pretty
enough conceit for those who are forced to make the best of their
personal misfortunes, but that is as far as it goes. Don't for a
moment think it's a desirable lot."

"In a way, that's just what I _am_ thinking," answered Don.

"Then it's because you don't know any better. It's nonsense. A woman
wants money and wants the things she can buy with money. She's
entitled to those things. If she can't have them, then it's her
misfortune. If the man she looks to to supply them can't give them to
her, then it's his misfortune. But it's nothing for him to boast
about. If he places her in such a situation deliberately, it's
something for him to be ashamed of."

"I can see that, sir," answered Don, "when it's carried too far. But
you understand that I'm provided with a good home and a salary large
enough for the ordinary decent things of life."

"That isn't the point," broke in Stuyvesant. "We'll admit the girl
won't have to go hungry, but she'll go without a lot of other things
that she's been brought up to have, and, as long as I can supply them,
things she's entitled to have. On that salary you won't supply her
with many cars, you won't supply her with the kind of clothes she is
accustomed to, you won't supply her with all the money she wants to
spend. What if she does throw it away? That's her privilege now. I've
worked twenty-five years to get enough so that she can do just that.
There's not a whim in the world she can't satisfy. And the man who
marries her must give her every single thing I'm able to give her--and
then something more."

"In money?" asked Don.

"The something more--not in money."

He rose and stood before Don.

"I've been frank with you, Pendleton, and I'll say I think the girl
cares for you. But I know Frances better than you, and I know that,
even if she made up her mind to do without all these things, it would
mean a sacrifice. As far as I know, she's never had to make a
sacrifice since she was born. It isn't necessary. Get that point,
Pendleton. It isn't necessary, and I'll not allow any man to make it
necessary if I can help it."

He paused as if expecting an outburst from Don. The latter remained
silent.

"I've trusted you with the girl," Stuyvesant concluded. "Up to now
I've no fault to find with you. You've lost your head for a minute,
but you'll get a grip on yourself. Go ahead and make your fortune, and
come to me again. In the mean while, I'm willing to trust you
further."