I would as soon be shot as do it,‘ said the miserable John; 'but it has to be done. These are the circumstances:–Mr. Bushell charges the prisoner with forgery. The prisoner answers that he received the cheque from Mr. Bushell, cashed it for him at the bank, and paid the money into his hands. The people at the bank keep a register of the number of all notes paid out and received; they supply the police with a copy of that register in this particular case, and of course it becomes the duty of the police to trace the notes and see whose hands they pass through. Now, here’–he handed her a slip of paper from a pigeon-hole in his desk–‘here is a copy of the bank manager’s memorandum. Look at the notes yourself, Miss Donne–I hate myself for telling you!–and you will see that you have had put into your innocent hands a portion of the forger’s gains. And now the murder’s out!