She would have given much to be able to cry out to him that Gipsy Darke was certainly dead; she had looked on her cold, dead face; she could tell him where to find the poor girl’s body. If she might but tell him these things and settle his doubts at once, the relatives could have no difficulty in claiming the whole estate. But even while these thoughts crossed her mind, Laurie began to speak for the first time. “Even in the event of Miss Darke’s death she may have relatives to claim her property, so that we really cannot consider ourselves as having any claim at all,” he said. Lelia and Mrs. Ritchie tried to freeze him out with cold looks of warning, but he was not conscious of their angry regards; he was looking straight at the lawyer, who replied: “You are quite correct, Mr. Willoughby.” The general cut in testily: “As I look at it, the girl could not have any relatives or she would not have been deserted so heartlessly. Probably her parents were dead, and, the gipsies not wishing to support the child, left it to perish. If any of them dare to appear as claimants I shall certainly brand them as impostors!” “Quite right!” applauded Mrs. Ritchie, while her daughter beamed approval. Only Laurie remained gravely silent, commending in his heart his aunt’s choice of an heiress and wishing that beautiful, true-hearted, brave Gipsy Darke might have lived to enjoy her good fortune. He did not feel the least worried or grieved over his failure to inherit the bulk of the property; he had a feeling as if he were stunned by the hurrying events of the past month, and there was also a distinct sense of triumph at Lelia’s defeat. He had always felt a sense of disgust at her rapacity, at her planning and scheming from babyhood for the money. He was glad that she had lost it and that Gipsy Darke had been chosen as the heiress. It seemed like poetic justice. He became suddenly aware that the lawyer was speaking again: “I would advise you,” he said, “to offer a small reward for news of Gipsy Darke, living or dead.” “I have already employed a detective to search for the young girl,” returned Laurie, heedless of the angry flash of Lelia’s eyes. “It can do no harm to offer a reward also, so as to get at the root of the mystery as soon as possible. Let it be known among the servants of The Crags that you will pay for the news you want, and they will be roused into the greatest activity at once. The newspapers can also be used as a medium to elicit the truth.” “I will give it my immediate attention,” answered Laurie quickly; and then the painful scene ended by the separation of the party--Lelia going with her mother to her own room, where they roundly denounced the dead woman for her treachery, and Lelia, tearing off her weeds of mourning, trampled them angrily under foot.