ever else might be said of its passengers) very
little cause for complaint. To a young man whose creditors would have
harried him nearly mad but for the fact that for several years past he
had been able to secure scarcely any credit from any one, Isabel
assumed the calm and quiet attractiveness of a well-managed national
bank. And had she seriously considered marrying him, she could have
confidently relied on his loyalty so long as Mr. Hurd could sign his
name to a check. This reflection might not have been a flattering one
to her, but it should have been a comforting one. Had it been beauty
that first attracted him, he might have wavered after the freshness
faded, but the chance that the Massachusetts Light, Heat, and Traction
Company would be obliged to discontinue its liberal dividends was so
remote as to be negligible. And Wilkinson, at all events, was
consistent.

Barnes, the stout butler, assisted him to remove his overcoat and took
his hat, and he stepped unannounced into the drawing room.

John M. Hurd's drawing room reflected the substance of its master in so
far that it appeared to represent lavish resources. In the rather dim
light, the deep rose tapestry curtains, the really beautiful rugs on
the highly polished floor, the heavy, stately furniture, and the big
central crystal chandelier all made for dignity. Even the broad-framed
pictures on the wall, although there were two or three old masters
among them, looked above suspicion. Miss Hurd was seated near the
window, talking to two young men who seemed on terms of informality in
the house.

"Shall we have tea?" she asked, when her step-cousin had seated himself.

"By all means--but I hope you don't mean it literally," replied
Wilkinson, promptly. "Tea, by all means, if necessary to preserve the
conventionalities, but especially anything and everything else you
like." He turned to Bennington Cole. "I feel rather proud of my
success in this establishment, Benny. A year ago Isabel would have
handed you out nothing except a couple of anemic sugar wafers with the
cup; now you can get English muffins and all kinds of sandwiches and
eclairs--which is at least a little better."

"Congratulate you," said Cole, with a laugh.

"Oh, I haven't finished," Wilkinson went on. "The next step in my
missionary movement will be a popular demand for chicken salad. That's
a big forward step---you eat it with a fork--and from there it will be
an easy gradatio