The witnesses whose names he had forged he knew to be dead.

With this document he believed he could defend his possession of all the patent rights on which the permanence of his fortune depended.

He permitted the ink to dry, then folded the paper, and put it back in its place.

Then he shut and opened the drawer, and took it out again.

It had a genuine look.
Then he rang his bell and called for Phipps.