“First I ever heard of it, then,” said Glassdale.  “And that’s a fact, too!”

“He’d also a very close friend named Ransford—­Mark Ransford,” continued Bryce.  “This Ransford was best man at Brake’s wedding.”

“Never heard him speak of Ransford, nor of any wedding!” affirmed Glassdale.  “All news to me, doctor.”

“This Ransford is now in practice in Wrychester,” said Bryce.  “And he has two young people living with him as his wards—­a girl of twenty, a boy of seventeen—­who are, without doubt, John Brake’s children.  It is the daughter that I want to marry.”

Glassdale shook his head as if in sheer perplexity.

“Well, all I can say is, you surprise me!” he remarked.  “I’d no idea of any such thing.”

“Do you think Brake came to Wrychester because of that?” asked Bryce.

“How can I answer that, sir, when I tell you that I never heard him breathe one word of any children?” exclaimed Glassdale.  “No!  I know his reason for coming to Wrychester.  It was wholly and solely—­as far as I know—­to tell the Duke here about that jewel business, the secret of which had been entrusted to Brake and me by a man on his death-bed in Australia.  Brake came to Wrychester by himself—­I was to join him next morning:  we were then to go to see the Duke together.  When I got to Wrychester, I heard of Brake’s accident, and being upset by it, I went away again and waited some days until yesterday, when I made up my mind to tell the Duke myself, as I did, with very fortunate results.  No, that’s the only reason I know of why Brake came this way.  I tell you I knew nothing at all of his family affairs!  He was a very close man, Brake, and apart from his business matters, he’d only one idea in his head, and that was lodged there pretty firmly, I can assure you!”

“What was it?” asked Bryce.

“He wanted to find a certain man—­or, rather, two men—­who’d cruelly deceived and wronged him, but one of ’em in particular,” answered Glassdale.  “The particular one he believed to be in Australia, until near the end, when he got an idea that he’d left for England; as for the other, he didn’t bother much about him.  But the man that he did want! —­ah, he wanted him badly!”

“Who was that man?” asked Bryce.

“A man of the name of Falkiner Wraye,” answered Glassdale promptly.  “A man he’d known in London.  This Wraye, together with his partner, a man called Flood, tricked Brake into lending ’em several thousands pounds—­bank’s money, of course —­for a couple of days—­no more—­and then clean disappeared, leaving him to pay the piper!  He was a fool, no doubt, but he’d been mixed up with them; he’d done it before, and they’d always kept their promises, and he did it once too often.  He let ’em have some thousands; they disappeared, and the bank inspector happened to call at Brake’s bank and ask for his balances.  And—­there he was.  And—­that’s why he’d Falkiner Wraye on his mind—­as his one big idea.  T’other man was a lesser consideration, Wraye was the chief offender.”