Part 27 (1/2)

YEA AND NAY

Mr. Halfpenny, face to face with the fact that Barthorpe Herapath meant mischief about the will, put on his thinking-cap and gave himself up to a deep and serious consideration of the matter. He thought things over as he journeyed home to his house in the country; he spent an evening in further thought; he was still thinking when he went up to town next morning. The result of his cogitations was that after giving certain instructions in his office as to the next steps to be taken towards duly establis.h.i.+ng Jacob Herapath's will, he went round to Barthorpe Herapath's office and asked to see him.

Barthorpe himself came out of his private room and showed some politeness in ushering his caller within. His manner seemed to be genuinely frank and unaffected: Mr. Halfpenny was considerably puzzled by it. Was Barthorpe playing a part, or was all this real? That, of course, must be decided by events: Mr. Halfpenny was not going to lose any time in moving towards them, whatever they might turn out to be. He accordingly went straight to the point.

”My dear sir,” he began, bending confidentially towards Barthorpe, who had taken a seat at his desk and was waiting for his visitor to speak, ”you have entered a caveat against the will in the Probate Registry.”

”I have,” answered Barthorpe, with candid alacrity. ”Of course!”

”You intend to contest the matter?” inquired Mr. Halfpenny.

”Certainly!” replied Barthorpe.

Mr. Halfpenny gathered a good deal from the firm and decisive tone in which this answer was made. Clearly there was something in the air of which he was wholly ignorant.

”You no doubt believe that you have good reason for your course of action,” he observed.

”The best reasons,” said Barthorpe.

Mr. Halfpenny ruminated a little, silently.

”After all,” he said at last, ”there are only two persons really concerned--your cousin, Miss Wynne, and yourself. I propose to make an offer to you.”

”Always willing to be reasonable, Mr. Halfpenny,” answered Barthorpe.

”Very good,” said Mr. Halfpenny. ”Of course, I see no possible reason for doubting the validity of the will. From our side, litigation must go on in the usual course. But I have a proposal to make to you. It is this--will you meet your cousin at my office, with all the persons--witnesses to the will, I mean--and state your objections to the will? In short, let us have what we may call a family discussion about it--it may prevent much litigation.”

Barthorpe considered this suggestion for a while.

”What you really mean is that I should come to your offices and tell my cousin and you why I am fighting this will,” he said eventually. ”That it?”

”Practically--yes,” a.s.sented Mr. Halfpenny.

”Whom do you propose to have present?” asked Barthorpe.

”Yourself, your cousin, myself, the two witnesses, and, as a friend of everybody concerned, Professor c.o.x-Raythwaite,” replied Mr. Halfpenny.

”No one else is necessary.”

”And you wish me to tell, plainly, why I refuse to believe that the will is genuine?” asked Barthorpe.

”Certainly--yes,” a.s.sented Mr. Halfpenny.

Barthorpe hesitated, eyeing the old lawyer doubtfully.

”It will be a painful business--for my cousin,” he said.

”If--I really haven't the faintest notion of what you mean!” exclaimed Mr. Halfpenny. ”But if--if it will be painful for your cousin to hear this--whatever it is--in private, it would be much more painful for her to hear it in public. I gather, of course, that you have some strange revelation to make. Surely, it would be most considerate to her to make it in what we may call the privacy of the family circle, c.o.x-Raythwaite and myself.”

”I haven't the least objection to c.o.x-Raythwaite's presence, nor yours,”

said Barthorpe. ”Very good--I'll accept your proposal--it will, as you say, save a lot of litigation. Now--when?”

”Today is Tuesday,” said Mr. Halfpenny. ”What do you say to next Friday morning, at ten o'clock?”