'O!' said the lawyer.
'Well,' began Miss Jane, but stopped short, not sure what to say or think.
Lee surpassed himself at this juncture. Not a feature of his face showed he was at a loss. He turned to Miss Jane and asked in a sort of parenthesis, 'What were you going to say?'
'O!' said Miss Jane, 'I think, and I always told William, that although nothing has been heard of Robert for thirty years, he may still be alive. William said that he died to the family when he became a prodigal, and forbade his name to be mentioned. I thought that uncharitable.'
'Ay,' said Lee indifferently. 'Of course, I agreed with William.'
It was very successful.
'But,' said Mr. Linty, 'We must speak of him, for, if he is alive the estate is his. Do you know anything of him?'
'No,' said Lee; 'but as we have not heard of him for thirty years, we may reasonably suppose him dead.'
'By no means. That cannot even be taken as presumptive evidence. If there were seventy years from the birth of your brother there would be no difficulty, but if he is alive he will only be fifty-five. I am afraid the estate will require to be "hung up"—put into the hands of trustees.'
'Well, sir,' said Lee, rising, 'your contribution to this work is wholly unexpected, but likely to produce most interesting complications. I am indeed much obliged to you. There is nothing original in it, but a missing heir is a very good thing to fall back on.'