"You, Mr. Baird, and you, Miss Baird, being twins, were each three years of age when your mother died. You are now each three and twenty, and in another two years will come into unfettered possession of four thousand a year, divided equally. You, Mr. Baird, receive, at the age of twenty-five, two thousand a year; and you, Miss Baird, also at the age of twenty-five, receive the same sum, annually." "Yes, yes," said Jerce, who appeared to be irritated by the minute way in which the lawyer was detailing everything; "and, of course, there is the accumulation on the income of four thousand a year, for--let me see--twenty years, up to the present." "That is the whole point," remarked Barras, solemnly, "but I shall come to that point shortly. You, Mr. Baird, were allowed two hundred a year from the age of twenty--that is for the last three years." "Yes," snapped Ferdy, "and little enough it is." "I quite understand that, seeing you are young and gay," said the lawyer, drily. "Well, then, for three years you have been receiving this allowance, which comes--I may tell you--from the letting of Tremby Hall to those Americans. So you see, all of you, that the income of Mr. Ferdinand Baird, coming from this outside source, so to speak, leaves the four thousand a year intact." Clarice heaved a weary sigh. "Why explain all this?" she asked. "We know the most part of it." "Quite so," said Barras, deliberately, "but you do not know all." "All what?" "All that I am about to tell you, if you will permit me to speak." The girl looked at him hard. There seemed to be a great deal lurking behind the solicitor's manner. "Go on, please," she said, apprehensively. "When Dr. Jerce refers to the accumulation on the income of four thousand a year for twenty years," continued Mr. Barras, "he must not forget, that besides the five hundred per annum to Mr. Horran, there was also the sum required for education, for the keep of this house, and for the clothing of the children--I allude to you two," added Barras, looking over his pince-nez. Ferdy nodded. "I understand and so does Clarry." "Now, then," said Mr. Barras, having reached this point, "I shall read the will, as you no doubt understand exactly how the monies stand--that is, how they were left by your late mother." "But we don't understand about the accumulations," protested Clarice. "I am coming to that," said the lawyer, significantly. "Allow me to conduct this conversation in my own way, so as to make everything plain. The will--listen--the will of Mr. Henry Horran--" "But he had nothing to leave," burst out Ferdy; "you said so." "I did not exactly say so," said Barras, deliberately, "but it is a fact. Since the five hundred a year ceased at Mr. Horran's death, seeing that he could not longer continue his duties as guardian, he certainly had nothing to leave. But the will of the late Mrs. Baird gave him the power to appoint a new guardian."