t Meadow Brook Sam Turner found W. W. Westlake, of the Westlake
Electric Company, a big, placid man with a mild gray eye and an
appearance of well-fed and kindly laziness; a man also who had the
record of having ruthlessly smashed more business competitors than any
two other pirates in his line. Westlake, unclasping his fat hands from
his comfortable rotundity, was glad to see young Turner, also glad to
introduce the new eligible to his daughter, a girl of twenty-two,
working might and main to reduce a threatened inheritance of
embonpoint. Mr. Turner was charmed to meet Miss Westlake, and even
more pleased to meet the gentleman who was with her, young Princeman, a
brisk paper manufacturer variously quoted at from one to two million.
He knew all about young Princeman; in fact, had him upon his mental
list as a man presently to meet and cultivate for a specific purpose,
and already Mr. Turner's busy mind offset the expenses of this trip
with an equal credit, much in the form of "By introduction to H. L.
Princeman, Jr. (Princeman and Son Paper Mills, AA 1), whatever it
costs." He liked young Princeman at sight, too, and, proceeding
directly to the matter uppermost in his thoughts, immediately asked him
how the new tariff had affected his business.

"It's inconvenient," said Princeman with a shake of his head. "Of
course, in the end the consumers must pay, but they protest so much
about it that they disarrange the steady course of our operations."

"It's queer that the ultimate consumer never will be quite reconciled
to his fate," laughed Mr. Turner; "but in this particular case, I think
I hold the solution. You'll be interested, I know. You see--"

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Turner," interrupted Miss Westlake gaily; "I
know you'll want to meet all the young folks, and you'll particularly
want to meet my very dearest friend. Miss Hastings, Mr. Turner."

Mr. Turner had turned to find an extraordinarily thin young woman, with
extraordinarily piercing black eyes, at Miss Westlake's side.

"Indeed, I do want to meet all the young people," he cordially
asserted, taking Miss Hastings' claw-like hand in his own and wondering
what to do with it. He could not clasp it and he could not shake it.
She relieved him of his dilemma, after a moment, by twining that arm
about the plump waist of her dearest friend.

"Is this your first stay at Meadow Brook?" she asked by way of starting
conversation. She was very carefully vivacio