"Sims declares nothing was placed in his coffin," said Quarles; "he is most definite upon the point."
"And I have already pointed out that since he wished to be cremated Mr. Ottershaw would hardly make any such arrangement," I said.
"He may have wished to be cremated, but he may not have expected to be," said Quarles. "As a matter of fact, he left certain instructions which point to a doubt. Sims was to lay him out and see that he was decently cared for. So anxious was Mr. Ottershaw about this that he left a letter for Sims to show to the Bryants. This is a most significant fact."
"Then you suspect the man Sims," said Zena.
"We will go a step further before I answer that question. To-day, Wigan, we have made a curious discovery. All Mr. Ottershaw's walking-sticks were very stout ones, and that he really used them, not merely carried them, the condition of the ferrules proves. Moreover, there was a curious fact about his boots. They were large, the right one being a little larger than the other, and the right boot in every pair was the least trodden down—indeed, showed little wear either inside or out. I wonder if Sims could explain this?"
Zena was leaning forward, her eyes fixed upon the professor, and I was thinking of a boot with a hollow heel.
"Let's go back to the will for a moment," said Quarles. "Although Mr. Ottershaw desired to be cremated, he did not put it in the form of a condition, as he might reasonably have done. He even mentions the expense, and, in fact, gives his relatives quite a good excuse for not doing as he desires. It seems to me he didn't care much one way or the other, and that his object was to make the relatives suffer for their greed, and suffer all the more because he didn't actually leave the money away from them. It was Zena's absurd question, Wigan, and her anger that the Bryants had not carried out the old man's wish, which gave me the germ of a theory. I believe if they had had him cremated they would have found the treasure. He gave them a chance which they lost by burying him."
"Then you believe Sims carried out his master's wishes?" I said.
"I do."
"And managed to have the treasure buried with him?"