and consequently his refusal to answer affected me most of all. I
wondered at the time, and thought that it might be some quiet plan of
his, but I really had no idea of the audacity of his plans."

"How is that?"

"Wait a moment. Did you see anything in this man that could excite the
suspicion that he was at all flighty or insane?"

"Insane! Certainly not. He was, on the contrary, the sanest person I
ever met with."

"Well, then, he must have become insane since. I've no doubt that he has
for years been planning to get control of the Dalton property; and now,
when he has become insane, he is still animated by this ruling passion,
and has gone to work to gratify it in this mad way."

"Mad way? What mad way? I don't understand."

"Well, I'll tell you all about it. I merely wished to get your unbiased
opinion of the man first;" and upon this Sir Lionel told him the whole
story which Miss Plympton had narrated to him. To all this Leon listened
with the deepest interest and the most profound astonishment,
interrupting his father by frequent questions and exclamations.

"What can be his design?" said Leon. "He must have some plan in his
head."

"Plan? a mad plan enough!" exclaimed Sir Lionel. "It is clearly nothing
else than an attempt to get control of the property by a _coup de