"Even
his own people don't seem to know much."
This reminded him of his promise to call on Miss Wickham. He glanced at
his watch: it was not yet one o'clock: the proceedings before the
magistrate and the subsequent talk with Hyde had occupied comparatively
little time. So Viner walked rapidly to number seven in the square,
intent on doing something toward clearing Hyde of the charge brought
against him. The parlour-maid whom he had seen the night before admitted
him at once; it seemed to Viner that he was expected. She led him
straight to a room in which Mrs. Killenhall and Miss Wickham were in
conversation with an elderly man, who looked at Viner with considerable
curiosity when his name was mentioned, and who was presently introduced
to him as Mr. Ashton's solicitor, Mr. Pawle, of Crawle, Pawle and
Rattenbury.
CHAPTER VI
SPECULATIONS
Mr. Pawle, an alert-looking, sharp-eyed little man, whom Viner at once
recognized as having been present in the magistrate's court when Hyde was
brought up, smiled as he shook hands with the new visitor.
"You don't know me, Mr. Viner," he said. "But I knew your father very
well--he and I did a lot of business together in our time.
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