"So you're afraid the boy'll turn up, ma'am?" asked Rudolph.
"Precisely."
"Then why do you look for him?"
"I want to guard against his ever turning up. I hoped you would be able to tell me he was dead."
"He don't know about the property."
"But he might have learned, or you might. My husband, with the idea of reparation, left the property to me, in trust, but if it should ever be fully ascertained that the boy had died, then it was to be mine absolutely. There must be clear proof."
"I begin to see what you're driving at, ma'am."
"You say the boy is alive?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"And well?"