Hewasajovial，red-faced，easy-lookingman——morelikeacountrysquirethanalawyer——andheseemedtobebothsurprisedandamusedbymyapplication。Hehadheardofhisfather’scopyoftheregister，buthadnotevenseenithimself。Ithadneverbeeninquiredafter，anditwasnodoubtinthestrongroomamongotherpapersthathadnotbeendisturbedsincehisfather’sdeath。ItwasapityMrWansboroughsaidthattheoldgentlemanwasnotalivetohearhispreciouscopyaskedforatlast。
Hewouldhaveriddenhisfavouritehobbyharderthanevernow。HowhadIcometohearofthecopy？wasitthroughanybodyinthetown？
IparriedthequestionaswellasIcould。Itwasimpossibleatthisstageoftheinvestigationtobetoocautious，anditwasjustaswellnottoletMrWansboroughknowprematurelythatIhadalreadyexaminedtheoriginalregister。Idescribedmyself，therefore，aspursuingafamilyinquiry，totheobjectofwhicheverypossiblesavingoftimewasofgreatimportance。IwasanxioustosendcertainparticularstoLondonbythatday’spost，andonelookattheduplicateregisterpaying，ofcourse，thenecessaryfeesmightsupplywhatIrequired，andsavemeafurtherjourneytoOldWelmingham。Iaddedthatintheeventofmysubsequentlyrequiringacopyoftheoriginalregister，IshouldmakeapplicationtoMrWansborough’sofficetofurnishmewiththedocument。
Afterthisexplanationnoobjectionwasmadetoproducingthecopy。
Aclerkwassenttothestrongroom，andaftersomedelayreturnedwiththevolume。Itwasofexactlythesamesizeasthevolumeinthevestry，theonlydifferencebeingthatthecopywasmoresmartlybound。Itookitwithmetoanunoccupieddesk。Myhandsweretrembling——myheadwasburninghot——IfeltthenecessityofconcealingmyagitationaswellasIcouldfromthepersonsaboutmeintheroom，beforeIventuredonopeningthebook。