Bobsy Roberts was talking with Mrs. Faulkner as Natalie entered. He jumped up, and greeted the lovely girl with an impulsive, "So sorry to trouble you, but I must ask you a question or two, and I promise to cut it short." "What is it?" and Natalie gave him one of her confiding smiles. Bobsy hesitated. How could he ask a fairy like that, a rude, blunt question. But it had to be done, and he said, "It's--it's about Mr. Stannard's will. Did you ever see it?" Clearly, Natalie was surprised. It seemed to be not the query she had looked for. But she was calm. After the slightest pause, she said slowly, very slowly, as if choosing her words, "No, Mr. Roberts, I have never seen Mr. Stannard's will. Why should I see it?" "You know he left you a large sum of money?" "Of course I know that. Mr. Stiles informed me." "Did you not know of it before Mr. Stiles told you?" Natalie glanced at Barry, who smiled at her. "Yes; that is, I knew Mr. Stannard had left me a bequest, but I did not know how much. Nor did I care!" Natalie lost her self-control. "Do you suppose I wanted that money? I did not, and I do not! I refuse to take it!" "My dear child," said Beatrice Faulkner, rising and going to sit beside her, "don't say such things. The money is honestly yours----" "Not so fast, Mrs. Faulkner," said Roberts, amazed at Natalie's excited words; "we cannot feel sure the money honestly belongs to Miss Vernon until we know who altered Mr. Stannard's will. Did you?" He turned quickly to Natalie with his question, as if anxious to get the miserable business over. "Certainly not," she replied, with disdain in every line of her face. "In the first place, Mr. Bobsy--I mean, Mr. Roberts----" The light laugh that greeted her slip of the tongue served to break the tension of the moment. "Forgive me," she said, and her dimpling smile of embarrassment would have turned the head of an anchorite. "You see, I've heard you called that, and, though I didn't mean to be familiar, I--I got sort of mixed up." "All right, Miss Vernon, it doesn't matter at all. One Robert's as good as the other." "It's funny to have two names alike, isn't it?" and Natalie's voice shook a little. "Yes," and then with an effort, Bobsy returned to the attack. "You know nothing of the change in the will, then, Miss Vernon?" "I certainly don't. Did somebody change the text?" "Yes. It's a mysterious affair. But if you know nothing about it, we must ferret it out as best we can." He spoke lightly, but his eyes never left Natalie's face. In fact, Roberts was by no means asking her because he attached any importance to her spoken answer, but because he hoped by her expression or by some inadvertent slip, to learn the truth, even though she tried to conceal it. "Mr. Roberts," she said, suddenly, "if I wish to go away from this house, is there any reason I should not do so?" "I'd rather you would ask somebody else that, Miss Vernon." "Whom shall I ask?" "Captain Steele, or----"