ly by will, by name
and description; but yet she wanted very much to find out if he was
really their cousin or not, so she said----

"I must consult with my sister on this matter, for it concerns her as
much as myself, and also with Mr. Phillips, who has been to both of us
the kindest and best of friends, before I could make you any definite
offer."

"No, no," said Mrs. Peck; "I want no interference of strangers, and I
ain't got no time to waste here while you write up the country to
anybody. I must go back to Adelaide in a few days, and surely your
sister will see the advantages of your acting for her. What do you say
to 2,000 pounds."

To be asked 2,000 pounds for what Elsie knew to be worth nothing, in a
money point of view, appeared to her rather absurd. "That is a very
large sum," said she.

"A year's income is not too much for such a secret as I've got. Cross
Hall must be worth 2,000 pounds a year now, and more than that, and I
must have something handsome to cover my risk."

"Then you put yourself under the grasp of the law by what you have to
reveal?" said Elsie.

"You must let me get clear off before you publish it," said Mrs. Peck.
"I have been treated with the greatest ingratitude by Frank, and I'd
like a little revenge. I'd like to pull him down from his high horse,
and set him working for his bread as you have had to do; but at the
same time I am a poor woman, and I must live."

"I cannot tell what we would give you," said Elsie, "until I have
something more distinct than these vague threats; but you may be sure
that we will give you as much as it is worth. Trust to our honour for
that."

"Trust to a fiddlestick's end! I am too old a bird to be caught with
such chaff as that. No, I must have it down in black and white. See,
here is a paper that I want you to fill up and sign before I'll open my
mouth on the subject." So Mrs. Peck drew out of her black bag a paper
containing an agreement to pay her 2,000 pounds on condition that the
estate of Cross Hall should be recovered for her and her sister through
Mrs. Peck's information. She laid the paper open on the book she had
bought, then she took a pen and a portable ink-bottle from the same
repository, dipped the pen in the ink, and demanded Elsie's signature
then and there.

Her eager eyes watched the girl's countenance as she read the agreement
and weighed the pros and cons of the bargain she was making, and
neither of them were aware, in their p