y sorry for what happened, sir. I wish you
could see your way--"

"I can't," said Crane.

Jane-Ellen glanced at Tucker under her eye-lashes.

"I know, sir," she went on, "that there could be no excuse for the way
he has acted, but if any excuse was possible, it did seem--" She
hesitated.

"You wish to say," interrupted Burton who now felt he did not care what
he said to any one, "that Mr. Tucker was extremely provoking. I have no
doubt, but that has nothing to do with it."

"Really, Burton," observed his guest, "I don't think that that is the
way to speak of me, particularly," he added firmly, "to a servant."

"It's sometimes a good idea to speak the truth, even to servants,
Solon," returned Crane. "You are provoking, and no one knows it better
than I have known it during the past fifteen minutes. But your powers of
being provoking have nothing to do with the matter, except
theoretically. The boy has got to go. I want him to be out of the house
within an hour. That's all there is to the whole question, Jane-Ellen."

"But, oh, sir, if he is sorry--"

"I doubt very much if he is sorry."

"Oh, why, sir?"

"Because I feel sure that in his place I shouldn't be sorry in the
least, except for having failed--if he did fail."

"I know it's a great liberty, sir, but I do wish you could give him
another chance." Her look was extraordinarily appealing.

"What in the world is Brindlebury to you, Jane-Ellen?"

"Didn't Mr. Tucker tell you, sir? He's my brother."

"No, he didn't tell me. Did you know he was Jane-Ellen's brother,
Solon?"

"Brin told him, himself, sir." She was a little overeager.

Tucker frowned.

"Yes, I believe the boy did say something to that effect. I own I was
not much interested in the fact, and I can't say I think it has any
bearing on the present situation."

Crane was silent for an instant. Then he said:

"No, it hasn't. He's got to go," and then he added, quite clearly, and
looking at his cook very directly:

"But I am sorry, Jane-Ellen, not to be able to do anything that you ask
me to do."

She looked back at him for an instant, with a sort of imperishable
sweetness, and then went sadly out of the room.

Between Crane and his legal adviser no further words were exchanged.

Crane went and took out one of the motors and rushed at a high rate of
speed over the country, frightening one or two sedate black mules, the
only other travelers on the roads, and soothing his own irritation