Joe was in excellent spirits that morning.  His interview with Lala Roy convinced him that nothing whatever was known of the papers, therefore nothing could be suspected.  What a fool, he thought, must be his grandfather, to have had these papers in his hands for eighteen years and never to have opened the packet, in obedience to the injunction of a dead man!  Had it been his own case, he would have opened the papers without the least delay, mastered the contents, and instantly claimed the property.  He would have gone on to use it for his own purposes and private gain, and with an uninterrupted run of eighteen years, he would most certainly have made a very pretty thing out of it.

However, everything works well for him who greatly dares.  His wife would manage for him better than he could do it for himself.  Yet a few weeks, and the great fortune would fall into his hands.  He walked all the way to Chester Square, considering how he should spend the money.  There are some forms of foolishness, such as, say, those connected with art, literature, charity, and work for others, which attract some rich men, but which he was not at all tempted to commit.  There were others, however, connected with horses, races, betting, and gambling, which tempted him strongly.  In fact, Joseph contemplated spending this money wholly on his own pleasures.  Probably it would be a part of his pleasure to toss a few crumbs to his wife.

It is sad to record that Lotty, finding herself received with so much enthusiasm, had already begun to fall off in her behavior.  Even Clara, who thought she discovered every hour some new point of resemblance in the girl to her father, was fain to admit that the “Americanisms” were much too pronounced for general society.

Her laugh was louder and more frequent; her jests were rough and common; she used slang words freely; her gestures were extravagant, and she walked in the streets as if she wished every one to notice her.  It is the walk of the Music-Hall stage, and the trick of it consists chiefly in giving, so to speak, prominence to the shoulders and oscillation to the skirts.  In fact, she was one of those ladies who ardently desire that all the world should notice them.

Further, in her conversation, she showed an acquaintance with certain phases of the English lower life which was astonishing in an American girl.  But Clara had no suspicion—­none whatever.  One thing the girl did which pleased her mightily.

She was never tired of hearing about her father, and his way of looking, standing, walking, folding his hands, and holding himself.  And constantly more and more Clara detected these little tricks in his daughter.  Perhaps she learned them.

“My dear,” she said, “to think that I ever thought you unlike your dear father!”

So that it made her extremely uncomfortable to detect a certain reserve in Arnold toward the girl, and then a dislike of Arnold in the girl herself.  However, she was accustomed to act by Arnold’s advice, and consented, when he asked her, to arrange so that Arnold might meet Dr. Washington.  As if anything that so much as looked like suspicion could be thought of for a moment!