"Well, my dear sir," said Sigsbee, laying his hand upon Bingle's knee
and speaking with grave impressiveness, "your late and lamented uncle,
Joseph Hooper, in his will, devises that you are his principal--I
might almost say, his sole heir. He has left practically everything to
you, sir. I--I pray you, be calm. Do not allow this astonishing, this
prodigious--"

"Oh," exclaimed Mr. Bingle, with a huge sigh of relief and a sudden
relaxing of all his taut nerves, "I know all about THAT, Mr. Sigsbee.
Is that all?"

"All?" with a stare of amazement.

"We often joked about it, poor old Uncle Joe and I. He seemed to enjoy
a chuckle once in awhile, in spite of the way the world had used him."

"I now realise that you are quite ignorant about the whole matter, Mr.
Bingle. My letter would have enlightened you, of course, but as you
did not receive it, I fear that--"

"I didn't open my letters this morning. Quite forgot 'em, sir. You
see, Mrs. Bingle came down with a fearful--"

"Yes, yes," interrupted Mr. Sigsbee. "Perhaps it would be well for me
to describe myself a little more clearly to you, Mr. Bingle. I am of
the firm of Bradlee, Sigsbee & Oppenheim, lawyers. We have been acting
for Mr. Hooper for the past six months, or, in other words, since his
return to New York City. Our relations were or a--er--a somewhat
Secret nature, I may say. He made the somewhat Extraordinary demand
upon us, at the time we were Retained, that we should conduct his