s for them, provided the young ladies will agree to
assume the entire management of them when they are completed."

Dead silence followed this speech. The girls did some rapid-fire mental
calculations and realized that this young man was proposing to invest
something like fourteen hundred thousand dollars, in order that they
might carry out their philanthropic conception. Why should he do this,
even if he could afford it?

Both Mr. Merrick and Arthur Weldon were staring stolidly at the floor.
Their attitudes expressed, for the first time, doubt--if not positive
unbelief. As men of considerable financial experience, they regarded the
young islander's proposition as an impossible one.

Jones noted this blank reception of his offer and glanced appealingly at
Patsy. It was an uncomfortable moment for the girl and to avoid meeting
his eyes she looked away, across the lobby. A few paces distant stood a
man who leaned against a table and held a newspaper before his face.
Patsy knew, however, that he was not reading. A pair of dark, glistening
eyes peered over the top of the paper and were steadfastly fixed upon the
unconscious features of young Jones.

Something in the attitude of the stranger, whom she had never seen
before, something in the rigid pose, the intent gaze--indicating both
alertness and repression--riveted the girl's attention at once and gave
her a distinct shock of uneasiness.

"I wish," said the boy, in his quiet, firm way, yet with much deference
in his manner and tone, "that you young ladies would consider my offer
seriously, and take proper time to reach a decision. I am absolutely in
earnest. I want to join you in your attempt to give pleasure to children,
and I am willing and--and able--to furnish the funds required. Without
your cooperation, however, I could do nothing, and my health is such that
I wish to leave the management of the theatres entirely in your hands, as
well as all the details of their construction."

"We will consider it, of course, Mr. Jones," answered Beth gravely. "We
are a little startled just now, as you see; but when we grow accustomed
to the immensity of the scheme--our baby, which you have transformed into
a giant--we shall be able to consider it calmly and critically, and
decide if we are competent to undertake the management of so many
theatres."

"Thank you. Then, I think, I will excuse myself for this evening and
return to my room. I'm improving famously, under Dr. Doy