f them. You haven't any sense of humor
or you wouldn't talk about Phil marrying me. Phil's not likely to marry
a clodhopper, her uncle's hired hand."

"Don't be an ass, Fred. Phil's a fine girl; she's a wonder."

"I suppose," said Fred deliberately, "that if you wanted to marry Phil
Kirkwood yourself there would be no disloyalty to our family in that. It
would be perfectly proper; quite the right thing."

"I didn't say I wanted to marry her," jerked Charles.

He was pacing the floor with bent head. His brother's equanimity
irritated him and intensified his anger. He struck his hands together
suddenly as though emphasizing a resolution, and arrested Fred, who had
knocked the ashes from his pipe and was walking slowly toward the door.

"I say, Fred, I didn't mean to flare up that way, but all this Sycamore
business has got on my nerves. Sit down a minute. Uncle Will's in a
terrible funk. Plumb scared to death. And just between you and me he's
got a right to be."

He crossed to the door, opened it and peered into the hall. Fred
balanced himself on the footboard of the bed, and watched his brother
expectantly. Earlier in the interview Charles had begun to say something
as to their father's affairs, but had failed to reach the point, either
by design or through the chance drift of their talk. Charles was deeply
worried; that was clear; and Fred resolved to give him time to swing
back to the original starting-point.

"I'm sorry if Uncle Will's in trouble," he remarked.

"It's the First National," Charles went on in an excited whisper. "The
examiner made a bad report last month and the Comptroller sent a special
agent out who's raised the devil--threatened to shut him up. That's bad
enough. If old Kirkwood gets ugly about Sycamore, you can't tell what he
may do. He's playing an awful deep, quiet game. The fact is he's got us
all where he wants us. If he turned the screws right now we're pinched.
And here's something I didn't mean to tell you; but I've got to; and
you've got to come in and help me. Father knew the Sycamore was
over-bonded. The construction company was only a fake and charged about
double a fair price for its work. Father only cashed part of the bonds
he got on the construction deal and hid the rest; and when he died
suddenly I had to think hard and act quick, for I saw the road was going
to the bad, and that the people who had bought bonds in good faith would
rise up and howl. When I took hold as admini