decision?" he asked at last.

"How?"

"I mean, much of the material presented to him must be documentary."

"Much of it is."

"You will pardon me," Eaton prefaced, "but of course I am immensely
interested. How are these written out for him--in Braille characters
or other letters for the blind?"

"No; that would not be practicable for all documents, and so it is done
with none of them."

"Then some one must read them to him."

"Of course."

Eaton started to speak--then refrained.

"What were you going to say?" she questioned.

"That the person--or persons--who reads the documents to him must
occupy an extremely delicate position."

"He does. In fact, I think that position is Father's one nightmare."

"Nightmare?"

"The person he trusts must not only be absolutely discreet but
absolutely honest."

"I should think so. If any one in that position wanted to use the
information brought to your father, he could make himself millions
overnight, undoubtedly, and ruin other men."

"And kill Father too," the girl added quietly. "Yes," she said as
Eaton looked at her. "Father puts nothing above his trust. If that
trust were betrayed--whether or not Father were in any way to blame for
it--I think it would kill him."

"So you are the one who is in that position."

"Yes; that is, I have been."

"You mean there is another now; that is, of course, Mr. Avery?"

"Yes; here at this house Mr. Avery and I, and Mr. Avery at the office.
There are some others at the office whom Father trusts, but not
completely; and it is not necessary to trust them wholly, for all
Father's really important decisions are made at the house, and the most
important records are kept here. Before Mr. Avery came, I was the only
one who helped here at the house."

"When was that?"

"When Mr. Avery came? About five years ago. Father had an immense
amount of work at that time. Business conditions were very much
unsettled. There was trouble at that time between some of the big
Eastern and the big Western men, and at the same time the Government
was prosecuting the Trusts. Nobody knew what the outcome of it all
would be; many of the biggest men who consulted Father were like men
groping in the dark. I don't suppose you would remember the time by
what I say; but you would remember it, as nearly everybody else does by
this: it was the time of the murder of Mr. Latron."

"Yes; I remember that," said Eaton; "and Mr. Avery came to you