"What do you think of this?" he asked of Dr. Remington.
"I think your aunt wanted to put you off the track," replied the physician.
"That she had no idea of going to California, even at first?"
"That\'s it."
"Do you think she suspects what we intend to do?"
"Perhaps," was the dry reply. "Insane people are quite crafty, you know."
"Oh, she must be insane, Remington."
"Well, I am willing to give a certificate to that effect, and I can get another doctor to back me up."
"But we can\'t touch her in England, can we?"
"I think not. You must try some means of getting her back to the United States."
"That is easy enough to say, but not so easy to do," returned Frederic Vernon gloomily.
"Make it necessary for her to return."
"How can I?"
"Do you know how her capital is invested?"
"In various investments,--banks, stocks, and bonds, besides some real estate."
"Why not write to her, saying that some of her money is in danger of being lost, and that she must return at once in order to take the necessary steps to save it?"
"By Jove, but that\'s a good idea!" ejaculated Frederic Vernon. "Remington, you have a long head on you. I\'ll write the letter at once."
"You must be very careful how you word it, otherwise she may smell a mouse, as the saying is."
"Yes, I\'ll look her interests up first and find out how they stand. I had a list which I kept after giving up being her secretary."
"Then you ought to be able to compose a first-rate letter."
"But how will I send it? I am not supposed to know where she is."
"Tell her you saw the notice in the newspaper."
"To be sure--I didn\'t think of that."
On returning to his bachelor apartments Frederic Vernon looked over the papers he had kept, which should have been turned over to Robert, and found that his aunt owned thirty thousand dollars\' worth of stock of the Great Lakes Lumber Company, whose principal place of business was in Chicago. This stock had once dropped, but was now worth a little above par value.
"This will do," he murmured to himself, and sitting down to his desk, penned the following letter:
"My Dearest Aunt:
"I was very much surprised to learn about a week ago that you had left Chicago for parts unknown. I suppose you are off on a little trip, and do not want to be worried about business or anything else. I thought you were in California, and was much surprised to see, by the New York Herald, that you are in London.
"I called at your home to tell you about the Great Lakes Lumber Company. Quite by accident I overheard a talk between the president of the concern and some stockholders, and learned that they intend to freeze out some of the other stockholders, including yourself. I heard the president say, \'We\'ll get that woman out, even if we don\'t get anybody else out.\'
"Under such conditions, I would advise you to return to Chicago at once, and then I will tell you all of the details, so that you can proceed against the company without delay and save yourself.
"I am in the best of health, and about to accept a fine business opening with one of the leading railroads. I trust you are also well, and that your ocean trip does you a world of good.
"Devotedly your nephew,
"Frederic Vernon."
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CHAPTER X. MATTERS AT HOME.
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