"I have spent all I had," I replied amiably. "Thank

God I'm not a clam! I've seen the world and paid for

it. I don't want anything from you. You undoubtedly

share my grandfather's idea of me that I'm a wild man

who can't sit still or lead an orderly, decent life; but

I'm going to give you a terrible disappointment. What's

the size of the estate?"

Pickering eyed me-uneasily, I thought-and began

playing with a pencil. I never liked Pickering's hands;

they were thick and white and better kept than I like

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to see a man's hands.

"I fear it's going to be disappointing. In his trust-company

boxes here I have been able to find only about

ten thousand dollars' worth of securities. Possibly-

quite possibly-we were all deceived in the amount of

his fortune. Sister Theresa wheedled large sums out of

him, and he spent, as you will see, a small fortune on

the house at Annandale without finishing it. It wasn't

a cheap proposition, and in its unfinished condition it is

practically valueless. You must know that Mr. Glenarm

gave away a great deal of money in his lifetime. Moreover,

he established your father. You know what he

left,-it was not a small fortune as those things are

reckoned."

I was restless under this recital. My father's estate

had been of respectable size, and I had dissipated the

whole of it. My conscience pricked me as I recalled an

item of forty thousand dollars that I had spent-somewhat

grandly-on an expedition that I led, with considerable

satisfaction to myself, at least, through the

Sudan. But Pickering's words amazed me.

"Let me understand you," I said, bending toward

him. "My grandfather was supposed to be rich, and

yet you tell me you find little property. Sister Theresa

got money from him to help build a school. How much

was that?"

"Fifty thousand dollars. It was an open account.

His books show the advances, but he took no notes."

"And that claim is worth-?"

"It is good as against her individually. But she contends-"

"Yes, go on!"

I had struck the right note. He was annoyed at my

persistence and his apparent discomfort pleased me.

"She refuses to pay. She says Mr. Glenarm made her

a gift of the money."

"That's possible, isn't it? He was for ever making

gifts to churches. Schools and theological seminaries

were a sort of weakness with him."

"That is quite true, but this account is among the

assets of the estate. It's my business as executor to collect

it."




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