This fact sent him in a hurry to a lawyer with whom he had already entered his name as a student, to inquire whether the powers of a guardian over the property of minors was not limited, and found, to his keen regret, that it was so, to a more or less degree, according to the terms of the will, and that in his case, Monson P. Tracy's control was entire. Indeed, so perfect had been Mr. Edmond's confidence in his old clerk, that when advised to add Mr. Knowles' name to the other, he had answered his attorney: "If Mr. Tracy will accept the trust, no other will be necessary. He will handle my children's fortunes, and secure their welfare in every respect as if they were his own." There was no other help for the young man than patience. He returned to Maytown far more of his sister's opinion in regard to their guardian than he had left it. Helen, quick to discriminate character, had long insisted that he was capable of any dishonesty which would not render him amenable to law; and more, that by a subtle way of reasoning, he would convince himself that any act which would advance his own interests, was right. [Illustration] CHAPTER XII. A NARROW ESCAPE. AS Autumn advanced, Helen Josephine recommenced her studies with great zeal. Before he left Maytown, her brother marked out a course of reading for her, in connection with which she promised to write abstracts daily of the works perused, for his subsequent examination. She also had two recitations a week in intellectual philosophy, in Mr. Knowles' study, and on the intervening days. Mr. Frederic taught her geometry. On the last occasion, the young girl made it a condition that Sybil should be present, not that she imagined Mr. Frederic would embrace the opportunity to make love to her. But she distrusted her own powers to keep her mind on the lesson, except for the presence of the lynx-eyed, practical sister. Little did she imagine while she was taking pains to prove that the line A was equal to the lines B and C, or that the three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles, that Sybil's thoughts were roving far from her knitting needles, which made so monotonous a clicking, and taking in the possibilities of a connection between the two beings she loved so well. And, moreover, that she was devising means to break up the increasing coolness between them.