present, and several prominent citizens whom he thought quite dully
similar to each other; and afterward walked to the Certina Building to
keep an appointment with its official head.

"Been feeding with our representative citizens, eh?" his father greeted
him. "Good! Meantime the Old Man grubbed along on a bowl of milk and a
piece of apple pie, at a hurry-up lunch-joint. Good working diet, for
young or old. Besides, it saves time."

"Are you as busy as all that, Dad?"

"Pretty busy this morning, because I've had to save an hour for you out
of this afternoon. We'll take it right now if you're ready."

"Quite ready, sir."

"Hal, where's Europe?"

"Europe? In the usual place on the map, I suppose."

"You didn't bring it back with you, then?"

"Not a great deal of it. They mightn't have let it through the customs."

Dr. Surtaine snapped a rubber band from a packet of papers lying on his
desk. "Considering that you seem to have bought it outright," he said,
twinkling, "I thought you might tell me what you intend doing with it.
There are the bills."

"Have I gone too heavy, sir?" asked Hal. "You've never limited me, and I
supposed that the business--"

"The business," interrupted his father arrogantly, "could pay those
bills three times over in any month. That isn't the point. The point is
that you've spent something more than forty-eight thousand dollars this
last year."

Hal whistled ruefully. "Call it an even fifty," he said. "I've made a
little, myself."

"No! Have you? How's that?"

"While I was in London I did a bit of writing; sketches of queer places
and people and that sort of thing, and had pretty good luck selling 'em.
One fellow I know there even offered me a job paragraphing. That's like
our editorial writing, you know."

"Fine! That makes me feel easier. I was afraid you might be going soft,
with so much money to spend."

"How I ever spent that much--"

"Never mind that. It's gone. However, we'll try another basis. I'd
thought of an allowance, but I don't quite like the notion. Hal, I'm
going to give you your own money."

"My own money? I didn't know that I had any."

"Well, you have."

"Where did I get it?"

"From our partnership. From the old days on the road."

"Rather an intangible fortune, isn't it?"

"That old itinerant business was the nucleus of the Certina of to-day.
You had a profit-sharing right in that. You've still got it--in this.
Hal, I'm turning over to you to-day h