"Why, your great-grandfather Clark had two sons, and when he died he left a will in which he gave both of his sons an undivided half interest in this land. But the elder son had disappeared—they could never find him."
"Edward," observed the girl, remembering her uncle's frequent curses at the obstinate Edward. "Yes, I know. He went to Chicago and got lost."
"Afterward he went to St. Louis, but beyond that no trace of him or his family can be found."
"I suppose some day he will turn up when he hears that there's some money," Adelle remarked simply.
The banker scowled.
"Well, I hope not!... Edward isn't likely to now: he must be a young thing of eighty-seven by this time."
"Well, his children, then."
"They would have difficulty in proving their claim. You see there's been a judicial sale, ordered by the court, and every precaution taken.... No, there's no possibility of trouble in that quarter."
"Then they won't get their money?" Adelle remarked, thinking how disappointed these hypothetical descendants of Edward Clark must be.
"No," agreed the trust officer with a laugh. "They're too late for dinner."