"Then I will take it, glad to get that much out of you. But I'll tell you, Mr. Layton, it will not keep me from putting a lawyer on the track of this 'will' business. That much I have determined upon."
"You may have all the lawyers you want," said Mr. Layton. "If it will be of any use to you, I will get one of my own and put him on the case with you."
It must be confessed that this remark pretty nearly took Bob's breath away. He looked sharply at his uncle to see if he really meant what he said, and Mr. Layton met his gaze without flinching.
"You seem to think there is something wrong with your father's will," said the latter. "I assure you there is not. I wouldn't have touched a cent of his property if it hadn't been willed to me. I trust you know me well enough to believe that."
"Oh, yes; I know you. What I am going to find out is, whether or not the will is all right. Now, if you will count out my hundred dollars I will go up stairs and pack my luggage."
"It shall be ready for you when you come down," said Mr. Layton, with much more eagerness than he had thus far shown. "I hope you are not going away out of town, are you?"
"Oh, no; I shall be here, and give Gus another chance to kidnap me, if he wants to. I shall be at hand, too, to give that lawyer any assistance he may wish."
"I wish you would get over your idea of Gus trying to kidnap you," said Mr. Layton, impatiently. "He never did it in this world."
"Of course I will believe it when he proves it before a magistrate's court," said Bob; and he couldn't help smiling when he thought of the way his lawyer would wind him up on his cross-examination. "But he will find that a difficult thing to do."
Without waiting to hear what else his uncle had to say, Bob went up stairs to his room; and as he had not yet wholly unpacked his trunk, it did not take him long to get the things together that he wanted to take with him. One trunk generally held all the things he needed when he went to Elmwood, but this time he took three, his little fowling-piece and his fishing-rod not being forgotten. By the time he had them all packed the carriage appeared, with Ben Watson on the box beside the driver. Ben didn't hesitate to come in now, as he would if he had been alone. The house was Bob's, he could swear to that, and he had a right to go where he pleased in it.