r to pause for an instant.

"You're SURE there's no bad news, Mr. Bangs?" she asked, anxiously.

He managed to smile, but the smile was not a convincing success.
"Oh, yes--ah--quite, quite," he protested. "It--it is--ah--extremely
pleasant, really.... Yes--yes, Cousin Gussie, I am--I am still here."

"Oh, you are! Fine! I thought probably you had gone to dig another
quahaug. Why don't you answer letters?"

Galusha glanced desperately at the kitchen door. Thank heaven, it was
closed.

"I answered yours," he declared.

"You did not. You only half answered it. That idiot Barbour sent you a
check for over fourteen thousand dollars. Of course, if I had been well
and here he wouldn't have done any such fool thing. He says you told him
to."

"Ah--did I?"

"Did you? Don't you know whether you did or not? Well, never mind.
You came up here on two separate occasions, so they tell me, and drew
thirteen thousand of that in cash and took it away with you. Now what on
earth did you do that for?"

Galusha did not answer. Cabot immediately demanded to know if he was
still there. Assured of this, he repeated his question.

"I--I wanted it," faltered Galusha.

"You WANTED it! Wanted thirteen thousand two hundred dollars in cash
down there on the clam flats? What did you want it FOR?"

"I--I--Well, you see--you see--"

"No, I don't see. Now, look here, old man: I realize you're of age and
that your money is your own, and all that. It isn't, legally speaking,
one single bit my business if you take every cent you've got and sink it
in the middle of Cape Cod Bay. But I promised your aunt before she died
that I would try and see that you didn't do that kind of thing. She knew
you couldn't take care of money; I knew it; why, confound it, you knew
it, too! You and I talked that whole matter over and we agreed I wasn't
to give you any large sums of your money, no matter how hard you begged
for them, unless you told me why you wanted them and I was satisfied it
was all right. Didn't we agree to that? Isn't that so?"

"Why--why, yes, Cousin Gussie. You have been very kind. I appreciate it,
I assure you."

"Oh, be hanged! I haven't been kind. I've only been trying to keep you
from being TOO kind to people who work you for a good thing, that's all.
Look here, Loosh: _I_ know what you've done with that thirteen thousand
dollars."

Galusha shot one more pitiful glance in the direction of the kitchen.

"Ah--ah--do you?" he stammer