noticed his manner, and he said to himself: "He is willing to
have me visit Savannah. It is clear that Ernest did not die there."

Benjamin Bolton left the house in a pleasant frame of mind. It was not the
sum which he had received that exhilarated him. He looked upon it only as
the first installment. It was clear that Stephen Ray feared him, for he
was not an open-handed man, and would not have parted with his money
unnecessarily.

Bolton had not arranged his campaign, but he was determined to raise
himself in the world by playing on the fears of the man he had just
visited.

"I wonder," he said to himself, "whether Dudley Ray's son is dead. If so
the document is of no value, and though I should prefer to have it, I
won't insist. He was a strong and healthy boy, and he may still be
living."

This was a point not easy to ascertain.

He went to a restaurant and obtained a substantial meal, of which he stood
very much in need. Then he went out for a stroll. He did not propose to
leave the place yet.

As he was walking along he met Clarence Ray again, but not now on his
wheel. The boy recognized him.

"Are you going to stay in town?" asked Clarence curiously.

"Not long."

"Did you get through your business with pa?"

"Yes, for the present. I suppose you know that you have a cousin about
your own age. I used to know him and his father."

"Did you? His father is dead."

"So I have understood. Do you happen to know where the son is?"

"Somewhere out West, I think."

Bolton pricked up his ears. So it seemed that Stephen Ray had deceived
him.

"I would give five dollars to know where he is," he said slowly.

"Have you got five dollars?" Clarence asked doubtfully.

By way of answer Bolton took a roll of bills from his pocket. They were
those which Stephen Ray had given him.

"Do you mean it?" asked Clarence in a more respectful tone.

"Yes, I mean it."

"Why didn't you ask pa?"

"He never liked the boy nor his father, and I don't think he would tell
me."

"That is true. He didn't like either of them."

"I suppose you couldn't find out for me?"

"I don't know but I could," answered Clarence brusquely.

He had a special use for five dollars, and it struck him that he might
just as well earn the money offered by the stranger.

"If you could I would cheerfully pay you the five dollars. You see I used
to know Ernest Ray and his father, and I would be pleased to meet them
again."

"Just so," said