arious plans and matters of the future. And he was taking a
quiet cup of tea with her at five o'clock when Kitteridge came in with a
telegram for him. He opened it with trembling fingers and read:

_"Barthorpe entered caveat in Probate Registry at half-past
three this afternoon.--Halfpenny."_

CHAPTER XVIII

THE ROSEWOOD BOX

Mr. Tertius dropped the telegram on the little table at which he and
Peggie were sitting, and betrayed his feelings with a deep groan.
Peggie, who was just about to give him his second cup of tea, set down
her teapot and jumped to his side.

"Oh, what is it!" she exclaimed. "Some bad news? Please--"

Mr. Tertius pulled himself together and tried to smile.

"You must forgive me, my dear," he said, with a feeble attempt to speak
cheerily. "I--the truth is, I think I have lived in such a state of ease
and--yes, luxury, for so many years that I am not capable of readily
bearing these trials and troubles. I'm ashamed of myself--I must be
braver--not so easily affected."

"But--the telegram?" said Peggie.

Mr. Tertius handed it to her with a dismal shake of his head.

"I suppose it's only what was to be expected, after all that Halfpenny
told me this afternoon," he remarked. "But I scarcely thought it would
occur so soon. My dear, I am afraid you must prepare yourself for a
great deal of unpleasantness and worry. Your cousin seems to be
determined to give much trouble. Extraordinary!--most extraordinary! My
dear, I confess I do not understand it."

Peggie had picked up the telegram and was reading it with knitted brow.

"'Barthorpe entered caveat in Probate Registry at half-past three this
afternoon,'" she slowly repeated. "But what does that mean, Mr. Tertius?
Something to do with the will?"

"A great deal to do with the will, I fear!" replied Mr. Tertius,
lugubriously. "A caveat, my dear, is some sort of process--I'm sure I
don't know whether it's given by word of mouth, or if it's a document--by
which the admission to probate of a dead person's last will and testament
can be stopped. In plain language," continued Mr. Tertius, "your cousin
Barthorpe has been to the Probate Registry and done something to prevent
Mr. Halfpenny from proving the will. It is a wicked action on his
part--and, considering that he is a solicitor, and that he saw the
will with his own eyes, it is, as I have previously remarked, most
extraordinary!"

"And all this means--what?" asked Peggie.

"