friend, do his best to dispel this prejudice? On the subject of his
brother Mike he kept absolute silence. The accident of meeting an
intimate acquaintance at the office of Messrs. Percival and Peel had
rendered it possible for him to pursue his inquiries in that direction
without it becoming known to Michael Snowdon that he had done anything
of the kind; and the policy he elaborated for himself demanded the
appearance of absolute disinterestedness in all his dealings with his
father. Aided by the shrewd Mrs. Peckover, he succeeded in reconciling
Clem to a present disappointment, bitter as it was, by pointing out
that there was every chance of his profiting largely upon the old man's
death, which could not be a very remote contingency. At present there
was little that could be done save to curry favour in Hanover Street,
and keep an eye on what went forward between Kirkwood and Jane. This
latter was, of course, an issue of supreme importance. A very little
observation convinced Joseph that his daughter had learned to regard
Sidney as more than a friend; whether there existed any mutual
understanding between them he could only discover by direct inquiry,
and for the present it seemed wiser to make no reference to the
subject. He preserved the attitude of one who has forfeited his natural
rights, and only seeks with humility the chance of proving that he is a
reformed character. Was, or was not, Kirkwood aware of the old man's
wealth? That too must be left uncertain, though it was more than
probable he had seen the advertisement in the newspapers, and, like
Mrs. Peckover, had based conclusions thereupon. Another possibility
was, that Kirkwood had wormed himself into Michael's complete
confidence. From Joseph's point of view, subtle machinations were
naturally attributed to the young man--whose appearance proved him
anything but a commonplace person. The situation was full of
obscurities and dangers. From Scawthorne Joseph received an assurance
that the whole of the Australian property had been capitalised and
placed in English investments; also, that the income was regularly
drawn and in some way disposed of; the manner of such disposal being
kept private between old Mr. Percival and his client.

In the meantime family discussions in the Close had brought to Joseph's
knowledge a circumstance regarding Kirkwood which interested him in a
high degree. When talking of Sidney's character, it was natural that
the Peckovers sho