'He's not dead, unless I choose,' returned Morris.

'And come to that,' cried John, 'if you're right, and Uncle Masterman's

been dead ever so long, all we have to do is to tell the truth and

expose Michael.'

'You seem to think Michael is a fool,' sneered Morris. 'Can't you

understand he's been preparing this fraud for years? He has the whole

thing ready: the nurse, the doctor, the undertaker, all bought, the

certificate all ready but the date! Let him get wind of this business,

and you mark my words, Uncle Masterman will die in two days and be

buried in a week. But see here, Johnny; what Michael can do, I can do.

If he plays a game of bluff, so can I. If his father is to live for

ever, by God, so shall my uncle!'

It's illegal, ain't it?' said John.

A man must have SOME moral courage,' replied Morris with dignity.

And then suppose you're wrong? Suppose Uncle Masterman's alive and

kicking?'

'Well, even then,' responded the plotter, 'we are no worse off than we

were before; in fact, we're better. Uncle Masterman must die some day;

as long as Uncle Joseph was alive, he might have died any day; but we're

out of all that trouble now: there's no sort of limit to the game that I

The Wrong Box