The Town Clerk says he can read some of our borough charters of six hundred years ago as if they were newspaper articles." Cotherstone made no remark on that.

He was thinking.

So Kitely was in close communication with Bent, was he ?--constantly seeing him, being employed by him?
Well, that cut two ways.

It showed that up to now he had taken no advantage of his secret knowledge and might therefore be considered as likely to play straight if he were squared by the two partners.

But it also proved that Bent would probably believe anything that Kitely might tell him.