The Dugdale Millions — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CHAPTER. XII. A PERVERSE MAIDEN, Days passed, and as nothing was heard from Ran- som, Dick began to lose faith, and addressed himself with greater energy to spreading far and wide adver- tisements calling for information as to the Powerses. During this time he had several conversations with Mr. Hetlow upon the subject of the search, and he thought he had discovered a suppressed impatience upon the part of the old merchant that no conclusion was reached. In the last one the merchant had said: ‘“The time must come when further search will not only be useless, but unjust to my daughter. I am convinced that I will be justified in taking steps to place my daughter in possession of the property, if, at the expiration of a year from the time the search was undertaken, no trace of young Dugdale is found.’’ It was clear Mr. Hetlow did not believe the search would result in finding the heir. Dick made no response to this remark. Noting what he conceived to be the growing impatience of Mr. Hetlow, he attributed it to a desire to further the pos- sible alliance between the houses of Mountchessington and Hetlow, which would only become probable in the event of Bessie’s inheriting the property. As disturbing as the thought was, he nevertheless took comfort in the implied promise that he should have a full year in which to work out this problem, although further disturbed by a fear as to what the consequences might be of a close and daily association between Lord Merrimount and Bessie, should the 1i2 Comicboolkk<s C@ Ss