what a boy can do! No, he shall not gain his
point. Possession is nine points of the law, and possession is mine. If
he undertakes to oust me, he must be careful, for I have not lived in
luxury, and grown accustomed to it for years, to resign it quietly now.
If it is going to be a fight, it shall be a desperate one."

One of the smaller mortifications which Mr. Grey experienced was that
of paying Maurice Walton a hundred and ten dollars, without receiving
any benefit from the outlay.

"I'd get the money back, if I could," he thought, but reflection
convinced him that this would be impossible. Besides, the best way to
secure Maurice's continued silence, was to leave him in undisturbed
possession of the money.

"After all, there's one good thing about him," considered Mr. Grey, "he
hates my rascally nephew. For that alone I make him welcome to the
money, though he has done me no good."

How should he carry on the campaign? That was the first thing to be
considered. Evidently his policy was to be passive. He must remain on
the defensive, leaving the aggressive part of the conflict to his
nephew. First in the programme, he determined to leave Cincinnati at
once, so that no legal process might be served upon him.

"Fortunately, the boy does not know where I live, nor can his employer
give him any clew, as he, too, is ignorant of it. If he takes the
trouble to call upon me again, he will find the bird flown."

James Grey was a man of quick action. He no sooner came to this
determination than he proceeded to carry it out. Proceeding to the
clerk's desk, he announced his immediate departure. Then, taking care
not to order a hotel carriage, lest this should afford a clew to his
destination, he left the hotel with his carpet-bag in his hand, and
took a cab from the next street. He was driven direct to the depot,
and, in a few minutes, was on his way westward.

"How lucky it was that I took the paper from my trunk," thought
Gilbert, as he left the hotel. "Probably it would, by this time, have
been destroyed, had it come into my uncle's possession. I think I'm a
little ahead of him, this time."

Gilbert was not intimidated, nor were his resolutions shaken by the
defiant tone in which his uncle had spoken to him. He was a spirited
boy, and he meant to stick to his rights, as he understood them. He was
not one to be browbeaten or cheated, and he resolved to fight out the
battle.

"I will call on my uncle to-morrow evening