ll kill his wife, when she comes to know that Peter Junior was
murdered, and that is why he took her to Scotland. She told me she was
sure her son was there, or would go to see his great aunts there, and
that is why she consented to go--but I'm sure the Elder wished to get
her out of the way."

"Strange--strange," said Bertrand. "After all, it is better to
forgive. No one knows what transpired, and Richard is the real
sufferer."

"Do you suppose he'll leave Hester there, Bertrand?"

"I hardly think she would be left, but it is impossible to tell. A
son's loss is more than any other--to a mother."

"Do you think so, Bertrand? It would be hardest of all to lose a
husband, and the Elder has failed so much since Peter Junior's
death."

"Peter Junior seems to be the only one who has escaped suffering in
this tragedy. Remorse in Richard's case, and stubborn anger in the
Elder's--they are emotions that take large toll out of a man's
vitality. If ever Richard is found, he will not be the young man we
knew."

"Unless he is innocent. All this may have been an accident."

"Then why is he staying in hiding?"

"He may have felt there was no way to prove his innocence."

"Well, there is another reason why the Elder should withdraw his offer
of a reward, and when he comes back, I mean to try what can be done
once more. Everything would have to be circumstantial. He will have a
hard time to prove his nephew's guilt."

"I can't see why he should try to prove it. It must have been an
accident--at the last. Of course it might have been begun in anger, in
a moment of misunderstanding, but the nature of the boys would go to
show that it never could have been done intentionally. It is
impossible."

CHAPTER XXX

THE ARGUMENT

"Mr. Ballard, either my son was murdered, or he was a murderer. The
crime falls upon us, and the disgrace of it, no matter how you look at
it." The Elder sat in the back room at the bank, where his friend had
been arguing with him to withdraw the offer of a reward for the
arrest. "It's too late, now--too late. The man's found and he claims
to be my son. You're a kindly man, Mr. Ballard, but a blind one."

Bertrand drew his chair closer to the Elder's, as if by so doing he
might establish a friendlier thought in the man's heart. "Blind?
Blind, Elder Craigmile?"

"I say blind. I see. I see it all." The Elder rose and paced the
floor. "The boys fought, there on the bluff, and sought to kill each