But here a new surprise awaited him.Brief as had been his absence，another girl had entered the room.Beth opened the door even as West turned toward the window，and，taking in the situation at a glance，she tiptoed swiftly to the cupboard，withdrew the keys from the lock and dropped them noiselessly into a wide—mouthed vase that stood on the table and was partially filled with flowers.The next instant West turned and saw her，but she smiled at him triumphantly."Good afternoon，sir，"said the girl，sweetly；"can I do anything to assist you？"West uttered an impatient exclamation and regarded Beth savagely.
"Is the house full of girls？"he demanded.
"Oh，no；Patsy and I are quite alone，"she replied，with a laugh."Come in，Patsy dear，and help me to entertain ourguest，"she added.
Patsy came through the window and stood beside her cousin.The man stared at them，bit his lip，and then turned again to the cupboard.If he noted the absence of the keys he did not remark upon the fact，but with hurried yet thorough examination began anew to turn over the bundles of papers.
Beth sat down and watched him，but Patsy remainedstanding behind her chair.West emptied all the shelves，and then after a pause took out his pocket knife and began tapping with its end the steel sides of the cupboard.There was no doubt he suspected the existence of a secret aperturea，and Beth began to feel uneasy.
Slowly the man worked his way downward，from shelf toshelf，and began to sound the bottom plates，wholly oblivious of the fascinated gaze of the two young girls.Then a sudden gruff ejaculation startled them all，and West swung around to find a new group of watchers outside the window.In the foreground appeared the stern face of John Merrick.
The scene was intensely dramatic to all but the singular man who had been battling to retain a fortune.West knew in an instant that his attempt to secure the certi？cates was a failure.He turned from the cupboard，dusted his hands，and nodded gravely to the last arrivals.
"Come in，Mr.Merrick，"said he，seating himself in achair and removing his hat，which he had been wearing."Iowe you an apology for intruding upon your premises in your absence."Uncle John strode into the room angry and indignant at the fellow's cool impertinence.The Major and Louise followed，and all eyes centered upon the face of Bob West.
"The contents of this cupboard，"remarked the hardwaremerchant，calmly，"belong to the estate of Captain Wegg，and can scarcely be claimed by you because you have purchased the house.You falsely accused me the other day，sir，and I have been searching for proof that the Almaquo Timber Tract stock is entirely my property.""Have you found such proof？"inquired Mr.Merrick.
"Not yet."
"And you say the stock was all issued to you？"West hesitated.
"It was all transferred to me by Captain Wegg and Will Thompson.""Does the transfer appear upon the stock itself？""Of course，sir.""In that case，"said Uncle John，"I shall be obliged to ask your pardon.But the fact can be easily proved."He walked to the open cupboard，felt for the slide Joe haddescribed to him，and drew it forward.A small drawer was behind the ori？ce，and from this Mr.Merrick drew a packet of papers.
West gave a start and half arose.Then he settled back intohis chair again.
"H—m.This appears to be the stock in question，"said Uncle John.He drew a chair to the table，unfolded the documents and examined them with deliberate care.
The nieces watched his face curiously.Mr.Merrick first frowneda，then turned red，and finally a stern，determined look settled upon his rugged features.
"Take your stock，Mr.West，"he said，tossing ittoward the man；"and try to forgive us for making fools of ourselves！"