“Now don’t be rash, son,” she advised him. “The land was not actually deeded to these two men. It was only to go to them in trust for you and me. Your father’s idea was, as I understand it, that Captain Hawkesbury and Mr. Doolittle could make a better bargain with the railroad people than we could. So he made this deed in trust.”
“And is this how those two—those two men—” Tom controlled his words by an effort—“is this how they got the property away from us—through that deed of trust?”
“I don’t know, Tom,” said Mrs. Taylor simply. “All I have to go by is the rough draft of the deed of trust. Whether your father carried out his idea as outlined in that, I cannot say. The plan was probably a good one, but it failed as far as we are concerned. I mean we have derived no benefit from the land.”
“No, but we will, Mother!” Tom exclaimed, vigorously.
“What do you mean?” Mrs. Taylor was startled.
“I mean I am going to see Mr. Doolittle, and ask him about this deed of trust. If he and Captain Hawkesbury held the land in that way they should turn over to us the money they got from the railroad company. It must be a large sum. Why, it’s just as if they were the guardians of the land for our benefit.”
“Yes, Tom, that is if your father carried out his idea. But I have no means of knowing whether he did or not. I have searched all through his papers, but I found nothing more on the subject. I don’t see what we can do, but I thought I had better tell you of it.”
“I am very glad you did, Mother,” Tom said, quietly.
“I only discovered the draft a few days before I wrote to you,” Tom’s mother said. “But it all seems so useless.”
“No, it isn’t!” he exclaimed, earnestly. “I’m going to do something.”