of putting a beggar on horseback!"

"And there is nothing to prevent her riding straight back to Mexico,
renouncing the inheritance and daring us to go after her!" the lawyer
retorted. "Where would your share of your uncle's estate go then, my
dear Irene? The girl's never been too keen on this proposition,
anyhow, as I've tried to make you realize; drive her too hard, and
she'll throw the whole thing to the four winds."

"I'll master her yet." Mrs. Halstead spoke through set teeth. "No
insolent chit of a girl can defy me! The conditions of the will give
me a certain amount of authority and I shall exercise it to the limit.
Willa must be controlled."

"Then play fair!" A voice sounded from the doorway, and Willa herself
looked in on them. "Don't set your servants to spy on me and try to
interfere with affairs which are my concern alone."

"My dear child! What a frightful hour you have given us!" Mason North
wrung her hand in hearty relief. "Come in and sit down, and we will
talk it all over. We are willing to admit that an injustice has been
done you, but we must clear the air once and for all."

Willa complied.

"I think it is about time for an understanding," she said. "I don't
want any admissions or recriminations, and I don't intend to submit to
a lot of questions. Let's get right down to business. Do you want to
start?"

The lawyer hesitated, taken aback by her cool, matter-of-fact manner.
It bore no trace of insolence, yet conveyed a serene poise and grasp of
the situation which was disconcerting.

"No, Willa." It was Ripley Halstead who replied mildly. The two
younger Halsteads merely stared. "Tell us just what is on your mind.
I want you to be happy here; that is the first consideration."

"I'm not thinking about that just now." Willa's calm, direct gaze
moved from one to the other of them. "I'm going to speak plainly; it's
the best thing for all of us. This thing is a business proposition,
pure and simple. If it were not for the terms of Grandfather
Murdaugh's will no one would ever have tried to find me; no one made
the least attempt to help my father and mother, on even see that they
were given a fair chance to help themselves. I'm not unmindful of the
kindness you've all shown me here, however. Cousin Irene has been very
conscientious in trying to make a lady of me, but that was a part of
her bargain, wasn't it?"

Mrs. Halstead glared, but made no comment, and after a mome