“Yes, sir; but, as I said, circumstances have changed.”
“What circumstances? Because you are rich, you don’t think you ought to be idle, I hope?”
“Oh, no, sir. It is because I have discovered that I am not rich.”
“Not rich! I always understood that your father left a large estate,” said Mr. Ross, in surprise.
“So he did, sir.”
“Didn’t it descend to you?”
“I thought so till recently.”
“Why don’t you think so now?”
In answer, Hector told the story of the revelation made to him by Allan Roscoe, after his father’s death.
“You see, therefore,” he concluded, “that I am penniless, and a dependent upon Mr. Allan Roscoe’s generosity.”