What's the matter with everybody?"

"There's nothing the matter, my boy, only I want to warn you I won't
have my sister unhappy."

"She makes herself unhappy," growled Frederick, selecting another
cigarette from his case.

"I can't see any use of your going down there at all," Ebenezer went on,
turning to poke the fire. "It doesn't look well after the things that
happened in your family."

"That's just it," said Frederick, using the elder's words as an excuse;
"our trouble makes it quite proper some one of my family should go
there. The girl did enough for us, God knows."

Waldstricker gave a decided negative shake of his head.

"It's your mother's place to go, not yours. You don't want a scandal, do
you?... Let her go there if any one does."

Again Frederick found an excuse.

"She can't go when she's out of Ithaca, and I took Miss Skinner a
message from my mother today. If Madelene hadn't acted so abominably,
I'd have told her about it."

Waldstricker looked keenly at the other man.

"I didn't notice you tried very hard to explain matters this afternoon!
Now, did you?"

"I was mad," retorted Frederick, sulkily.

"May I see the message your mother sent?" came quickly from
Waldstricker.

Frederick started. Evidently his brother-in-law didn't believe his
story.

"If Miss Skinner'll give it to you, you can!" said he. "... I say, Eb,
let Madelene and me get out of this the best way we can, won't you? Tell
Maddie to behave herself and leave the Skinner girl's name out of her
rages at me.... That's all I ask."

"No," thundered Ebenezer, wrathfully. "I won't have my sister in tears
all the time over a squatter girl. Madelene says you received letters
from her abroad."

"Well, I didn't," snapped back Frederick.

"That's past, anyhow! Now, then, I'm going to tell you something. I need
a man to go to San Francisco to our office there, and as Madelene wants
a change, I'm going to send you."

Frederick shuddered. Had he dared, he would have rebelled at this
wholesale delivering him over, tied hand and foot, to his tempestuous
young wife. If he were sent away, what would become of Tessibel? His
heart turned sick with apprehension. He had had no time to explain his
plans to her.

"You have no objections to going, I suppose?" Ebenezer broke in on his
harassing thoughts.

"No! If Madelene's satisfied, I am," replied Frederick, flipping the ash
from his cigarette.

"Then be ready to get away by, let me see,