“I most decidedly should like to have money.”

“Well, then,” said the old man, watching his friend’s face, “there iss no one to say that the story is true, and who will believe it?  And if Sheila wass to come to you and say she did not believe it, and she would not hef the money from you, you would hef to keep it, eh?”

Ingram’s sallow face blushed crimson.  “I don’t know what you mean,” he said stiffly.  “Do you propose to pervert the girl’s mind and make me a party to a fraud?”

“Oh, there is no use getting into an anger,” said Mackenzie suavely, “when common sense will do as well whatever.  And there wass no perversion and there wass no fraud talked about.  It wass just this, Mr. Ingram, that if the old lady’s will leaves you her property, who will you be getting to believe that she did not mean to give it to you?”

“I tell you now whom she meant to give it to,” said Ingram, still somewhat hotly.

“Oh yes—­oh yes, that is ferry well.  But who will believe it?”

“Good Heavens, sir! who will believe I could be such a fool as to fling away this property if it belonged to me?”

“They will think you a fool to do it now—­yes, that is sure enough,” said Mackenzie.

“I don’t care what they think.  And it seems rather odd, Mr. Mackenzie, that you should be trying to deprive your own daughter of what belongs to her.”

“Oh, my daughter is ferry well off whatever:  she does not want any one’s money,” said Mackenzie.  And then a new notion struck him:  “Will you tell me this, Mr. Ingram?  If Mrs. Lavender left you her property in this way, what for did she want to change her will, eh?”

“Well, to tell you the truth, I refused to take the responsibility.  She was anxious to have this money given to Sheila, so that Lavender should not touch it; and I don’t think it was a wise intention, for there is not a prouder man in the world than Lavender, and I know that Sheila would not consent to hold a penny that did not equally belong to him.  However, that was her notion, and I was the first victim of it.  I protested against it, and I suppose that set her to inquiring whether the money could not be absolutely bequeathed to Sheila direct.  I don’t know anything about it myself; but that’s how the matter stands, as far as I am concerned.”

“But you will think it over, Mr. Ingram,” said Mackenzie quietly—­“you will think it over, and be in no hurry.  It is not every man that hass a lot of money given to him.  And it is no wrong to my Sheila at all, for she will hef quite plenty; and she would be ferry sorry to take the money away from you, that is sure enough; and you will not be hasty, Mr. Ingram, but be cautious and reasonable, and you will see the money will do you far more good than it would do Sheila.”

Ingram began to think that he had tied a millstone round his neck.

CHAPTER XXIII.