There was some excuse for Patty's disappointment. One does not easily rest content with but little more than half a fortune when one has, for years, had reason to expect the whole of it. It was a modest fortune enough, but the fact that it turned out to be nearly twice what Patty had counted upon, and that, consequently, she was left with just about what she had expected, did not make her disappointment any the lighter, but rather the reverse. And she did not stop to consider that she would be relieved of what she was pleased to term the burden of supporting the Ladues, and that she would have, at her own disposal, more money than she had ever had. Not at all. Even when Dick pointed out to her that very fact, it did not change her feeling. Somehow, she did not know exactly how, Sally had cheated her out of her birthright. She wouldn't call it stealing, but-- "No," Dick observed cheerfully. "I should think you had better not call it that. It will be as well if you restrain your speech on the subject." That was rather a strong remark for Dick Torrington to make, but he felt strongly where Sally was concerned. He felt strongly where Patty was concerned; but the feeling was different. It was not strange that, in the face of such feeling on Patty's part, Sally should feel strongly, too. She did feel strongly. She was genuinely distressed about it and would have been glad to give up any benefits under the will, and she went to Dick and told him so. He tried to dissuade her from taking such a course. There were other aspects of such a case than the mere feeling of one of the heirs about another. Why, wills would be practically upset generally if any one heir, by making a sufficiently strong protest, could, to use Dick's own words, freeze out the others, and it would be of little use for a man to make a will if many were of Sally's mind. In this case, as usually in such cases, the will expressed the testator's own well-founded intention. Mr. Hazen had expected some such outburst from Patty. Was that to prevent his wish, his will from being carried out? He earnestly hoped not. All socialists to the contrary, notwithstanding, he was of the opinion that any man, living or dead, should be able to do as he liked with his own; that is, with certain reasonable reservations, which would not apply in the case of her Uncle John. "I suppose, Sally," he concluded, "that if he had given it to you while he was living, you would have taken it, perhaps?" "No, indeed," Sally replied indignantly. "Of course I wouldn't. What made you think that, Dick?" "To tell the truth," he said, "I didn't think it. Well, would it make any difference in your feeling about it to know that he felt that Miss Patty was not competent to take care of it?" She shook her head and sighed. "I don't see that it would; I can't unravel the right and wrong of it. If you think that my taking it would have pleased Uncle John, and if you tell me that Patty has as much as she can wish--"