Their duty to the dead was over, and now, as arm in arm they retraced their steps to the silent house, Dr. Seward again related the particulars of Elizabeth Merril's disappearance and his subsequent discoveries, while the astute lawyer, bristling with legal eagerness, listened and drew silent conclusions from the physician's limited stock of information.
The purport of the simple will was as follows:—
The sum of five thousand pounds, together with the house in G—— St., with its furnishings, were to be kept in trust for their missing granddaughter, Elizabeth Merril, in case the reports of her death should prove unfounded, but if at the end of ten years no trace of her could be discovered, both house and money were subject to the wills and dispositions of the worthy lawyer and physician who were made joint administrators by this last will and testament of the deceased.
Almost certain that Elizabeth Merril or Maynard still lived, the lawyer promptly undertook the difficult matter of finding and restoring her, as rightful heir, to the modest possessions of her lamented grandparents.
Meanwhile, Dr. Seward, acting upon a much desired plan, made prompt arrangements for an extended vacation, and great was the surprise in his mechanical household when he announced his intention of visiting America.
He felt that Sir Frederic and Mrs. Sinclair should be consulted at once regarding the secret marriage, so placing the valuable paper in his steamer trunk, he boarded the fleetest greyhound and was soon far away upon his long anticipated journey across the Atlantic.
CHAPTER XXIX. THE HOME IN NEW YORK.
'Tis woman's best and sweetest claim