"I was very well paid for a boy. When I left Oreville I was worth a thousand dollars."

"That is well, but it is only a drop in the bucket compared with the fortune you are entitled to."

"Now held by Mr. Stephen Ray?"

"Yes; he will be surprised to see you here in the East."

"He has seen me," said Ernest, quickly.

"What!" exclaimed the lawyer. "You have not called upon him?"

"No. I met him on the train and afterwards at a Buffalo hotel. My cousin Clarence was with him."

"Did you have any conference with them?"

"I talked with Clarence, not with his father."

"Did you think the father knew you?"