haunted. What hold
did Anthony Crawford have upon his cousin; why should one have so
little and the other so much; why did that high wall forbid all
intercourse with that strange neighbor? It was plain to Oliver at last
that their night ride through lanes and crossroads had been necessary
because the wall cut off any direct path, and that the goal of their
expedition in the dark had been Anthony Crawford's sagging, one-hinged
gate.

The morning sun was rising higher, the cheerful sound of a grass
cutter was going up and down the garden, and smoke was mounting from
the kitchen chimney. With some care, lest he should be asked the cause
of his scratched hands and torn sleeve, Oliver slipped into the house
and sought his own room.

He and Janet talked over all that he had seen, but they could make
little of it and were, indeed, more mystified than ever. At intervals
during the day, they kept coming back to the subject and were still
talking of it that evening as they sat in the library with the long
windows open upon the terrace and upon the flowering garden. They had
come to no conclusion, however, when the study door opened and Cousin
Jasper came toward them across the hall. He looked less troubled
to-night, and was smiling as though he had been looking forward to
this hour they were to spend together. Yet his face changed in a
moment at the sound of rattling wheels on the drive, followed by the
appearance of a troubled Hotchkiss at the door, with the reluctant
question:

"Will you see Mr. Crawford, sir?"

The visitor had not waited, but came pushing in behind him.

"We do not need to stand on ceremony," he said, "when it is all in
the same family. These are your two guests, eh? You need not introduce
them, we have met before. I saw the boy very recently, in fact; he
seems to be an enterprising fellow and was conducting some
investigations of his own. Well, well, we won't talk of it now."

Oliver writhed inwardly under his sharp glance, but could muster no
appropriate reply. He was thinking again that Anthony Crawford might
have been handsome except for those restless gray eyes that were set
too near together. Although his host was obviously anxious to lead him
away to the study, the visitor planted himself in the middle of the
library floor and stood his ground firmly.

"Have you thought over my offer, Jasper?" he said. "Are you ready to
give me my share, or shall I take all?"

"I have given up what seemed yo