He put out his hand and
said laughingly, "Oh, it's all paid for- I am afraid you do not know
that Mr. Overton has handed over to me Aunt Alethea's money."
Theobald flushed scarlet. "But why," he said, and these were the
first words that actually crossed his lips- "if the money was not
his to keep, did he not hand it over to my brother John and me?" He
stammered a good deal and looked sheepish, but he got the words out.
"Because, my dear father," said Ernest still laughing, "my aunt left
it to him in trust for me, not in trust either for you or for my Uncle
John- and it has accumulated till it is now over L70,000. But tell
me how is my mother?"
"No, Ernest," said Theobald excitedly, "the matter cannot rest here;
I must know that this is all open and above board."
This had the true Theobald ring and instantly brought the whole
train of ideas which in Ernest's mind were connected with his
father. The surroundings were the old familiar ones, but the
surrounded were changed almost beyond power of recognition. He
turned sharply on Theobald in a moment. I will not repeat the words he
used, for they came out before he had time to consider them, and
they might strike some of my readers as disrespectful; there were
not many of them, but they were effectual.
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