Miss Thurston."

"You can do a great deal, Mr. Bonner," put in the girl quickly. "I've
come to ask that you keep your promise to me."

"Let me see, was it a box of bon-bons?" questioned Bonner lightly.

Barbara ignored this and asked bluntly:

"Why do you insist on ruining Mr. Stuart and Mr. Presby?"

"Please explain yourself," said Bonner harshly, taken off his guard and
flushing hotly.

Barbara did so, in girlish fashion.

"Young woman, did Robert Stuart send you to intercede for him?"

"Oh, no! He would be displeased if he knew that I had come here to-day."

"Miss Thurston, I admire your pluck. I, not being responsible for Mr.
Stuart's or for Mr. Presby's speculations, can of course do nothing for
you in this. If I could, I think my gratitude to you for saving my life
would take a personal form. This is business, and in that each man
fights for himself. By the way, how did you get the notion that I am in
any way responsible for Mr. Stuart's misjudgment on market conditions?"

"I chanced to overhear your conversation with your friend 'Jim' on the
sleeper."

"So you played eavesdropper! I would not have thought it of you, Miss
Thurston."

"It was impossible not to hear; but when you mentioned Mr. Stuart's
name, I listened, call it what you please."

"I presume you told Robert Stuart what you heard," he responded, again
flushing.

"No, Mr. Bonner--not yet."

With the words, Barbara rose and ran out of the office, slamming the
door behind her. Her face was aflame and she was trembling.

When she reached the street she decided to walk for part of the
distance, so that she would have time to quiet her agitation before she
should reach the Stuarts' home. It was growing dark before she realized
that she would have to take a taxi or the Stuarts would be very much
worried about her.

"Oh, Bab, where have you been? We've been frightfully worried," cried
Ruth. "Dad's home, and he said his secretary told him you'd left the
office about three o'clock."

"I started to walk, and forgot how late it was, Ruth."

Mr. Stuart, who had come into the hall in time to hear the conversation
and noting how tired Bab looked, said:

"Come to dinner now, and Barbara can tell us things later."

When dinner was over and they were seated around the library fire,
Barbara turned to Mr. Stuart and said:

"I can tell you the name of the man who's fighting you and Mr. Presby,
Mr. Stuart. Will the knowledge do you any good?"