Mrs. Walker laughed scornfully. "I believe you know the reason why the cross is so valuable," she snapped.
"Yes, he does," chimed in Lesbia, who was determined to learn the reason of all this mystery. "He says that if produced it will bring him two thousand a year."
"Lesbia!" Hale jumped to his feet and looked furious. "How dare you?"
"How dare I?" she cried, rising in her turn. "Because you will not trust me, father, and I am in the dark. The cross is mine, and I have a right to know all that concerns it. Does the production of the cross mean gain to my father of two thousand a year?" she asked the lawyer.
"It means that if a certain person produces the cross to me," explained Mr. Jabez, "fifty thousand pounds will----"
"Let me explain," interrupted Mrs. Walker sharply. "Lesbia, the cross is needed to prove the identity of my sister Kate. My father left her the sum of fifty thousand pounds. She eloped with a man of whom he disapproved, and has not appeared to claim the money. We don't know if she is living or dead, and----"
"Ah!" broke in Hale, "this is what George told me."
"Yes," flashed out Mrs. Walker, turning towards him, "and for that reason you know the value of the cross."
"Oh," Hale shrugged his shoulders, "I knew that long ago."
"Then why did you not produce it?"