on his arm for nothing." "Do you think that it is the mark of a revolutionary society?" "I can't say; I should like to know. That is why I was writing to Hersham. Of course you know that he----"