What in Kitely's memorandum the initials S.B.might mean, it was useless to guess at.

His memorandum, indeed, was as cryptic as an Egyptian hieroglyph.

But Stoner's memorandum was fuller, more explicit.

The M.& C.of the Kitely entry had been expanded to Mallows and Chidforth.

The entry "fraud" and the other entries "Wilchester Assizes" and the supplementary words, clearly implied that two men named Mallows and Chidforth were prosecuted at Wilchester Assizes in the year 1881 for fraud, that a sum of L2,000 was involved, which was never recovered, that Mallows and Chidforth, whoever they were, were convicted and were sentenced to two years' imprisonment.