ge?"

"As to that, I have always taken care of myself," said his sister,
coldly.

"May be so. There are some born to good luck."

"How much money do you expect me to give you?" asked Mrs. Kent.

Dick looked at his sister's face attentively. He wished to judge how
much there was a chance of getting out of her. His survey was not
particularly encouraging. She didn't appear to be a woman easily
wheedled out of her money. Still, he spoke up boldly, and said:

"A loan of five hundred dollars, Helen, would be a great lift to me."

"I have no doubt it would," said Mrs. Kent, quietly; "but if you have
any expectation of getting that sum from me you know very little of me.
I should be a fool to throw away such a sum of money."

"You would be generous."

"I have no ambition to be considered generous," she answered, coldly. "A
fool and his money are soon parted. You appear to take me for a fool,
but I beg to assure you that you are entirely mistaken."

"How much will you lend me, then?" asked Dick, rather sullenly.

"Don't use that ridiculous word 'lend,' when you know there's no
probability of your ever repaying it, even if you should be able."

"Have your own way, Helen."

"I will give you fifty dollars, though in justice to my boy I ought not
to do so."

"Fifty dollars!" repeated Dick, chagrined. "Why, that don't pay me for
coming East."

"You are right. You would have done better to stay where you were."

"You don't seem to consider, Helen, that we hadn't met for years, and I
wanted to see my only sister."

"Suppose I had had no money, would you have come then?" asked Mrs. Kent,
with contemptuous incredulity.

"No; I couldn't have afforded it. But, Helen, fifty dollars is nothing
at all. You might say a hundred."

"I might say a hundred, but there is no chance that I shall. Are you not
ashamed--a great, strong man, as you are--not to be able to support
yourself and wife without help from me?"

"Luck's been agin me," said Dick, sullenly. "I could have got ahead but
for that."

"How has it been against you?"

"I owned a mining claim in California--it didn't pay anything--and I
sold it for ten dollars. The man I sold it to kept working till he
struck a vein. He cleared ten thousand dollars."

"As you might have done if you hadn't despaired too quickly."

"Oh, well, it's easy enough to criticise, Helen. You've struck a vein,
and you're in luck. No more hard work for you."

"There would be if I gave a