"So Farrington holds a mortgage on your home?" said Denny. "I didn't know that. He's pretty rich, I hear. I remember the time, though, when people thought your father was his partner in some of his bond deals."
"Yes, mother supposed so, too," said Ralph.
"Your father put him onto the good thing the railroad was, first of all. I know that much," declared Denny.
"It looks as if my father lost all his holdings just before he died," said Ralph.
"Then Farrington got them, I'll wager that--the sly old fox!" commented Denny, who was generally strong in his personal convictions.
"Well, some day, when I am in a position to do so, I'm going to have Mr. Gasper Farrington hauled into court about the matter," observed Ralph. "If he has anything belonging to my mother and me, we want it."
"It seems to me you ought to find something among your father's papers shedding light on the subject?" suggested Denny.
"It looks as if my father had had blind confidence in Mr. Farrington," said Ralph.
"Yes, the old fox has a way of winding himself around his victims," declared the outspoken watchman. "I remember a fellow he wound up good and proper, about three years ago."
"Who was that?" asked Ralph.