“Child, child,” Miss Susanna had now dropped to the floor and sat hugging the paper-filled little drawer. “There was a false bottom to that stand, and I never even suspected it. It belonged to Angela Vernon’s great-grand-mother. Those were the palmy days of such secret devices. How ever did you happen to hit upon the mechanism?”
“I don’t know. I might ask however did the mechanism happen to hit me?” Marjorie returned, face glowing with the happiness of the unexpected discovery.
“We’ll take the drawer to the study at once and go over these papers. Come along, Chickie.” Miss Susanna started from the room with a degree of triumphant briskness.
“Just as I imagined,” she said an hour later as she laid the penned agreement made between her kinsman and Lawyer Norris upon the table. “This agreement distinctly specifies that, in the event of Uncle Brooke’s death, I was then to be apprised of this agreement and, also, that the privilege of choosing ‘the one’ was to be mine after I had reached the age of eighteen. Norris was to receive two thousand dollars a year for his services. The fifty thousand dollar check was deposited in the Surety Trust Bank of New York City. Now we shall make headway. I shall write Peter to come here at once. With the actual facts now at our command we shall be able to trace Norris’s movements, and learn what became of him and his trust after Uncle died.”
“Dear, dear Goldendede,” Marjorie rubbed a soft cheek against the old lady’s wrinkled one, “I’d rather not be the one. Please choose Leila instead. She’s done such splendid work for Hamilton.”
“It can’t be done, Marjorie.” The shadow of a frown touched Miss Hamilton’s brows. “You are the ‘one’ in the sense Uncle Brooke dreamed of; Leila is a splendid girl; a genius. Still she came to Hamilton a whole year before you came, accomplishing nothing beyond success in her college studies. Suppose I were to choose her as the ‘one’ I should meet with plenty of dissenters. Suppose I should name you. I shall, you know. No use in trying to escape me. The whole college would rise up and call me level-headed. You understand now what I mean?”
“Yes; but there’s my side, too, to consider. You must understand the way I feel about it,” Marjorie gently argued.
“You’ve often said you wished to try to carry on even a small part of Uncle Brooke’s work at Hamilton. Because you have been a devoted friend to his college you are chosen to enrich it by fifty thousand dollars. Isn’t that worth the great discomfort of having been chosen by me as the ‘One’?” There was a hint of growing irritation in the old lady’s question. She resented being crossed in so important a matter even by Marjorie.
“It’s not a great discomfort—only—. It’s not the glory of having worked for Hamilton that I care about. It’s the work itself I glory in. I wish to carry on Mr. Brooke’s work still, whenever I can. Couldn’t we have a very private presentation, Goldendede, with only you and Prexy, and the girls and a few other of my close friends in attendance?” she put wistfully.
“No; we couldn’t.” Miss Susanna laid the paper she had been examining on the table with an irritated little flip. “We may not have it at all,” she snapped as she hustled toward the door.