“Yes; but we must have some pretty strong arguments. Now, have you any idea why Maida has——”
“Has picked him up with the tongs? I have a very decided idea! In fact, I know.”
“It is. Such a big secret, that if it leaked out, the whole universe, so far as it affects the Wheeler family, would be turned topsy-turvy!”
“Connected with the—the death of Mr. Appleby?”
“Not with the murder—if that’s what you mean. But it was because of the death of Mr. Appleby that the secret came to light.”
“Why—only if you could do what you sort of suggested—make Mr. Keefe resume his attentions to poor little Genevieve and leave the lovely Maida to you.”
“Dunno, I’m sure! Do you want me to tell you the secret, and then try to get my own reward by my own efforts?”
“Oh, I don’t know what I want! I’m nearly distracted. But”—he pulled himself together—“I’m on the job! And I’m going to accomplish something—a lot! Now, I’m not going to dicker with you. Size it up for yourself. Don’t you believe that if you told me that secret—confidentially—except as it can be used in the furtherance of right and happiness for all concerned—don’t you believe that I might use it in a way that would incidentally result in a better adjustment of the present Keefe-Wheeler combination?” He nodded toward the two under the sycamore.
“Maybe,” Genevieve said, slowly and thoughtfully, “I thought of telling Mr. Stone—but——”
“I will; I have confidence in you, Mr. Allen, and, too, it may be a good thing to keep the secret in the family. The truth is, then, that Mrs. Wheeler is not legally the heir to this estate.”
“She is, if she lives in Massachusetts, and the house is so built——”
“Oh, fiddlesticks! I don’t mean that part of it. The estate is left with the proviso that the inheritor shall live in Massachusetts—but, what I mean is, that it isn’t left to Mrs. Wheeler at all. She thought it was, of course—but there is another heir.”
“Is there? I’ve often heard them speak of such a possibility but they never could find a trace of one.”
“I know it, and they’re so honest that if they knew of one they’d put up no fight. I mean if they knew there is a real heir, and that Sara Wheeler is not the right inheritor.”
“I am. I discovered it from Mr. Appleby’s private papers, since his death.”