almost
to sleekness. His clothing was good, and by no means characteristic of
the country. He was the epitome of a business man of civilization,
given, perhaps, to indulgence in the luxuries of the table. Nature had
acted unkindly by him. He knew it, and resented it with passionate
bitterness.

Alec Mowbray displayed no hesitation. He entered the room quickly, and
in a truculent way, and closed the door with some sharpness behind him.
The action displayed his mood. And something of his character, too.

Murray took him in from head to foot without appearing to observe him.
Nor was his regard untinged with envy. The youngster was over six feet
in height. In his way he was as handsome as his mother had been.
There was much of his dead father about him, too. But his eyes had
none of the steadiness of either of his parents. His mouth was soft,
and his chin was too pointed, and without the thrust of power. But for
all these things his looks were beyond question. His fair, crisply
curling hair, his handsome eyes, must have given him an appeal to
almost any woman. Murray felt that this was so. He envied him and----
He looked definitely in the boy's direction in response to a rough
challenge.

"Well--what is it?"

Murray's shining eyes gazed steadily at him. The smile so usual to him
had been carefully set aside. It left his face almost expressionless
as he replied.

"I want to tell you I'm sorry for--this afternoon. Darn sorry. I was
on the jump with work, and didn't pause to think. I hadn't the right
to act the way I did. And--well, I guess I'm real sorry. Will you
shake?"

The boy was all impulse, and his impulses were untainted by anything
more serious than hot-headed resentment and momentary intolerance.
Much of his dislike of Murray was irresponsible instinct. He knew, in
his calmer moments, he had neither desire nor reason to dislike Murray.
Somehow the dislike had grown up with him, as sometimes a boy's dislike
of some one in authority over him grows up--without reason or
understanding.

But Murray's amends were too deliberate and definite to fail to appeal
to all that was most generous and impulsive in Alec. It was impossible
for him to listen to a man like Murray, generously apologizing to him,
without going more than half-way to meet him. His face cleared of its
shadow. His hot eyes smiled, as many times Murray had seen his mother
smile. He came towards the stove with outstretched h