"Take the ruffian away at once," he cried.
"What, before I hear what he has got to say?"
"Would you listen to him against a merchant of the city of London, a man of unblemished reputation?"
"Well, sir, you see we have got a hint that you were concerned in scuttling a ship; and that is a felony. So I think I'll just hear what he has got to say. You need not fear any man's tongue if you are innocent."
"Sit down, if you please, and examine these documents," said Robert Penfold. "As to the scuttling of the ship, here is the deposition of two seamen, taken on their death-bed, and witnessed by Miss Rolleston and myself."
"And that book he tried to steal," said Helen.
Robert continued: "And here is Undercliff's fac-simile of the forged note. Here are specimens of Arthur Wardlaw's handwriting, and here is Undercliff's report."
The detective ran his eye hastily over the report, which we slightly condense.
On comparing the forged note with genuine specimens of John Wardlaw's handwriting, no less than twelve deviations from his habits of writing strike the eye; and every one of these twelve deviations is a deviation into a habit of Arthur Wardlaw, which is an amount of demonstration rarely attained in cases of forgery.
1. THE CAPITAL L.—Compare in London (forged note) with the same letter in London in Wardlaw's letter.