“Fifty thousand dollars. It was an open account. His books show the advances, but he took no notes.”
“And that claim is worth—?”
“It is good as against her individually. But she contends—”
“Yes, go on!”
I had struck the right note. He was annoyed at my persistence and his apparent discomfort pleased me.
“She refuses to pay. She says Mr. Glenarm made her a gift of the money.”
“That’s possible, isn’t it? He was for ever making gifts to churches. Schools and theological seminaries were a sort of weakness with him.”
“That is quite true, but this account is among the assets of the estate. It’s my business as executor to collect it.”
“We’ll pass that. If you get this money, the estate is worth sixty thousand dollars, plus the value of the land out there at Annandale, and Glenarm House is worth—”
“There you have me!”