learn that he was out to-night, and I brought
her down here to have a talk. We can go back again before he comes, you
know, unless"--

"But," interrupted the girl, with sudden practicality, "you say you
ain't been at Doctor Dawson's for three months! Why, only last week he
drew on dad for two hundred and fifty dollars for your extras!"

He glanced around him and then arranged his necktie in the glass above
the mantel with a nervous laugh.

"OH, THAT! I fixed that up, and got the money for it in New York to pay
our passage with. It's all right, you know."

CHAPTER II.

The girl stood looking at the ingenious forger with an odd, breathless
smile. It was difficult to determine, however, if gratified curiosity
were not its most dominant expression.

"And you've got a wife--and THAT'S her?" she resumed.

"Yes."

"Where did you first meet her? Who is she?"

"She's an actress--mighty popular in 'Frisco--I mean New York. Lot o'
chaps tried to get her--I cut 'em out. For all dad's trying to keep me
at Dawson's--I ain't such a fool, eh?"

Nevertheless, as he stood there stroking his fair mustache, his
astuteness did not seem to impress his sister to enthusiastic assent.
Yet she did not relax her breathless, inquisitive smile as she went
on:--

"And what are you going to do about dad?"

He turned upon her querulously.

"Well, that's what I want to talk about."

"You'll catch it!" she said impressively. But here her brother's
nervousness broke out into a weak, impotent fury. It was evident, too,
that in spite of its apparent spontaneous irritation its intent was
studied. Catch it! Would he? Oh, yes! Well, she'd see WHO'D catch it!
Not him. No, he'd had enough of this meanness, and wanted it ended! He
wasn't a woman to be treated like his sister,--like their mother--like
their brother, if it came to that, for he knew how he was to be brought
back to take Bijah's place in the spring; he'd heard the whole story.
No, he was going to stand up for his rights,--he was going to be treated
as the son of a man who was worth half a million ought to be treated! He
wasn't going to be skimped, while his father was wallowing in money that
he didn't know what to do with,--money that by rights ought to have
been given to their mother and their sister. Why, even the law wouldn't
permit such meanness--if he was dead. No, he'd come back with Lottie,
his wife, to show his father that there was one of the family that
couldn't be f