“Insult him? Him? Ha, ha! Why, Mater, what’s the matter with you? Do you imagine that a hayseed like that would recognize an insult without an introduction? And, besides, what difference does it make? You don’t intend putting him on your calling list, do you?”
“I intend cultivating him for the present.”
“Cultivating him?”
“Yes—for the present. He is Rodgers Warren’s brother. That lawyer, Graves, traveled miles to see him. What does that mean? That, in some important way, he is connected with the estate and those two children. If the estate is worth anything, and we have reason to believe it is, you and I must know it. If it isn’t, it is even more important that we should know, before we waste more time. If Caroline is an heiress, if she inherits even a moderate fortune—”
She shrugged her shoulders by way of finish to the sentence.
Malcolm whistled.
“But to think of that old Down-Easter being related to the Warren family!” he mused. “It seems impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible,” observed his mother. Then, with a shudder, “You never met your father’s relatives. I have.”
When Captain Elisha emerged from his room, after a wash and a change of linen, he found the library untenanted. He strolled about, his hands behind him, inspecting the pictures with critical interest. Caroline, dressed for dinner, found him thus engaged. He turned at the sound of her step.