rty. He's a
foreigner himself."

"Oh, I forgot. I didn't think that----" Poor Leonore stopped there,
horrified at what she had said.

"No," said Peter, "Dennis is not a foreigner. He's one of the most
ardent Americans I know. As far as my experience goes, to make one of
Dennis's bulls, the hottest American we have to-day, is the
Irish-American."

"Oh, come," said Watts. "You know every Irishman pins his loyalty to the
'owld counthry.'"

"Shure," said Dennis, "an' if they do, what then? Sometimes a man finds
a full-grown woman, fine, an' sweet, an' strong, an' helpful to him, an'
he comes to love her big like. But does that make him forget his old
weak mother, who's had a hard life av it, yet has done her best by him?
Begobs! If he forgot her, he wouldn't be the man to make a good husband.
Oi don't say Oi'm a good American, for its small Oi feel besides Misther
Stirling. But Oi love her, an' if she ever wants the arm, or the blood,
or the life, av Dennis Moriarty, she's only got to say so."

"Well," said Watts, "this is very interesting, both as a point of view
and as oratory; but it isn't business. Peter, we came down this morning
to take whatever legal steps are necessary to put Dot in possession of
her grandmother's money, of which I have been trustee. Here is a lot of
papers about it. I suppose everything is there relating to it."

"Papa seemed to think it would be very wise to ask you to take care of
it, and pay me the income, I can't have the principal till I'm
twenty-five."

"You must tie it up some way, Peter, or Dot will make ducks and drakes
of it. She has about as much idea of the value of money as she has of
the value of foreigners. When we had our villa at Florence, she
supported the entire pauper population of the city."

Peter had declined heretofore the care of trust funds. But it struck him
that this was really a chance--from a business standpoint, entirely! It
is true, the amount was only ninety two thousand, and, as a trust
company would handle that sum of money for four hundred and odd dollars,
he was bound to do the same; and this would certainly not pay him for
his time. "Sometimes, however," said Peter to himself, "these,
trusteeships have very handsome picking's, aside from the half per
cent." Peter did not say that the "pickings," as they framed themselves
in his mind, were sundry calls on him at his office, and a justifiable
reason at all times for calling on Leonore; to say nothing of