"I am coming very quickly now to that," returned Bennet. "I wrote the firm as I have told you, and received a communication in reply from Mr. Eversleigh, Mr. Francis Eversleigh, who said that he could not get me the money at once, but would do so in the course of a few days. But there were reasons for my having it without delay, so I went to see Mr. Eversleigh, and I saw him this morning." Bennet paused, and looked meaningly at Kitty; he saw that she was following him closely. "You saw Mr. Eversleigh, you were saying," she observed. "I saw him, told him I must have the money, and he put me off, but said there would be as little delay as possible. With that I had to be content, though I was disappointed. I had nothing particular to do for the rest of the day, and it occurred to me to go to Beauclerk Mansions, and take a last look at them. I was in a bad humour, and the thing fell in with my mood. When I got to the Mansions, can you guess what I discovered?" "How can I?" inquired Kitty, wonderingly. "The discovery was an accidental one," Bennet resumed, "but there was no room for doubt about the matter. I found out that Beauclerk Mansions no longer belonged to me. They had been sold some twelve months before to a company named 'Modern Mansions, Limited.'" And now Kitty began to see something of what Bennet was about to tell her, and she gazed at him apprehensively. "The property had been sold!" she exclaimed. "Yes; without my authority, and by my own solicitors, Eversleigh, Silwood and Eversleigh." "Surely, there was some mistake," suggested the girl. "I thought so myself, at first," responded Bennet, "and I promptly went to Mr. Eversleigh and asked for an explanation. But, Miss Thornton," he went on, impressively, "there was no mistake. Mr. Eversleigh put the blame of the sale on his dead partner, Silwood--that may be true, or it may not, in either case it is nothing to me--but he confessed that the property had been sold. No account was ever rendered to me--in a word, the sale was a fraudulent one. Out of his own mouth, Eversleigh stood convicted of fraud." "I cannot believe it!" cried Kitty, "there must be some dreadful mistake." "The law, Miss Thornton, will not call it a mistake. It will call it a crime. I have but to say the word, and Francis Eversleigh will be arrested, in due course, tried, and convicted." Kitty stood and faced the man, her eyes full of indignation. "Mr. Bennet," she said, "I have known Mr. Eversleigh for years, and I cannot credit what you say." "It is quite natural for you to say so. I could hardly take the thing in myself at first, but there is not the slightest doubt of the truth of what I have told you. Francis Eversleigh is in my power, and I make no scruple in telling you so." Bennet's air, Kitty acknowledged to herself, was not that of a man who spoke falsely, whatever else it was; she was afraid that he did in very deed speak the truth.