I had no witnesses to prove the fact;
and though appearances were certainly in my favour, yet the case could
only be decided according to evidence. With great reluctance I consented
to take a part in the scheme he chalked out for my guidance; and, on the
third day from my arrival, I walked a few miles and returned to the
town, that it might appear as if I had only just arrived. On being set
down at my uncle's I had the satisfaction to find, as far as could be
gathered from his manner, that he had no idea of my recent sojourn in
the neighbourhood. Of course the conversation turned on the death of my
revered parents, and the way in which their property had been disposed
of.
"I can only repeat," continued he, "what I, as the only executor under
your father's will, was commissioned to inform you at his decease. The
property was heavily mortgaged before your departure; and its continued
depression in value, arising from causes that could not have been
foreseen, left the executor no other alternative but that of giving the
creditors possession. The will is here," said he, taking out a paper,
neatly folded and mounted with red tape, from a bureau.
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