“They are not going to. One of the partners, a Mr. Britton, is bringing them here himself and will be present while the photographs are being taken; so they will not go out of his custody. But, all the same, it is a great concession, and I should not have obtained it but for the fact that I have done a good deal of work for the bank and that Mr. Britton is more or less a personal friend.”

“By the way, how comes it that the cheques are at the bank? Why were they not returned to Jeffrey with the passbook in the usual way?”

“I understand from Britton,” replied Thorndyke, “that all Jeffrey’s cheques were retained by the bank at his request. When he was travelling he used to leave his investment securities and other valuable documents in his bankers’ custody, and, as he has never applied to have them returned, the bankers still have them and are retaining them until the will is proved, when they will, of course, hand over everything to the executors.”