Mrs. Mallathorpe's cheek had flushed at the mention of the books from the Mill. Now, at Pratt's question, and under his searching eye, she turned very pale, and the clerk saw her fingers tighten on the arms of her chair.
"What?" she asked. "What?"
"John Mallathorpe's will!" he answered. "Do you understand? Hiswill!"
The woman glanced quickly about herat the doors, the uncurtained window.
"Safe enough here," whispered Pratt. "I made sure of that. Don't be afraidno one knowsbut me."
But Mrs. Mallathorpe seemed to find some difficulty in speaking, and when she at last got out a word her voice sounded hoarse.
"Impossible!"
"It's a fact!" said Pratt. "Nothing was ever more a fact as you'll see. But let me finish my story. The old man told me how he'd found the willonly half an hour beforeand he asked me to ring up Eldrick, so that we might all read it together. I went to the telephonewhen I came back, Bartle was deadjust dead. AndI took the will out of his pocket."
Mrs. Mallathorpe made an involuntary gesture with her right hand. And Pratt smiled, craftily, and shook his head.
"Much too valuable to carry about, Mrs. Mallathorpe," he said. "I've got itall safeunder lock and key. But as I've saidnobody knows of it but myself. Not a living soul. No one has any idea! No one can have any idea. I was a bit alarmed when I heard that young Collingwood had been to you, for I thought that the old man, though he didn't tell me of any such thing, might have dropped you a line saying what he'd found. But as he didn'twell, not one living soul knows that the will's in existence, except meand you!"
Mrs. Mallathorpe was regaining her self-possession. She had had a great shock, but the worst of it was over. Already she knew, from Pratt's manner, insidious and suggesting, that the will was of a nature that would dispossess her and hers of this recently acquired wealththe clerk had made that evident by look and tone. Sothere was nothing but to face things.
"Whatwhat does itsay?" she asked, with an effort.
Pratt unbuttoned his overcoat, plunged a hand into the inner pocket, drew out a sheet of paper, unfolded it and laid it on the desk.
"An exact copy," he said tersely. "Read it for yourself."
In spite of the determined effort which she made to be calm, Mrs. Mallathorpe's fingers still trembled as she took up the sheet on which Pratt had made a fair copy of the will. The clerk watched her narrowly as she read. He knew that presently there would be a tussle between them: he knew, too, that she was a woman who would fight hard in defence of her own interest, and for the interests of her children.
Always keeping his ears open to local gossip, especially where money was concerned, Pratt had long since heard that Mrs. Mallathorpe was a keen and sharp business woman. And now he was not surprised when, having slowly and carefully read the copy of the will from beginning to end, she laid it down, and turned to him with a business-like question.
"The effect of that?" she asked. "What would it becurtly?"
"Precisely what it says," answered Pratt. "Couldn't be clearer!"
"Weshould lose all?" she demanded, almost angrily. "All?"
"Allexcept what he saysthere," agreed Pratt.
"And that," she went on, drumming her fingers on the paper, "thatwould stand?"
"What it's a copy of would stand," said Pratt. "Oh, yes, don't you make any mistake about it, Mrs. Mallathorpe! Nothing can upset that will. It is plain as a pikestaff how it came to be made. Your late brother-in-law evidently wrote his will outit's all in his own handwritingand took it down to the Mill with him the very day of the chimney accident. Just as evidently he signed it in the presence of his manager, Gaukrodger, and his cashier, Marshallthey signed at the same time, as it says, there. Now I take it that very soon after that, Mr. Mallathorpe went out into his mill yard to have a look at the chimneyGaukrodger and Marshall went with him. Before he went, he popped the will into the book, where old Bartle found it yesterdaysuch things are easily done. Perhaps he was reading the bookperhaps it lay handyhe slipped the will inside, anyway. And thenhe was killedand, what's more the two witnesses were killed with him. So there wasn't a man left who could tell of that will! Butthere's half Barford could testify to these three signatures! Mrs. Mallathorpe, there's not a chance for you if I put that will into the hands of the two trustees!"
He leaned back in his chair after thatnodding confidently, watching keenly. And now he saw that the trembling fingers were interlacing each other, twisting the rings on each other, and that Mrs. Mallathorpe was thinking as she had most likely never thought in her life. After a moment's pause Pratt went on. "Perhaps you didn't understand," he said. "I mean, you don't know the effect. Those two trusteesCharlesworth & Wyattcould turn you all clean out of thistomorrow, in a way of speaking. Everything's theirs! They can demand an account of every penny that you've all had out of the estate and the businessfrom the time you all took hold. If anything's been saved, put aside, they can demand that. You're entitled to nothing but the three amounts of ten thousand each. Of course, thirty thousand is thirty thousandit means, at five per cent., fifteen hundred a yearif you could get five per cent. safely. ButI should say your son and daughter are getting a few thousand a year each, aren't they, Mrs. Mallathorpe? It would be a nice come-down! Five hundred a year apieceat the outside. A small house instead of Normandale Grange. Genteel povertycomparatively speakinginstead of riches. That isif I hand over the will to Charlesworth & Wyatt."
Mrs. Mallathorpe slowly turned her eyes on Pratt. And Pratt suddenly felt a little afraidthere was anger in those eyes; anger of a curious sort. It might be against fateagainst circumstance: it might notwhy should it?be against him personally, but it was there, and it was malign and almost evil, and it made him uncomfortable.
"Where is the will!" she asked.
"Safe! In my keeping," answered Pratt.
She looked him all oversurmisingly.
"You'll sell it to me?" she suggested. "You'll hand it overand let me burn itdestroy it?"
"No!" answered Pratt. "I shall not!"
He saw that his answer produced personal anger at last. Mrs. Mallathorpe gave him a look which would have warned a much less observant man than Pratt. But he gave her back a look that was just as resolute.
"I say noand I mean no!" he continued. "I won't sellbut I'll bargain. Let's be plain with each other. You don't want that will to be handed over to the trustees named in it, Charlesworth & Wyatt?"
"Do you think I'm a foolman!" she flashed out.
"I should be a fool myself if I did," replied Pratt calmly. "And I'm not a fool. Very wellthen you'll square me. You'll buy me. Come to terms with me, and nobody shall ever know. I repeat to you what I've said beforenot a soul knows now, no nor suspects! It's utterly impossible for anybody to find out. The testator's dead. The attesting witnesses are dead. The man who found this will is dead. No one but you and myself ever need know a word about all this. Ifyou make terms with me, Mrs. Mallathorpe."
"What do you want?" she asked sullenly. "You forgetI've nothing of my own. I didn't come into anything."
"I've a pretty good notion who's real master hereand at Mallathorpe Mill, too," retorted Pratt. "I should say you're still in full control of your children, Mrs. Mallathorpe, and that you can do pretty well what you like with them."
"With one of them perhaps," she said, still angry and sullen. "ButI tell you, for you may as well knowif my daughter knew of what you've told me, she'd go straight to these trustees and tell! That's a fact that you'd better realize. I can't control her."