"I have spent all I had," I replied amiably. "Thank
God I'm not a clam! I've seen the world and paid for
it. I don't want anything from you. You undoubtedly
share my grandfather's idea of me that I'm a wild man
who can't sit still or lead an orderly, decent life; but
I'm going to give you a terrible disappointment. What's
the size of the estate?"
Pickering eyed me-uneasily, I thought-and began
playing with a pencil. I never liked Pickering's hands;
they were thick and white and better kept than I like
to see a man's hands.
"I fear it's going to be disappointing. In his trust-company
boxes here I have been able to find only about
ten thousand dollars' worth of securities. Possibly-
quite possibly-we were all deceived in the amount of
his fortune. Sister Theresa wheedled large sums out of
him, and he spent, as you will see, a small fortune on
the house at Annandale without finishing it. It wasn't
a cheap proposition, and in its unfinished condition it is
practically valueless. You must know that Mr. Glenarm
gave away a great deal of money in his lifetime. Moreover,
he established your father. You know what he
left,-it was not a small fortune as those things are
reckoned."
I was restless under this recital. My father's estate
had been of respectable size, and I had dissipated the
whole of it. My conscience pricked me as I recalled an
item of forty thousand dollars that I had spent-somewhat
grandly-on an expedition that I led, with considerable
satisfaction to myself, at least, through the
Sudan. But Pickering's words amazed me.
"Let me understand you," I said, bending toward
him. "My grandfather was supposed to be rich, and
yet you tell me you find little property. Sister Theresa
got money from him to help build a school. How much
was that?"
"Fifty thousand dollars. It was an open account.
His books show the advances, but he took no notes."
"And that claim is worth-?"
"It is good as against her individually. But she contends-"
"Yes, go on!"
I had struck the right note. He was annoyed at my
persistence and his apparent discomfort pleased me.
"She refuses to pay. She says Mr. Glenarm made her
a gift of the money."
"That's possible, isn't it? He was for ever making
gifts to churches. Schools and theological seminaries
were a sort of weakness with him."
"That is quite true, but this account is among the
assets of the estate. It's my business as executor to collect
it."