"He had spent considerable time with Henry, one way and another, and
he began to think that Henry knew who he was. He thought at first that
Henry was his father, and there was some trouble. In order to end it
Henry finally acknowledged that he knew who the father was, and after
that he had no peace. Clifton--his name was Clifton Hines--attacked
Henry once, and if it had not been for the two men on the place he would
have hurt him.
"Henry began to give him money. Clark had left the fifty thousand for
the boy with the idea that Henry should start him in business with it.
But he only turned up wild-cat schemes that Henry would not listen to.
He did not know how Henry got the money, or from where. He thought for a
long time that Henry had saved it.
"I'd better say here that Henry was fond of Clifton, although he didn't
approve of him. He'd never married, and the boy was like a son to him
for a good many years. He didn't have him at the ranch much, however,
for he was a Burgess through and through and looked like them. And he
was always afraid that somehow the story would get out.
"Then Clifton learned, somehow or other, of Clark's legacy to Henry, and
he put two and two together. There was a bad time, but Henry denied it
and they went upstairs to bed. That night Clifton broke into Henry's
desk and found some letters from Elihu Clark that told the story.
"He almost went crazy. He took the papers up to Henry's and wakened him,
standing over Henry with them in hand, and shaking all over. I think
they had a struggle, too. All Henry told me was that he took them from
him and threw them in the fire.
"That was a year before Henry died, and at the time young Jud Clark's
name was in all the newspapers. He had left college after a wild
career there, and although Elihu had tied up the property until Jud was
twenty-one, Jud had his mother's estate and a big allowance. Then, too,
he borrowed on his prospects, and he lost a hundred thousand dollars at
Monte Carlo within six weeks after he graduated.
"One way and another he was always in the newspapers, and when he saw
how Jud was throwing money away Clifton went wild.
"As Henry had burned the letters he had no proofs. He didn't know who
his mother was, but he set to work to find out. He ferreted into Elihu's
past life, and he learned something about Hattie Burgess, or Thorwald.
She was married by that time, and lived on a little ranch near Norada.
He went to see her, and he accused her downright of being his mother. It
must have been a bad time for her, for after all he was her son, and
she had to disclaim him. She had a husband and a boy by that husband,
however, by that time, and she was desperate. She threw him off the
track somehow, lied and talked him down, and then went to bed in
collapse. She sent for Henry later and told him.