he smiled, but her answer was in the form of another question, and
quite irrelevant.

"Mr. Sylvester," she said, "I wish you would tell me something about the
value of a seat on the Stock Exchange. What is the price of one?"

The lawyer looked at her in surprise.

"The value of a seat on the Stock Exchange?" he repeated.

"Yes; what does it cost to buy one?"

He hesitated, wondering why she should be interested in that subject.
Captain Elisha had not told him a word of the interview following
Pearson's last visit. He wondered, and then surmised a reason--Stephen,
of course. Steve's ambition was to be a broker, and his sister was,
doubtless, with sisterly solicitude and feminine ignorance of high
prices, planning for his future.

"Well," he replied, smiling, "they're pretty expensive, I'm afraid,
Caroline."

"Are they?" innocently.

"Yes. I think the last sale was at a figure between ninety and one
hundred thousand dollars."

"Indeed! Was father's seat worth as much as that?"

"Yes."

"But," with a sigh, "that, I suppose, went with the rest of the estate."

"Yes."

"Into the hands of the man who took it all?"

"Yes; the same hands," with a sly smile at his own private joke.

"Then how does it happen that my uncle has it in his possession?"

The lawyer smiled no more. He turned in his chair and gazed quickly and
keenly at the young lady beside him. And her gaze was just as keen as
his own.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"I asked you how it happened that my uncle now has father's Stock
Exchange seat in his possession."

"Why!... Has he?"

"Yes. And I think you know he has, Mr. Sylvester. I know it, because he
told me so himself. _Didn't_ you know it?"

This was a line shot from directly in front and a hard one to dodge.
A lie was the only guard, and he was not in the habit of lying, even
professionally.

"I--I cannot answer these questions," he declared. "They involve
professional secrets and--"

"I don't see that this is a secret. My uncle has already told me. What
I could not understand was how he obtained the seat from the man to whom
it was given as a part of father's debt. Do you know how he obtained
it?"

"Er--well--er--probably an arrangement was made. I cannot go into
details, because--well, for obvious reasons. You must excuse me,
Caroline."

He rose to go.

"One moment more," she said, "and one more question. Mr. Sylvester, who
_is_ this mysterious person--this stockholder wh