of her life without a second thought."

"Is that a threat?"

"My dear boy, not by any means. You think I have hated you? Not at all. I
have simply been indifferent. Now that you are in more or less trouble,
you see that I come to you. And hereafter if there should be a crisis,
you will see who is your true friend. Now, good night!"

He had saved his most gracious speech until the very end, and after it he
retired at once to leave Terence with the pleasant memory in his mind.
For he had in his mind the idea of a perfect crime for which he would not
be punished. He would turn Terry into a corpse or a killer, and in either
case the youngster would never dream who had dealt the blow.

No wonder, then, as he went downstairs, that he stepped onto the veranda
for a few moments. The moon was just up beyond Mount Discovery; the
valley unfolded like a dream. Never had the estate seemed so charming to
Vance Cornish, for he felt that his hand was closing slowly around his
inheritance.



CHAPTER 10


The sleep of the night seemed to blot out the excitement of the preceding
evening. A bright sun, a cool stir of air, brought in the next morning,
and certainly calamity had never seemed farther from the Cornish ranch
than it did on this day. All through the morning people kept arriving in