"And growing up a weak, vicious, self-indulgent young man, who, in
the hands of a shrewd, unscrupulous villain, might easily be robbed
of his fortune. You may depend upon it, Doctor, that somebody has
suffered a terrible disappointment, and one from which he is not
likely soon to recover. No--no! We shall see nothing of this
princely Italian villa."
"I cannot believe," I replied, "that the executors who had the
estate in trust were influenced by dishonorable motives. I know the
men too well."
"Nor do I, Doctor," he answered, promptly. "But, as I have before
said, they were almost wholly under the influence of Dewey, and I
think that he was leading them into mazes from which honorable
extrication would have been impossible."
"Have you given Dewey any notice of removal?" I inquired.
"No--and shall not, for some time. I am in no hurry to leave this
place, in which the happiest days of my life have passed. Any
seeming eagerness to dispossess him, would only chafe a spirit in
which I would not needlessly excite evil passions. His pride must, I
think, lead him at a very early day to remove, and thus make a plain
way before me.
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