"Decomposition must of course have done its work, but still there must be a something to show that a corpse has so undergone the process common to all nature. Double the lapse of time surely could not obliterate all traces of that which had been."
"There is reason in that, Henry."
"Besides, the coffins are all of lead, and some of stone, so that they cannot have all gone."
"True, most true."
"If in the one which, from the inscription and the date, we discover to be that of our ancestor whom we seek, we find the evident remains of a corpse, we shall be satisfied that he has rested in his tomb in peace."
"Brother, you seem bent on this adventure," said George; "if you go, I will accompany you."
"I will not engage rashly in it, George. Before I finally decide, I will again consult with Mr. Marchdale. His opinion will weigh much with me."
"And in good time, here he comes across the garden," said George, as he looked from the window of the room in which they sat.
It was Mr. Marchdale, and the brothers warmly welcomed him as he entered the apartment.
"You have been early afoot," said Henry.