you know--he told me his daughter was interested in a young
artist of exceptional talent, and he took me to a gallery to show me
what this man could do. I am not an art critic, as you are aware, my
dear, but this landscape of Jason Jones appealed to me as delightful.
Captain Bob knew art, and so did Antoinette, so it is evident that
Jones _could_ paint, but for some reason became dissatisfied with his
work and abandoned it. Perhaps his ambition was too lofty for human
skill to realize, yet nothing less would content him."

Mary Louise sat silent for a while. Then she asked:

"Did Jason Jones impress you as a man capable of a great ambition?
Would you guess him an artist who had once accomplished admirable
things?"

"Artists are always peculiar," stated her grandfather. "They must be
temperamental in order to be artists, and temperaments differ widely.
Had I not known something of Jason Jones' history I might have felt, on
making his acquaintance to-day, that he is not an ordinary man. For,
gruff and churlish though he proved, it is undeniable that he has
selected a charming and retired spot in which to live----"

"Or to hide," she interrupted.

"Or that, with considerable wealth at his command, he lives simply and
unostentatiously, enjoying nature's choice gifts and content with the
simple life he leads, with only the society of his young daughter."

"Whom he neglects and refuses to educate properly," declared the girl.
"What makes you think he is wealthy?"

"I know that Antoinette made millions, after her father died, from the
mines. By current report she retired and invested her money wisely, in
sound securities, which accords with her excellent business reputation.
Her daughter not being of age--let me see: she must have been but
eleven when her mother passed away--there would be a guardian appointed
for the heiress, and Alora told us that it was her mother's wish that
her father act as her guardian. So the conclusion is evident that Mr.
Jones has a large income at his command."

"All the more reason he should be generous, but he isn't spending much
of it," said Mary Louise.

"No; he is probably living simply in order that his daughter's fortune
may increase during the years of her minority. That is a point in his
favor, you must admit."

"Nevertheless," asserted the young girl, "I think there is something
wrong in the Jones family. It isn't due to Alora; she's a dear little
thing, wild and untamed but ve