"What is plain enough?"
"Have you the papers, Bilton? That's good. Yes, I have everything here. This is the last will of Mr. Faversham—a plain, straightforward will in many ways, although slightly involved in others. However——"
The lawyer untied some tape, and began scanning some documents.
"However what?" asked Dick, who by this time was almost beside himself with impatience.
"By the way, you can easily put your hand on your birth certificate, as well as the death certificate of your father, I suppose?"
"Quite easily."
"Of course you can. The fact that I have known you for some time makes things far easier, far less—complicated. Otherwise a great many formalities would have to be gone into before—in short, Mr. Richard Faversham, I have great pleasure in congratulating you on being the heir to a fine fortune—a very fine fortune."
Mr. Bidlake smiled benignly.
"My uncle's fortune?"
"Your uncle's estate—yes. He was a very rich man."