wouldn't--do anything; eh?"

"He can't, Cap'n Kendrick. He can't. Don't you see, he hasn't got it.
He's poor, himself. Of course he came here to Bayport, after his wife's
death, thinking that he owned the Fair Harbor property and--and a lot
more. Why, he thought he was rich. _He_ didn't know that old Knowles had
used his influence with Mrs. Phillips when she was half sick and tricked
her into----"

"Here, here!" The captain's tone was rather sharp this time. "Never mind
that. Old Knowles, as you call him, was a friend of mine.... I thought
he was your friend, too, George, for the matter of that."

George was embarrassed. "Well, he was," he admitted. "I haven't got
anything against him; in fact he was very good to me. But that is what
Mr. Phillips says, you know, and everybody--or about everybody--seems to
believe it. At least they are awfully sorry for Phillips."

"So I judged. But about you, now. Do _you_ believe in--er--Saint Egbert
as much as you did?"

"Why--why, I don't know. I---- Of course it seems almost as if he ought
to do something to help me, but if he can't he can't, I suppose."

"I suppose not. Look here, he won't tell anybody about your scrape, will
he?"

The junior partner in the firm of Phillips and Kent was indignant.

"Of course not," he declared. "He told me he should not breathe a word.
And he is really very much disturbed about it all. He told me himself
that he felt almost guilty. Mr. Phillips is a gentleman."

"Is that so? Must be nice to be that way. But tell me a little more
about those bonds, George. There were two of 'em, you say, a thousand
dollars each."

"Yes."

"And you don't know what sort of bonds they were?"

His visitor's pride was touched. "Why, of course I know," he declared.
"What sort of a business man would I be if I didn't know that, for
heaven's sake?"

Sears did not answer the question. For a moment it seemed that he was
going to, but if so, he changed his mind. However, there was an odd look
in his eye when he spoke.

"Beg your pardon, George," he said. "I must have misunderstood you. What
bonds were they?"

"They were City of Boston bonds. Seems to me they were--er--er--well, I
forget just what--er--issue, you know, but that's what they were, City
of Boston bonds."

"I see ... I see.... Humph! Seems kind of odd, doesn't it?"

"What?"

"Oh, nothin'. Only Phillips, accordin' to his tell, is pretty close to
poverty. Yet he hung on to those two bonds all