time nearly twenty-eight, keen, energetic, immensely clever; and the
case against Vandover was strong. No one knew better than he himself how
intimate Vandover had been with Ida Wade; Vandover had told him much of
the details of their acquaintance. Besides this, a letter which Ida had
written to Vandover the day before her suicide had been found, torn in
three pieces, thrust between the leaves of one of the books that she
used to study at the normal school. It directly implicated Vandover--it
was evidence that could not be gainsaid. Geary had resolved to push the
case against his old chum. Vandover ought to see that with Geary it was
a matter of business; he, Geary, was only an instrument of the law; if
Geary did not take the case some other lawyer would. At any rate,
whether Van would see it in this light or not, Geary was determined to
take the case; it was too good an opportunity to let slip; he was going
to make his way in the law or he would know the reason why. Every man
for himself, that was what he said. It might be damned selfish, but it
was human nature; if he had to sacrifice Van, so much the worse. It was
evident that his old college chum was going to the dogs anyway, but come
whatever would, _he_, Geary, was going to be a _success_. Ah, you bet,
he would make his way and he would make his money.

Ever since he had come into his little patrimony Geary had been making
offers to Vandover for his block in the Mission. Geary would offer only
eight thousand dollars, but Brunt steadily advised Vandover against
listening to such a figure, assuring him that the property was valued at
twelve thousand six hundred. Vandover had often wondered at Geary's
persistence in the matter, and had often asked him what he could
possibly want of the block. But Geary was very vague in his replies,
generally telling Vandover that there was money in the investment if one
could and would give the proper attention to pushing it. He told
Vandover that he--Vandover--was no business man, which was the
lamentable truth, and would much prefer to live upon the interest of his
bonds rather than to be continually annoyed by defective plumbing,
complaints, and repairs. The truth of the matter was that Geary knew
that a certain immense boot and shoe concern was after the same piece of
property. The houses themselves were nothing to the boot and shoe
people; they wanted the land in order to build their manufactory upon
it. A siding of the railroad