"I think not, and I will give you my reasons. In the first place we ought not to perplex Miss Yard with matters of business she cannot understand. In the second place it might not be safe for her to become the owner of the furniture. Miss Yard, I understand, does exactly as she is told; she is completely under the control of servants; if an entire stranger entered the house and introduced himself as a relation, she might give him anything he liked to ask for. It would be easy for Mr. Drake, if he is unscrupulous as you suggest, to visit Miss Yard and induce her to sign a will leaving him the furniture she had previously purchased from himself." "On the other hand," said Percy, "we shall never get George out of Windward House while the furniture belongs to him. He is too much afraid of the servants stealing things." "I had thought of that difficulty," said Mr. Hunter in his most omniscient manner. "What I am going to recommend is that you should make Mr. Drake an offer for the goods." "George wouldn't sell to me," said Percy. "It cannot matter to him whether you or Miss Yard purchase the furniture. If you do so, it will be upon the understanding that Mr. Drake leaves Miss Yard in undisturbed possession of the premises at a rental to be agreed upon. By this arrangement she will be left in a position of absolute security. While, if you decide not to purchase, Mr. Drake may sell the contents of one room after another according to his need for money." "I'll think over it, and let you know," said Percy. "During the course of the next few days we shall be receiving the figures from the valuer," Mr. Hunter continued. "I shall then be in a position to advise you as to the sum you should offer Mr. Drake. You agree with me, I think, that I have suggested a way out of the difficulty?" "I am always ready to take your advice," replied Percy. "But I believe George hates me and, if I made him an offer for the furniture, he would smell something fishy." "He will receive a complete assurance from my firm that his interests are being adequately protected," said the lawyer, with a dignity that seemed to make the windows rattle. A few days afterwards the expert sent in his report, and Mr. Hunter was considerably astonished to read that the contents of Windward House, excluding the articles belonging to Miss Yard, were valued for probate at the sum of £220 5s. 3d. He sent for the valuer, requesting another interview with Percy at the same time; and, when they came together, an explanation of these figures was demanded; the lawyer mentioning that, according to his instructions, the late Captain Drake had died possessed of a great number of valuable antiques. "Most of them worthless. At all events, it's no easy matter to value such things as an Egyptian mummy and a stuffed mermaid for purposes of probate." "How about the Russian Ikon and the Indian musical box?" asked Percy.