d a box party will be waiting
for us in the lobby. Do you think she would listen to a declaration from
me during that six or eight minutes under those circumstances? No. And
what chance would I have in the theatre or afterward? None. No, dad,
this is one tangle that your money can't unravel. We can't buy one
minute of time with cash; if we could, rich people would live longer.
There's no hope of getting a talk with Miss Lantry before she sails."

"All right, Richard, my boy," said old Anthony, cheerfully. "You may run
along down to your club now. I'm glad it ain't your liver. But don't
forget to burn a few punk sticks in the joss house to the great god
Mazuma from time to time. You say money won't buy time? Well, of course,
you can't order eternity wrapped up and delivered at your residence for
a price, but I've seen Father Time get pretty bad stone bruises on his
heels when he walked through the gold diggings."

That night came Aunt Ellen, gentle, sentimental, wrinkled, sighing,
oppressed by wealth, in to Brother Anthony at his evening paper, and
began discourse on the subject of lovers' woes.

"He told me all about it," said brother Anthony, yawning. "I told him my
bank account was at his service. And then he began to knock money. Said
money couldn't help. Said the rules of society couldn't be bucked for a
yard by a team of ten-millionaires."

"Oh, Anthony," sighed Aunt Ellen, "I wish you would not think so much of
money. Wealth is nothing where a true affection is concerned. Love is
all-powerful. If he only had spoken earlier! She could not have refused
our Richard. But now I fear it is too late. He will have no opportunity
to address her. All your gold cannot bring happiness to your son."

At eight o'clock the next evening Aunt Ellen took a quaint old gold ring
from a moth-eaten case and gave it to Richard.

"Wear it to-night, nephew," she begged. "Your mother gave it to me. Good
luck in love she said it brought. She asked me to give it to you when
you had found the one you loved."

Young Rockwall took the ring reverently and tried it on his smallest
finger. It slipped as far as the second joint and stopped. He took it
off and stuffed it into his vest pocket, after the manner of man. And
then he 'phoned for his cab.

At the station he captured Miss Lantry out of the gadding mob at eight
thirty-two.

"We mustn't keep mamma and the others waiting," said she.

"To Wallack's Theatre as fast as you can drive!"