father had done.

But of late it had been increasingly difficult to persuade him, on
account of business, to fulfill even his evening engagements. He was
constantly reminding her of bonds and things that he must study. Well,
if it was necessary for him to study bonds and things, he should find
some way of doing it that would not interfere with her plans.

The climax came when he asked to be excused from the Moore cotillion
because he had three other dances for that week.

"You see," he explained, "Farnsworth is going to let me go out and
sell as soon as I'm fit, and so I'm putting in a lot of extra time."

"Who is Farnsworth?" she inquired.

"Why, he's the general manager. I've told you about him."

"I remember now. But, Don dear, you aren't going to _sell_ things?"

"You bet I am," he answered enthusiastically. "All I'm waiting for is
a chance."

"But what do you sell?" she inquired.

"Investment securities."

He seemed rather pleased that she was showing so much interest.

"You see, the house buys a batch of securities wholesale and then
sells them at retail--just as a grocer does."

"Don!"

"It's the same thing," he nodded.

"Then I should call it anything but an attractive occupation."

"That's because you don't understand. You see, here's a man with some
extra money to invest. Now, when you go to him, maybe he has something
else in mind to do with that money. What you have to do--"

"Please don't go into details, Don," she interrupted. "You know I
wouldn't understand."

"If you'd just let me explain once," he urged.

"It would only irritate me," she warned. "I'm sure it would only
furnish you with another reason why you shouldn't go about as much as
you do."

"It would," he agreed. "That's why I want to make it clear. Don't you
see that if I keep at this for a few years--"

"Years?" she gasped.

"Well, until I get my ten thousand."

"But I thought you were planning to have that by next fall at the
latest."

"I'm going to try," he answered. "I'm going to try hard. But, somehow,
it doesn't look as easy as it did before I started. I didn't
understand what a man has to know before he's worth all that money."

"I'm sure I don't find ten thousand to be very much," she observed.

"Perhaps it isn't much to spend," he admitted, "but it's a whole lot
to earn. I know a bunch of men who don't earn it."

"Then they must be very stupid."

"No; but somehow dollars look bigger downtown than they