"They have made me finally certain that your father could never have
intrusted you with the estates."

"How do you know? He meant me to have the property if I survived you. The
letter which he left for me said as much."

"He gave me absolute discretion," said Lady Coryston, firmly.

"At least you have taken it!" said Coryston, with emphasis. "Now let's see
how things stand."

He paused, a thin, wiry figure, under the electric light, checking off the
items on his fingers. "On the ground of my political opinion--you cut me
out of the succession. Arthur is to have the estates. And you propose to
buy me off by an immediate gift of seven thousand a year in addition to my
present fortune--the whole income from the land and the tin-mines being, I
understand, about ten times that; and you intend to sell certain outlying
properties in order to do this. That's your proposal. Well, now, here's
mine. I won't take your seven thousand a year! I will have all--all, that
is, which would have normally come to me--or _nothing_!"

He stood gazing intently at his mother's face, his small features
sparkling.

"I will have all--or nothing!" he repeated. "Of course I don't deny it for
a moment, if the property had come to me I should have made all sorts of
risky experiments with it. I should have cut it up into small holdings. I
should have pulled down the house or made it into a county hospital."