late cousin George
Farringdon; and she appointed Richard Smallwood and his nephew to be her
trustees and executors. The trustees were required to ascertain whether
George Farringdon had left any son, and whether that son was still
alive; but if, at the expiration of ten years from the death of the
testator, no such son could be discovered, the whole of Miss
Farringdon's estate was to become the absolute property of Elisabeth. As
since the making of this will Richard had lost his faculties, the whole
responsibility of finding the lost heir and of looking after the
temporary heiress devolved upon Christopher's shoulders.

"And how is Mr. Bateson to-day?" asked Mrs. Hankey of Mr. Bateson's
better-half, one Sunday morning not long after Miss Farringdon's death.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hankey, he is but middling, I'm sorry to say--very
middling--very middling, indeed."

"That's a bad hearing. But I'm not surprised; I felt sure as something
was wrong when I didn't see him in chapel this morning. I says to
myself, when the first hymn was given out and him not there, 'Eh, dear!'
I says, 'I'm afraid there's trouble in store for Mrs. Bateson.' It
seemed so strange to see you all alone in the pew, that for a minute or
two it quite gave me the creeps. What's amiss with him?"

"Rheumatism in the legs. He could hardly get out of bed this morning he
was so stiff."

"Eh, dear! that's a bad thing--and particularly at his time of life. I
lost a beautiful hen only yesterday from rheumatism in the legs; one of
the best sitters I ever had. You remember her?--the speckled one that I
got from Tetleigh, four years ago come Michaelmas. But that's the way in
this world; the most missed are the first taken."

"I wonder if that's Miss Elisabeth there," said Mrs. Bateson, catching
sight of a dark-robed figure in the distance. "I notice she's taken to
go to church regular now Miss Farringdon isn't here to look after her.
How true it is, 'When the cat's away the mice will play!'" Worship
according to the methods of that branch of the Church Militant
established in these kingdoms was regarded by Mrs. Bateson as a form of
recreation--harmless, undoubtedly, but still recreation.

Mrs. Hankey shook her head. "No--that isn't her; she can't be out of
church yet. They don't go in till eleven." And she shook her head
disapprovingly.

"Eleven's too late, to my thinking," agreed Mrs. Bateson.

"So it is; you never spoke a truer word, Mrs. Bateson. Half-pa