“I must say he tried to act decent, though,” Mrs. Hallard added, “but o’ course he’d paid his money fer the prop’ty, same ’s Ed Hallard did, an’ Ed, he paid twelve thousand.”
“Yes, I know.” The stranger had the deed in his hand. “What did the man do for you?” he asked.
“Well: not much, but mebby he wouldn’t a’ done that if it hadn’t bin fer Mr. Westcott—”
“Who did you say?” The stranger’s gentle voice suddenly sharpened to keen interest.
“Ash Westcott. He was my lawyer,” Mrs. Hallard explained.
“It was he who told you about the second sale?”
“Sure! How else ’d I know?”
“I see.” He stood pondering her story until at last she took up the tale again.
“Mr. Westcott—he talked it over with the man that bought it. I didn’t have nothin’ but my word to back me; an’ as he told me, I really couldn’t make a claim, an’ I didn’t have no case to go after Oliphant with. But the other feller he give me three hundred dollars fer a quit claim, an’ that set me up here.”
“You gave a quit claim?”