were sharply ousted from habitual calmness into a state of mind
bordering on the ludicrous.

"Read it again, Bowen."

"The will?"

"No; the letter."

Whereupon Mr. Bowen again read aloud the letter from Bosworth, Newnes &
Grapewin, this time slowly and speculatively.

"They seem as much upset by the situation as we," he observed
reflectively.

"Extraordinary state of affairs, I must say."

"And I don't know what to do about it--I don't even know how to begin.
They're both married."

"And not to each other."

"She's the wife of a Lord-knows-what-kind-of-a-lord, and he's married to
an uncommonly fine girl, they say, notwithstanding the fact that she has
larger social aspirations than he has means."

"And if that all-important clause in the will is not carried out to the
letter, the whole fortune goes to the bow-wows."

"Practically the same thing. He calls them 'natives,' that's all. It