Whether he could win her or not his determination grew
to refuse to obey his father's command. He revolted, right then and
there. Let his father keep his money. He, Lawford Tapp, would go to
work in any case and would support himself.

This was no small resolve on the part of the millionaire's son. He
could not remember of ever having put his hand into an empty pocket.
His demands on the paternal purse had been more reasonable than most
young men of his class perhaps, because of his naturally simple tastes
and the life he had led outside the classroom. Without having "gone
in" for athletics at Cambridge he was essentially an out-of-door man.

Nevertheless, to stand in open revolt against I. Tapp's command was a
very serious thing to do. Lawford appreciated his own shortcomings in
the matter of intellect. He knew he was not brilliant enough to make
his wit entirely serve him for daily bread--let alone cake and other
luxuries. If his father disinherited him he must verily expect to earn
his bread by the sweat of his brow.

It was that evening, after his fruitless call at Cap'n Abe's store,
that the young man met his father and had it out. Lawford came back to
Tapp Point in the motor boat. As he walked up from the dock there was
a sudden eruption of voices from the house, a door banged, and the
Taffy King began exploding verbal fireworks as he crunched the gravel
under foot.

"I'll show him! Young upstart! Settin' the women on me! Ha! Thinks
he can do as he pleases forever and ever, amen! I'll show him!"

Just then he came face to face with "the young upstart." I. Tapp
seized his son's arm with a vicious if puny grasp and yelled:

"What d'you mean by it?"

"Mean by what, dad?" asked the boy with that calmness that always
irritated I. Tapp.

"Settin' your ma and the girls on me? They all lit on me at once. All
crying together some foolishness about your marrying this Grayling girl
and putting the family into society."

"Into society?" murmured Lawford. "I--I don't get you."

"You know what they're after," cried the candy manufacturer. "If a
dynamite bomb would blow in the walls of that exclusive Back Bay set,
they'd use one. And now it turns out this girl's right in the
swim------I thought you said she was a picture actress?"

"I thought she was," stammered Lawford.

"Bah! You thought? You never thought a thing in your life of any
consequence."

The young man was silent at this thrust.