“Certainly,” said Lady Gwendolen.
“But it is not simple,” said the earl, “because we do not know which basket he is in. We know he is in one of them, but that is all we do know. You see now, I reckon, that I was right; it takes three funerals, there is no other way.”
“And three graves and three monuments and three inscriptions?” asked the daughter.
“Well—yes—to do it right. That is what I should do.”
“It could not be done so, father. Each of the inscriptions would give the same name and the same facts and say he was under each and all of these monuments, and that would not answer at all.”
The earl nestled uncomfortably in his chair.
“No,” he said, “that is an objection. That is a serious objection. I see no way out.”
There was a general silence for a while. Then Hawkins said:
“It seems to me that if we mixed the three ramifications together—”
The earl grasped him by the hand and shook it gratefully.