Steadfast Falters .................................................................................................................................................1

E. Mandevill Rogers................................................................................................................................1

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Randolph Crosby's philosophy of life forbade his feeling or expressing emotion, except for the slender,

fairhaired girl who stood beside him, and who had in a measure taken the place of the wife whose memory

she perpetuated. Nevertheless, the sight of the thoroughbreds as they filed past the club enclosure, their

jockeys perching like monkeys on their glossy backs, made the muscles of his throat contract a little.

Excitement was an almost forgotten sensation for this man who had won as many as seven races in a day with

horses he had bred and trained himself. It gave him a pleasurable feeling that youth, with all its joys and

"Steadfast looks in the pink of condition," remarked a tall man standing beside him, and sufficiently like him

George Crosby was tall and straight like his brother, with the erect, easy carriage for which the family had

long been noted. It was in the expression of eye and mouth that the main points of difference lay. George's

eyes were heavy, with thick lids which gave them a languid, rather tired look, and darkblue shadows

Randolph's eyes, on the contrary, looked out of an impassive, almost cynical face with the cold, critical gaze

of one who for half a century had lived hard and, at times, fast. In his desire to experience every sensation

that life could offer, he might have followed paths that were shadowed and devious; but through it all he had

carried a sense of responsibility to the code of his ancestors"Play the game for all it's worth, but play it

George, the younger of the brothers, maintained that Randolph's feeling in regard to family tradition was an

"Your Uncle Randolph's a bit dotty on the subject, Norman," he had remarked to his son one evening, in the

confidence of an afterdinner chat, a slight sneer curling the corners of his lips. "Leans over backward when

it comes to a point of what he calls honor. Personally, I don't see what difference it makes to the family tree."

"Wish I had a thousand dollars for each of the dusty old codgers! It would come close to getting me out of

"Just the same, don't hit it up too hard, my son. The paternal exchequer has its limitations, you know, and

He was standing beside his father now, watching the horses with a strained look on his white face.

"Pat says he's in perfect shape," replied Randolph Crosby, in answer to his brother's remark.

His keen eyes softened as they lingered on the horse who hitherto had always carried his colors to victory.

"Went in rather deep this time. It looks like such a sure thing. The odds are pretty heavy, and you have to

He turned to listen to his daughter, who was calling his attention to one of the other horses.

"Dad!" said Norman in a low voice, from which he could not entirely exclude the excitement he evidently

His father glanced at him quickly, his heavy eyes narrowing as he concentrated his attention on Norman's

"I've just left the stable," Norman went on; "and I tell you, Steadfast is not going to win!"

George Crosby scrutinized his son's face for a moment in silence. Then they moved quietly toward a

thickset man, with a diamond horseshoe pin in his vivid tie, who was standing on the outskirts of the crowd.

A short, faultlessly dressed man with a military carriage put his hand on Randolph Crosby's shoulder.

Randolph Crosby lowered the glasses through which he had been following the string of horses as they

"Betsy," he said, turning to his daughter, read your godfather a lecture. He's on the verge of succumbing to

Elizabeth turned, her bright face illumined by the smile which Major Barry always said made you feel that all

"Really," she exclaimed, "if you boys don't behave, I shall have to take you home! It's bad enough having one

of my fathers plunging heavily; but if you both do, and Steadfast should lose, who is going to keep me

"Horrors!" Major Barry raised his eyebrows in exaggerated concern. "What a ghastly suggestion! I shall most

Randolph Crosby raised his glasses to his eyes and fixed them on the shifting group of horses on the far side

of the green oval. His hand was not as steady as usual as he readjusted the lenses, but it was in an even,

perfectly controlled voice that he said "They're off!" as the barrier was sprung.

The words were taken up by the people in the grand stand on the other side of the railing, and simultaneously

The horse had been a consistent winner ever since the season opened, and consequently was high in popular

favor. His capture of the richest stake of the year was taken almost as a foregone conclusion, and a great

crowd had turned out to see the race and to bring home its share of the proceeds.

