CHAPTER XXI
PICKERING SERVES NOTICE
The next morning Bates placed a letter postmarked Cincinnati at my plate. I opened and read it aloud to Larry:
On Board the Heloise
December 25, 1901.
John Glenarm, Esq.,
Glenarm House,
Annandale, Wabana Co., Indiana:DEAR SIR—I have just learned from what I believe to be a trustworthy source that you have already violated the terms of the agreement under which you entered into residence on the property near Annandale, known as Glenarm House. The provisions of the will of John Marshall Glenarm are plain and unequivocal, as you undoubtedly understood when you accepted them, and your absence, not only from the estate itself, but from Wabana County, violates beyond question your right to inherit.
I, as executor, therefore demand that you at once vacate said property, leaving it in as good condition as when received by you.
Very truly yours,
Arthur Pickering,
Executor of the Estate of John Marshall Glenarm.
“Very truly the devil’s,” growled Larry, snapping his cigarette case viciously.
“How did he find out?” I asked lamely, but my heart sank like lead. Had Marian Devereux told him! How else could he know?
“Probably from the stars,—the whole universe undoubtedly saw you skipping off to meet your lady-love. Bah, these women!”
“Tut! They don’t all marry the sons of brewers,” I retorted. “You assured me once, while your affair with that Irish girl was on, that the short upper lip made Heaven seem possible, but unnecessary; then the next thing I knew she had shaken you for the bloated masher. Take that for your impertinence. But perhaps it was Bates?”
I did not wait for an answer. I was not in a mood for reflection or nice distinctions. The man came in just then with a fresh plate of toast.
“Bates, Mr. Pickering has learned that I was away from the house on the night of the attack, and I’m ordered off for having broken my agreement to stay here. How do you suppose he heard of it so promptly?”