Andrew made an abrupt movement, and Whitney looked puzzled.
"That's pretty hard to understand. His is not the kind of life they'd take except at a big premium."
"It gave me something to think about and I have no' come to the bottom o' it yet. It's possible the insurance was effected some time ago, before Dick's weakness had developed. His parents were sound and it was long before we suspected there was anything wrong with him. However, I had an interview with the company's local agent and afterward with the Edinburgh manager."
"What did you learn?" Andrew asked.
"Nothing much. In fact, I'm thinking I met my match; the heads o' that office are men o' some ability, and I had no good ground for interference. For a' that, they know something and if it was offered the bank in the way o' business, I would not make a big advance against the policy."
"In whose favor is it drawn?" Whitney asked.
"I canno' tell ye; they were verra reserved gentlemen, but the name would no' be Staffer's, though the transaction would be ultimately to his benefit. Mr. Staffer's a man o' retiring habits."
Andrew was silent for a minute and then looked up.
"I see now that I have suspected something like this from the beginning," he said. "What are we to do?"
Mackellar's face hardened.