"To what decision have you come, Mr. Grey?" asked the lawyer.
"What terms do you offer?"
"Silence, provided you surrender the estate at once."
"It will render me penniless."
"At what do you estimate the value of the estate?"
"One hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
"This is about the figure at which my client estimated it. I am authorized by him to offer you ten thousand dollars in hand, and an annual income of two thousand dollars upon the acknowledgment without delay of the rightfulness of his claim."
It was more than Mr. Grey hoped for. He judged his nephew by himself, and doubted, especially after his attempt upon his life, whether he would not leave him to the bitterness of utter poverty.
"I accept the terms," he said, briefly.
"Then the proper papers shall be made out at once."