d you change for? I don't know that Sampson
is solvent. I certainly would go back to Allen--"

"George, I can't!"

The widow looked at her plate, swept him a coquettish glance, and
dropped her eyes again.

"Mr. Allen is a dear fellow," she elucidated, "but his wife is dreadful!
There's nothing she won't suspect, and nothing she won't say!"

"My dear cousin, this isn't a question of social values! It's business!"
George said impatiently. "But I'll tell you what to do," he added, after
scowling thought. "You put it in Miss Eliot's hands; she was with Allen
for some years. Now she's gone in for herself, and she's doing well.
We've given her several things--" "Take it out of a man's hands to put
it into a woman's!" Alys exclaimed. And Emelene added softly:

"What can a woman be thinking of, to go into a dreadful business like
selling real estate and collecting rents!"

"Of course, she was trained by men!" Genevieve threw in, a little
anxiously. Alys was so tactless, when George was tired and hungry. She
cast about desperately for some neutral topic, but before she could find
one the widow spoke again.

"I'll tell you what I'll do, George. I'll bring the books and papers
to your office tomorrow morning, and then you can do whatever you think
best! Just send me a check every month, and it will be all right!"

"Just gather me up what's there, on the plate," Emelene said, with her
nervous little laugh in the silence. "I declare I don't know when I've
eaten such a dinner! But that reminds me that you could help me
out wonderfully, too, Cousin George--I can't quite call you Mr.
Remington!--with those wretched stocks of mine. I'm sure I don't know
what they've been doing, but I know I get less money all the time!
It's the New Haven, George, that P'pa left me two years ago. I can't
understand anything about it, but yesterday I was talking to a young man
who advised me to put all my money into some tonic stock. It's a tonic
made just of plain earth--he says it makes everything grow. Doesn't
it sound reasonable? But if I should lose all I have, I'm afraid I'd
_really_ wear my welcome out, Genevieve, dear. So perhaps you'll advise
me?"

"I'll do what I can!" George smiled, and Genevieve's heart rose. "But
upon my word, what you both tell me isn't a strong argument for Betty's
cause!" he added good-naturedly.

"P'pa always said," Emelene quoted, "that if a woman looked about for a
man to advise her, she'd find him! And as I