pest fellow I ever came across, either in the way of a cheat or
in any other walk of life. If he wanted any one else to have the
property, he'd come out with something to show that the entail itself
was all moonshine."

"But when he married again at Nice, he couldn't have quarrelled with his
eldest son already. The child was not above four or five months old."
This came from Quaverdale.

"It's my impression," said Barry, "that it was then his intention to
divide the property, and that this was done as a kind of protest against
primogeniture. Then he found that that would fail,--that if he came to
explain the whole matter to his sons, they would not consent to be
guided by him, and to accept a division. From what I have seen of both
of them, they are bad to guide after that fashion. Then Mountjoy got
frightfully into the hands of the money-lenders, and in order to do them
it became necessary that the whole property should go to Augustus."

"They must look upon him as a nice sort of old man!" said Quaverdale.

"Rather! But they have never got at him to speak a bit of their mind to
him. And then how clever he was in getting round his own younger son.
The property got into such a condition that there was money enough to
pay the Jews the money they had really lent. Augustus, who was never
quite sure of his father, thought it would be best to disarm them; and
he consented to pay them, getting back all their bonds. But he was very
uncivil to the squire,--told him that the sooner he died the better, or
something of that sort; and then the squire immediately turned round and
sprung this Rummelsburg marriage upon us, and has left every stick about
the place to Mountjoy. It must all go to Mountjoy,--every acre, every
horse, every bed, and every book."

"And these, in twelve months' time, will have been divided among the
card-players of the metropolis," said Quaverdale.

"We've got nothing to do with that. If ever a man did have a lesson he
has had it. If he chose to take it, no man would ever have been saved in
so miraculous a manner. But there can be no doubt that John Scarborough
and Ada Sneyd were married at Rummelsburg, and that it will be found to
be impossible to unmarry them."

"Old Mrs. Sneyd, the lady's mother, was then present?" said Quaverdale.

"Not a doubt about it, and that Fritz Deutchmann was present at the
marriage. I almost think that we ought to have brought him away with us.
It would have cost a couple