Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III I ACCEPT THE OFFER I DO not know how others might have looked upon such a proposition as this, but it never occurred to me at the time to doubt the honesty of Vail's statement, nor could I perceive any great wrong in the action so calmly proposed. This was Philip Henley's property; his father undoubtedly intended he should inherit it, and the poor devil was utterly unable to comply with the terms of the will. The very fact that he possessed sufficient pride to part with the inheritance rather than openly reveal his disgrace, appealed strongly. That sort of fellow must have a strain of manhood in him. If I could serve him, save the property for him, at almost no danger to myself, and make a tidy sum of money doing it, why shouldn't I consent? I saw no reason for refusal. To be sure the method was not lawful, yet was advised by a lawyer, and agreed to by the administrators. Besides, the keeping of a few promiscuous charities out of such a gift did not seem especially wrong — I knew nothing, cared nothing fortheir loss. They were but names of no significance. Vail, watching the expression of my face in the light, seemed to divine my thoughts. " Evidently you are recovering your good sense," he remarked easily. " There is no use acting like a fool in a matter of this kind. You are lucky to fall into such a chance. You 'll act, I take it? " " Yes," the word was out almost before I was aware of speaking. " Sensible decision, my man," his face lighting up. " Now there is no need of our meeting again, or being seen together. The more quiet we can keep our plans, the better it will be for all concerned. Neale, hand Craig your copy of the articles of administration, and of the will." I took these and read them over carefully, yet without fully comprehending the...