"The same."
"The uncle of Gilbert Grey?"
"So he says."
It was impossible to mistake the tone in which these words were spoken.
"Is he not really your nephew?" asked Maurice, in surprise.
James Grey shrugged his shoulders.
"He pretends to be; but I believe him to be an impostor."
"What makes you think so? Why should he pretend to be related to you?" asked Maurice, excited and eager.
"Because I am rich, and he has entered into a plot to extort money from me. I can make clear his design very briefly. He pretends that he is the son of my elder brother. If this be true, then the property which I possess, or a large part of it, properly belongs to him."
"But, if it isn't true, how can he make such a claim?"