“I see,” said Montgomery, somewhat puzzled.  “But why do you say that I am both fortunate and unfortunate?”

“The situation is so remarkable that you’ll consider that a mild way of putting it when you’ve heard everything.  I think you were told, in our note of yesterday, that you are the sole heir.  Well, it may surprise you to learn that James Sedgwick died possessed of an estate valued at almost seven million dollars.”

Montgomery Brewster sat like one petrified, staring blankly at the old lawyer, who could say startling things in a level voice.

“He owned gold mines and ranches in the Northwest and there is no question as to their value.  Mr. Jones, in his letter to us, briefly outlines the history of James Sedgwick from the time he landed in Montana.  He reached there in 1885 from Australia, and he was worth thirty or forty thousand dollars at the time.  Within five years he was the owner of a huge ranch, and scarcely had another five years passed before he was part owner of three rich gold mines.  Possessions accumulated rapidly; everything he touched turned to gold.  He was shrewd, careful, and thrifty, and his money was handled with all the skill of a Wall Street financier.  At the time of his death, in Portland, he did not owe a dollar in the world.  His property is absolutely unencumbered—­safe and sound as a government bond.  It’s rather overwhelming, isn’t it?” the lawyer concluded, taking note of Brewster’s expression.

“And he—­he left everything to me?”

“With a proviso.”

“Ah!”

“I have a copy of the will.  Mr. Ripley and I are the only persons in New York who at present know its contents.  You, I am sure, after hearing it, will not divulge them without the most careful deliberation.”

Mr. Grant drew the document from a pigeon-hole in his desk, adjusted his glasses and prepared to read.  Then, as though struck by a sudden thought, he laid the paper down and turned once more to Brewster.

“It seems that Sedgwick never married.  Your mother was his sister and his only known relative of close connection.  He was a man of most peculiar temperament, but in full possession of all mental faculties.  You may find this will to be a strange document, but I think Mr. Jones, the executor, explains any mystery that may be suggested by its terms.  While Sedgwick’s whereabouts were unknown to his old friends in New York, it seems that he was fully posted on all that was going on here.  He knew that you were the only child of your mother and therefore his only nephew.  He sets forth the dates of your mother’s marriage, of your birth, of the death of Robert Brewster and of Mrs. Brewster.  He also was aware of the fact that old Edwin Peter Brewster intended to bequeath a large fortune to you—­and thereby hangs a tale.  Sedgwick was proud.  When he lived in New York, he was regarded as the kind of man who never forgave the person who touched roughly upon his pride.  You know, of course,