"
Philip Hardin feels no twinge as he seals this letter. No voice
from the grave can reach him. No proof exists in Natalie de Santos'
hands to verify her story.
As for Lagunitas, and orphan Isabel, he pores over every paper
left by the unsuspicious Padre Francisco. He smiles grimly. It was
a missionary parish. Its records have been all turned over to him.
He quietly destroys the whole mass of papers left at Lagunitas by
the priest. As for the marriage papers of her parents and certificate
of baptism of Isabel, he conceals them, ready for destruction at
a moment's notice.
He will wait till the seven years elapse before filing legal proof
of Maxime Valois' death.
Securing from the papers of the old mansion house, materials, old
in appearance, he quietly writes up a bill of sale of the quartz
lead known as the Lagunitas mine, to secure the forty thousand
dollars advanced by him to Maxime Valois, dated back to 1861. Days
of practice enable him to imitate the signature of Valois. He appends
the manual witness of "Kaintuck" and "Padre Francisco." They are
gone forever; one in the grave, one in a cloister.
This paper he sends quietly to record. It attracts no attention.
"Kaintuck" is dead.
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