Octagon's consent
unless I help you."

"You!" echoed Mallow, astonished and annoyed. "What possible influence
can you have with Mrs. Octagon. I have certainly seen you at her
house, but I scarcely think you know her well enough--"

"Oh, yes, I do." Hale rose in his earnestness. "See here, sir; I love
Maraquito and I wish to marry her."

"You can, so far as I am concerned,"

"So you say," said Hale bitterly, "but you cannot be ignorant that
Maraquito loves you."

"I don't see what that has to do with our conversation," replied
Mallow, growing red and restless.

"It has everything to do with the matter. I want to marry Maraquito,
as I am rich and deeply in love with her. She would have become my
wife long ago but that you crossed her path. Lord knows why she should
love a commonplace man like you, but she does."

"Isn't that rather personal?" said Mallow dryly.

"I beg your pardon. But what I wish to say is this. If you marry Miss
Saxon and place yourself beyond Maraquito's reach, I will be able to
induce her to marry me. Our interests are bound up together. Now, to
do this you must have Mrs. Octagon's consent. I can get it."

"In what way?"

"She loves Basil, her son, more than she does herself," went on Hale,
paying no attention to the remark. "To save him she would do much."

"To save him from what?"

"Basil;" continued the lawyer, still not noticing the interruption, "is
a young fool. He thought himself sure of Miss Loach's money--and he
was until a week before she died. Then he came to Rose Cottage and
insulted her--"

"I have heard that. She ordered him out of the house."

"She did. Miss Loach was a bitter, acrid old woman when the fit took
her. However, Basil insulted her so grossly that she made a new will
and left all the money to Miss Saxon. Now it happens that Basil, to
supply himself with funds, when his aunt refused to aid his
extravagance further, forged her name to a bill--What's the matter?"

"Nothing," said Mallow, who had started from his chair, "only your
intelligence is sufficiently unpleasant."

"I can understand that," sneered the lawyer, "since you wish to marry
his sister. You don't want a forger for a brother-in-law."

"Who does?" said Cuthbert, not telling that he was thinking of Basil in
connection with a still darker crime. "Go on, Mr. Hale."

"The bill fell into my hands. When Miss Saxon got the money she
transferred the business to her own lawyer. I