t hundred dollars."

"Damme!" muttered Mr. Tuckerman Toddleham. "More than you could
earn in the first five years at the law!"

"See here," I interrupted, "do you seriously mean that except for
fifty dollars or so there is nothing coming to me out of my
grandfather's estate? Why, he was worth over a million!"

"That is exactly what I mean," he returned. "He left you nothing
except an allowance for your education during your good behavior.
He made me the judge. I'm your trustee and I can't conscientiously
let you have any more money to drink up and gamble with. It's over
and done with." He rapped with an air of finality on his desk with
the little bronze horse.

"Who gets all the money?" I asked ruefully.

"The Society for the Propagation of Free Thinking," he answered,
eyeing me sharply.

"I should think anything like that ought to be contrary to law!"
I retorted. "It ought to be a crime to encourage atheism."

"It's a good devise under our statutes!" he answered dryly. "I
suppose your own faith is beautiful enough, eh?"

I did not respond, but sat twisting my hat in my hands. Through
the open window the soft damp odors of spring came in and mingled
with the dusty smell of law books. So this was law! It suddenly
struck me that I was taking the loss of over a million dollars very
resignedly. How did I know whether the old boy was telling me the
truth or not? He had drawn the will and got a good fee for it.
Certainly he was not going to admit that there was anything invalid
about it. Why not study law--I might as well do that as anything
--and find out for myself? It was a game worth playing. The stakes
were a million dollars and the forfeit nothing. As I looked around
the little office and at the weazened old barrister before me,
something of the fascination of the law took hold of me.

"I rather think I should like to study law myself," I remarked.

He looked at me out of the corners of his bead-like little eyes.

"And break your gran'ther's will, mebbe?" he inquired slyly.

"If I can," I retorted defiantly.

"That would be better than fighting cocks and frittering your time
away with play actors," said he.

"Mr. Toddleham," I returned, "if I will agree to turn over a new
leaf and give up my present associates, will you continue my
allowance and let me stay on in Cambridge and study law?"

"If you will agree to enter my office and study under my supervision
--yes."

Once more I glan