ard-room and
Mr. Prince's bed-room and office remained intact, and in the latter,
one stormy afternoon, Mr. Prince himself sat busy over his books and
papers. His station-wagon, splashed and streaked with mud, stood in
the court-yard, just as it had been driven from the station, and the
smell of the smoke of newly-lit fires showed that the house had been
opened only for this hurried visit of its owner.

The tramping of horse hoofs in the court-yard was soon followed by
steps along the corridor, and the servant ushered Captain Carroll into
the presence of his master. The Captain did not remove his military
overcoat, but remained standing erect in the centre of the room, with
his forage cap in his hand.

"I could have given you a lift from the station," said Prince, "if you
had come that way. I've only just got in myself."

"I preferred to ride," said Carroll, dryly.

"Sit down by the fire," said Prince, motioning to a chair, "and dry
yourself."

"I must ask you first the purport of this interview," said Carroll,
curtly, "before I prolong it further. You have asked me to come here
in reference to certain letters I returned to their rightful owner some
months ago. If you seek to reclaim them again, or to refer to a
subject which must remain forgotten, I decline to proceed further."

"It DOES refer to the letters, and it rests with you whether they shall
be forgotten or not. It is not my fault if the subject has been
dropped. You must remember that until yesterday you have been absent
on a tour of inspection and could not be applied to before."

Carroll cast a cold glance at Prince, and then threw himself into a
chair, with his overcoat still on and his long military boots crossed
before the fire. Sitting there in profile Prince could not but notice
that he looked older and sterner than at their last interview, and his
cheeks were thinned as if by something more than active service.

"When you were here last summer," began Prince, leaning forward over
his desk, "you brought me a piece of news that astounded me, as it did
many others. It was the assignment of Dr. West's property to Mrs.
Saltonstall. That was something there was no gainsaying; it was a
purely business affair, and involved nobody's rights but the assignor.
But this was followed, a day or two after, by the announcement of the
Doctor's will, making the same lady the absolute and sole inheritor of
the same property. That seemed all right too;