Claudius succeeded, as he probably would, in obtaining
his fortune, Barker would be no worse off than before. He would have
done nothing assailable, and he would have gained all the advantages of
the time Claudius lost, not to mention the cloud of suspicion which must
inevitably rest on the Doctor, until he should succeed in clearing
himself before the world. With skill, courage, and money, there was no
telling what progress Barker might make in his suit for the Countess,
before Claudius was himself again. With such an advantage, if he could
not outdo the Swede, he did not deserve to.

So saying, Mr. Barker, left once more alone in the sitting-room, paced
slowly twice round the table, looked at himself in the glass, twisted
his heavy moustache into shape, and smoothed his hair. Then he took his
hat and went out. There was a cab at the door of the club, and in a
minute more he was spinning along Fifth Avenue, in the direction of his
father's house.

The machinery was wound up, and he had nothing more to do. To-morrow
morning Claudius would pass a bad quarter of an hour with Mr. Screw, and
in the afternoon Barker would call upon him and offer such consolation
as was in his power; and when he had called on Claudius, he would call
on the Countess Margaret and tell her what sad sceptics these legal
people were, everlastingly pestering peaceable citizens in the hope of
extracting from them a few miserable dollars. And he would tell her how
sorry he was that Claudius should be annoyed, and how he, Barker, would
see him through--that is, he hoped so; for, he would add, of course,
such men as Mr. Screw and his own father would not make so much trouble
if they did not at least think they had some cause for anxiety; and so
forth, and so on. And he would leave the Countess with a most decided
impression that there was something wrong about Claudius. Oh yes!
something not _quite_ clear about his antecedents, you know. Of course
it would come right in the end--no doubt of that; oh dear, no.

It was a happy night for Mr. Barker; but Claudius slept ill. He had an
evil dream.

CHAPTER XII

When Mr. Screw called at Claudius's hotel the next day, the Doctor had
gone out. Mr. Screw said he would wait, and sat down with a book to pass
the time, for he was fond of reading in his leisure moments, few as they
were. Claudius had left the house early in the morning, and had gone to
find the spot where his uncle had been buried--no