la wass to come to you and say she did not believe it, and she
would not hef the money from you, you would hef to keep it, eh?"

Ingram's sallow face blushed crimson. "I don't know what you mean," he
said stiffly. "Do you propose to pervert the girl's mind and make me a
party to a fraud?"

"Oh, there is no use getting into an anger," said Mackenzie suavely,
"when common sense will do as well whatever. And there wass no
perversion and there wass no fraud talked about. It wass just this,
Mr. Ingram, that if the old lady's will leaves you her property, who
will you be getting to believe that she did not mean to give it to
you?"

"I tell you now whom she meant to give it to," said Ingram, still
somewhat hotly.

"Oh yes--oh yes, that is ferry well. But who will believe it?"

"Good Heavens, sir! who will believe I could be such a fool as to
fling away this property if it belonged to me?"

"They will think you a fool to do it now--yes, that is sure enough,"
said Mackenzie.

"I don't care what they think. And it seems rather odd, Mr. Mackenzie,
that you should be trying to deprive your own daughter of what belongs
to her."

"Oh, my daughter is ferry well off whatever: she does not want any
one's money," said Mackenzie. And then a new notion struck him: "Will
you tell me this, Mr. Ingram? If Mrs. Lavender left you her property
in this way, what for did she want to change her will, eh?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I refused to take the responsibility.
She was anxious to have this money given to Sheila, so that Lavender
should not touch it; and I don't think it was a wise intention, for
there is not a prouder man in the world than Lavender, and I know that
Sheila would not consent to hold a penny that did not equally belong
to him. However, that was her notion, and I was the first victim of
it. I protested against it, and I suppose that set her to inquiring
whether the money could not be absolutely bequeathed to Sheila direct.
I don't know anything about it myself; but that's how the matter
stands, as far as I am concerned."

"But you will think it over, Mr. Ingram," said Mackenzie quietly--"you
will think it over, and be in no hurry. It is not every man that hass
a lot of money given to him. And it is no wrong to my Sheila at all,
for she will hef quite plenty; and she would be ferry sorry to take
the money away from you, that is sure enough; and you will not be
hasty, Mr. Ingram, but be cautious and reasonable, a