to a penciled
memorandum on its back.

"Captain Warren," he began, slowly, "as you know, and as directed by
you, my partners here and I have been engaged for months in carefully
going over your brother's effects, estimating values, tabulating and
sorting his various properties and securities, separating the good from
the worthless--and there was, as we saw at a glance, a surprising amount
of the latter--"

"Um-hm," interrupted the captain, "Cut Short bonds and the like of that.
I know. Excuse me. Go on."

"Yes. Precisely. And there were many just as valueless. But we have been
gradually getting those out of the way and listing and appraising the
remainder. It was a tangle. Your brother's business methods, especially
of late years, were decidedly unsystematic and slipshod. It may have
been the condition of his health which prevented his attending to them
as he should. Or," he hesitated slightly, "it may have been that he was
secretly in great trouble and mental distress. At all events, the task
has been a hard one for us. But, largely owing to Graves and his patient
work, our report was practically ready a month ago."

He paused. Captain Elisha, who had been listening attentively, nodded.

"Yes," he said; "you told me 'twas. What does the whole thing tot up to?
What's the final figger, Mr. Graves?"

The junior partner adjusted his eyeglasses to his thin nose.

"I have them here," he said. "The list of securities, et cetera, is
rather long, but--"

"Never mind them now, Graves," interrupted Kuhn. "The amount, roughly
speaking, is close to over our original estimate, half a million."

The captain drew a breath of relief. "Well," he exclaimed, "that's all
right then, ain't it? That's no poorhouse pension."

Sylvester answered. "Yes," he said, "that's all right, as far as it
goes."

"Humph! Well, I cal'late _I_ could make it go to the end of the route;
and then have enough left for a return ticket. Say!" with another look
at the solemn faces of the three, "what _is_ the row? If the estate is
wuth ha'f a million, what's the matter with it?"

"That is what we are here this morning to discuss, Captain. A month ago,
as I said, we considered our report practically ready. Then we suddenly
happened on the trail of something which, upon investigation, upset all
our calculations. If true, it threatened, not to mention its effect upon
the estate, to prove so distressing and painful to us, Rodgers Warren's
friends and l