“They must necessarily be in each other’s confidence, I should say.”

“He’s not in my confidence. My belief is he’s been a deal too clever for Tom; and that he’ll turn out to be too clever—for me, and—my poor orphans.” Upon which Mrs Tom put her handkerchief up to her eyes. “There; he’s coming down,” continued the wife. “Do you go up now, and make Tom tell you what it is that Sam Rubb has been saying to him.”

Margaret Mackenzie did go up as she heard Mr Rubb close the front door; but she had no such purpose as that with which her sister-in-law had striven to inspire her. She had no wish to make the sick man tell her anything that he did not wish to tell. In considering the matter within her own breast, she owned to herself that she did not expect much from the Rubbs in aid of the wants of her nephews and nieces; but what would be the use of troubling a dying man about that? She had agreed with herself to believe that the oilcloth business was a bad affair, and that it would be well to hope for nothing from it. That her brother to the last should harass himself about the business was only natural; but there could be no reason why she should harass him on the same subject. She had recognised the fact that his widow and children must be supported by her; and had she now been told that the oilcloth factory had been absolutely abandoned as being worth nothing, it would not have caused her much disappointment. She thought a great deal more of the railway company that was going to buy her property under such favourable circumstances.

She was, therefore, much surprised when her brother began about the business as soon as she had seated herself. I do not know that the reader need be delayed with any of the details that he gave her, or with the contents of the papers which he showed her. She, however, found herself compelled to go into the matter, and compelled also to make an endeavour to understand it. It seemed that everything hung upon Samuel Rubb, junior, except the fact that Samuel Rubb’s father, who now never went near the place, got more than half the net profits; and the further fact, that the whole thing would come to an end if this payment to old Rubb were stopped.

“Tom,” said she, in the middle of it all, when her head was aching with figures, “if it will comfort you, and enable you to put all these things away, you may know that I will divide everything I have with Sarah.”

He assured her that her kindness did comfort him; but he hoped better than that; he still thought that something better might be arranged if she would only go on with her task. So she went on painfully toiling through figures.

“Sam drew them up on purpose for you, yesterday afternoon,” said he.