certainly; trot 'em out," said his brother, plucking up a
simulation of interest as he took a seat at the table.

From a drawer of his desk Gabriel brought out a bundle of prospectuses
and laid them before Uncle Sylvester.

A languid smile of recognition lit up the latter's face. "Ah! yes," he
said, glancing at them. "The old lot: 'Carmelita,' 'Santa Maria,' and
'Preciosa!' Just as I imagined--and yet who'd have thought of seeing
them HERE! A good deal rouged and powdered, Miss Carmelita, since I
first knew you! Considerably bolstered up by miraculous testimony to
your powers, my dear Santa Maria, since the day I found you out, to my
cost! And you too, Preciosa!--a precious lot of money I dropped on you
in the old days!"

"You are joking," said Gabriel, with an uneasy smile. "You don't mean to
imply that this stock is old and worthless?"

"There isn't a capital in America or Europe where for the last five
years it hasn't been floated with a new character each time. My dear
Gabriel, that stock isn't worth the paper it is printed on."

"But it is impossible that an experienced financier like Gunn could be
deceived!"

"I'm sorry to hear THAT."

"Come, Sylvester! confess you've taken a prejudice against Gunn from
your sudden dislike of his son! And what have you against him?"

"I couldn't say exactly," said Uncle Sylvester reflectively. "It may be
his eyes, or only his cravat! But," rising cheerfully and placing his
hand lightly on his brother's shoulder, "don't YOU worry yourself about
that stock, old man; I'LL see that somebody else has the worry and you
the cash. And as to the land and--Kitty--well, you hold on to them both
until you find out which the young man is really after."

"And then?" said Gabriel, with a smile.

"Don't give him either! But, I say, haven't we had enough business this
morning? Let's talk of something else. Who's the French girl?"

"Marie? She's the daughter of Jules du Page--don't you
remember?--father's friend. When Jules died, it was always thought
that father, who had half adopted her as a child, would leave her
some legacy. But you know that father died without making a will, and
that--rich as he was--his actual assets were far less than we had reason
to expect. Kitty, who felt the disappointment as keenly as her friend, I
believe would have divided her own share with her. It's odd, by the way,
that father could have been so deceived in the amount of his capital,
or how he got rid