out boarding school. Why--why, Mr.
Fairfax, Phoebe's only five--not quite that, and I--I think it would
be cruel to put her off among strangers. When she's fifteen or
sixteen, maybe, but not now. Nellie don't mean that, I'm sure."

"There is a splendid school for little girls up in Montreal--a sort of
convent, you know. They get the best of training, moral, spiritual,
and physical. It is an ideal life for a child. Nellie has been
thinking a great deal of sending her there. In fact, she has
practically decided to----"

Harvey came to his feet slowly, dizzily.

"I can't believe it. She wouldn't send the poor little thing up there
all alone; no, sir! I--I wouldn't let her do it." He was pacing the
floor. His forehead was moist.

"Miss Duluth appreciates one condition that you don't seem able to
grasp," said Fairfax, bluntly. "She wants to keep the child as far
removed from stage life and its environments as possible. She wants
her to have every advantage, every opportunity to grow up entirely out
of reach of the--er--influences which now threaten to surround her."

Harvey stopped in front of him. "Is this what you came out here for,
Mr. Fairfax? Did Nellie tell you to do this?"

"I will be perfectly frank with you. She asked me to come out and talk
it over with you."

"Why didn't she come herself?"

"She evidently was afraid that you would overrule her in the matter."

"I never overruled her in my life," cried Harvey. "She isn't afraid of
me. There's something else."

"I can only say, sir, that she intends to put the child in the convent
before Christmas. She goes on the road after the holidays," said
Fairfax, setting his huge jaw.

Harvey sat down suddenly, limp as a rag. His mouth filled with
water--a cold, sickening moisture that rendered him speechless for a
moment. He swallowed painfully. His eyes swept the little room as if
in search of something to prove that this was the place for
Phoebe--this quiet, happy little cottage of theirs.

"Before Christmas?" he murmured.

"See here, Mr.--ah--Mr., here is the situation in a nutshell:--Nellie
doesn't see why she should be keeping up two establishments. It's
expensive. The child will be comfortable and happy in the convent and
this house will be off her hands. She----"

"Why don't she give up her flat in town?" demanded Harvey, miserably.
"That's where the money goes."

"She expects to give it up the first of the year," said Fairfax. "The
road tour lasts