"`Come, come,' says I, `civility, you know, between pals. What have I
done to your mother?'

"`You needn't try to deceive me, Paul,' says he, tryin' to keep his
temper down. `Mother's bin took bad, wi' over-excitement, the doctor
says, an' she's told me all about the fortin an' the will, an' where
Betty is down at Brighton.'

"`My Betty at Brighton!' says I--pretendin' great surprise, for I had a
darter at that time whom I had called after your mother, for that was
her name too--but she's dead, poor thing!--she was dyin' in hospital at
the very time we was speakin', though I didn't know at the time that her
end was so near--`my Betty at Brighton!' says I. `Why, she's in
hospital. Bin there for some weeks.'

"`I don't mean _your_ brat, but my sister,' says Edwin, quite fierce.
`Where have you put her? What's the name of the school? What have you
done wi' the will?'

"`You'd better ax your mother,' says I. `It's likely that she knows the
partiklers better nor me.'

"He lost patience altogether at this, an' sprang at me like a tiger.
But I was ready for him. We had a regular set-to then an' there. By
good luck there was no weapons of any kind in the room, not even a table
knife, for I'd had to pawn a'most everything to pay my rent, and the
clasp-knife I'd eat my breakfast with was in my pocket. But we was both
handy with our fists. We kep' at it for about half an hour. Smashed
all the furniture, an' would have smashed the winders too, but there was
only one, an' it was a skylight. In the middle of it the door was burst
open, an' in rushed half a dozen bobbies, who put a stop to it at once.

"`We're only havin' a friendly bout wi' the gloves,' says I, smilin'
quite sweet.

"`I don't see no gloves,' says the man as held me.

"`That's true,' says I, lookin' at my hands. `They must have dropped
off an' rolled up the chimbly.'

"`Hallo! Edwin Buxley!' said the sargeant, lookin' earnestly at your
brother; `why you've bin wanted for some time. Here, Joe! the
bracelets.'

"In half a minute he was marched off. `I'll have your blood, Paul, for
this,' he said bitterly, looking back as he went out.

"As _I_ wasn't `wanted' just then, I went straight off to see your
mother, to find out how much she had told to Edwin, for, from what he
had said, I feared she must have told all. I was anxious, also, to see
if she'd bin really ill. When I got to the house I met a nurse who said
she was dyin', an' would h