on returning to their work, on the morning of
the 27th, the men found the plank which they
had tied to the ladder, to prevent any one from
using it in their absence, removed, and lying on
the ground. As to the possibility of ascending
by this ladder, passing over the roofs of the
houses, passing back, and descending again,
unobserved—it is discovered, on the evidence of
the night policeman, that he only passes through
Shore Lane twice in an hour, when out on his
beat. The testimony of the inhabitants also
declares, that Shore Lane, after midnight, is
one of the quietest and loneliest streets in
London. Here again, therefore, it seems fair
to infer that—with ordinary caution, and
presence of mind—any man, or men, might have
ascended by the ladder, and might have
descended again, unobserved. Once on the roof
of the tavern, it has been proved, by experiment,
that a man might cut through the trap-
door, while lying down on if, and that in such a
position, the parapet in front of the house would
conceal him from the view of any one passing
in the street.

Lastly, as to the person, or persons, by whom
the crime was committed.

It is known (1) that the Indians had an
interest in possessing themselves of the Diamond.
(2) It is at least probable that the man looking
like an Indian, whom Octavius Guy saw at
the window of the cab, speaking to the man
dressed like a mechanic, was one of the three
Hindoo conspirators. (3) It is certain that
this same man dressed like a mechanic, was
seen keeping Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite in view,
all through the evening of the 26th, and was
found in the bedroom (before Mr. Ablewhite
was shown into it) under circumstances which
lead to the suspicion that he was examining the
room. (4) A morsel of torn gold thread was
picked up in the bedroom, which persons expert
in such matters, declare to be of Indian
manufacture, and to be a species of gold thread not
known in England. (5) On the morning of the
27th, three men, answering to the description
of the three Indians, were observed in Lower
Thames Street, were traced to the Tower
Wharf, and were seen to leave London by the
steamer bound for Rotterdam.

There is here, moral, if not legal, evidence,
that the murder was committed by the Indians.

Whether the man personating a mechanic
was, or was not, an accomplice in the crime, it
is impossible to say. That he could have
committed the murder, alone, seems beyond the
limits of probability. Acting by himself, he
could hardly have smothered Mr. Ablewhite—
who was the taller and the stronger man of the
two—without a struggle taking place, or a
cry being heard. A servant girl, sleeping in
the next room, heard nothing. The landlord,
sleeping in the room below, heard nothing. The
whole evidence points to the inference that
more than one man was concerned in this crime
—and the circumstances, I repeat, morally
justify the conclusion that the Indians
committed it.

I have only to add, that the verdict at the
Coroner's Inquest was Wilful Murder against
some person, or persons, unknown. Mr.
Ablewhite's family have offered a reward, and no
effort has been left untried to discover the
guilty persons. The man dressed like a mechanic
has eluded all inquiries. The Indians have been
traced. As to the prospect of ultimately
capturing these last, I shall have a word to say to
you on that head, when I reach the end of the
present Report.

In the mean while, having now written all
that is needful on the subject of Mr. Godfrey
Ablewhite's death, I may pass next to the
narrative of his proceedings before, during, and
after the time, when you and he met at the
late Lady Verinder's house.

III.

With regard to the subject now in hand, I
may state, at the outset, that Mr. Godfrey
Ablewhite's life had two sides to it.

The side turned up to the public view,
presented the spectacle of a gentleman, possessed
of considerable reputation as a speaker at
charitable meetings, and endowed with
administrative abilities, which he placed at the
disposal of various Benevolent Societies, mostly
of the female sort. The side kept hidden
from the general notice, exhibited this same
gentleman in the totally different character of
a man of pleasure, with a villa in the suburbs
which was not taken in his own name, and with
a lady in the villa, who was not taken in his own
name, either.

My investigations in the villa have shown me
several fine pictures and statues; furniture
tastefully selected, and admirably made; and a
conservatory of the rarest flowers, the match
of which it would not be easy to find in all
London. My investigation of the lady has
resulted in the discovery of jewels which are
worthy to take rank with the flowers, and of
carriages and horses which have (deservedly)
produced a sensation in the Park, among persons
well qualified to judge of the build of the one,
and the breed of the others.

All this is, so far, common enough. The villa
and the lady are such familiar objects in London
life, that I ought to apologise for introducing
them to notice. But what is not common and
not familiar (in my experience), is that all these
fine things were not only ordered, but paid for.
The pictures, the statues, the flowers, the jewels,
the carriages and the horses—inquiry proved,
to my indescribable astonishment, that not a
sixpence of debt was owing on any of them.
As to the villa, it had been bought, out and
out, and settled on the lady.

I might have tried to find the right reading
of this riddle, and tried in vain—but for Mr.
Godfrey Ablewhite's death, which caused an
inquiry to be made into the state of his affairs.

The inquiry elicited these facts:—

That Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite was entrusted
with the care of a sum of twenty thousand pounds
—as one of two Trustees for a young gentleman