To begin with, no one knows who this Bradley is, or was.

His name appears nowhere except on that certificate, unless, of course, it did appear on the stub where the scratching has been done; we doubt that, for reasons.
Nobody ever heard of the man; and his transfer to your brother was made, and the certificate signed by him, only three years ago, when the Akrae Company sold out.

It will take too long to go into details; but thanks to the kindness of the Para concern, which has offices in this city--we have been able to examine this Bradley certificate.

Experts have examined it, also.

And they tell us--" He paused.
"Well, what do they tell ?" demanded the captain.
"They tell us that--that, in their opinion, the certificate was never issued at the time when, by this date, it presumes to have been.