The horses swept into the homestretch with Steadfast well in the van. It looked as if the race was over, and

It was only for a second. The boy on the horse's back tightened the rein, and then gave him his head; but in

that second before Steadfast regained his stride, Pursuit, who had been playing second to him all the year, and

now was following close on his heels, gained perceptibly. His nose crept up until it was outlined against

Steadfast's quarter. Then it blotted out Pat's white leg, and then it reached the band on the bridle.

The question flashed through Randolph Crosby's mind. Certainly there was a marked difference in his

running. It was labored, forced, quite unlike the easy swing that had made him famous.

The cry broke in upon him in an agony of apprehension as the horses swept by the grand stand. Pat was

riding far forward, urging Steadfast with hand and voice, and the jockey on Pursuit's back was whipping his

"Give Steadfast the whip! The whip!" shouted the crowd in a frenzy of excitement; but Pat did not heed them,

An angry tumult of disappointment surged over the crowd. Randolph Crosby's keen eyes were fixed on Pat's

white face as he trotted back to the weighingstand. As the jockey raised his whip, Crosby's breath escaped

through his lips in a little sigh, as if insensibly he had been holding it in expectation of something, he did not

"Oh, father!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes limpid with sympathy. "I'm so sorry!"

"All in the day's work, Betsy!" he answered with an attempt at gaiety, looking fondly at her. "Can't always

win! That would be monotonous. I think I'll go and speak to Pat; he looks a bit cut up."

He strolled off through the brightly colored groups scattered over the lawn. Elizabeth turned to the tall man

"Poor dad!" she said. "He is disappointed! He idolizes that horse, and I can see it has really hurt him to have

"It's too bad! I am sorry!" returned Fairfax Cary, with a regretful glance at the erect gray head disappearing

"You thought so, too!" exclaimed Elizabeth, with a quick glance at the cleancut profile. "I didn't want to say

anything to father, but"she looked inquiringly into the gray eyes fixed intently on her faceit seemed to

"You're looking very lovely this afternoon," said Cary in a low voice. "I've been wanting to tell you so for

"What a relief it must be to get it off your mind at last!" she flashed back at him, with a look from under the

"It is," he assented seriously. "That's a perfectly new dimple you've developed just under your right eye. How

Elizabeth turned quickly and looked into the handsome, carefully penciled face beside her, whose prominent

"Oh, Aunt Maude, is it you? Father went to the stables to speak to Pat. He knew the boy would be

She had introduced them numberless times before, but it always seemed to be necessary to repeat the

formality. She had adopted the habit of doing it immediately, in order to take away as much strain as possible

Cary raised his hat with the quizzical look in his eyes that Elizabeth had learned to expect, and bowed with an

Mrs. Crosby acknowledged the salutation mechanically, her full eyes wandering indifferently past him.

"Pat's not the only one who is heartbroken," she retorted abruptly. "Practically every one was backing

Steadfast, and I know several people who have been pretty hard hit." The thin line of her mouth hardened.

She herself had lost more than she could afford on the race, and she was looking for some one on whom to

lay the blame. "How about you, Mr. Cary?" she went on, the vaguest suggestion of a sneer in the throaty

"Not often, Mrs. Crosby," answered Cary calmly. "In the first place, I can't afford to lose; in the second, I

don't follow the races closely enough to form an intelligent opinion on the relative merits of the horses."

"Then it is something besides the horses that brings you here?" she asked meaningly.

A slight flush spread over Cary's sensitive face, and the firm line of his chin stiffened.

"Oh, don't put me quite outside the pale," he answered lightly. "You know we Virginians love a good horse,

and a race is an inspiring sight, even to one who has never been in a position to follow the sportor any

She returned his look with a smile that caused Mrs. Crosby to hunch her plump shoulders uncomfortably as

Fairfax Cary had left the family estate in the Shenandoah Valley ten years before, and had come to New York

with little besides the clothes on his back, and practically nothing in them. He had met Randolph Crosby in

the settlement of an estate against which Crosby had a claim. Struck by the young man's ability, Crosby had

employed him in several minor cases of his own. Gradually social intercourse had developed from business

relations, until Fairfax Cary became an acknowledged friend of the family, and was in frequent attendance on

The intimacy had increased so fast that. Mrs. Crosby had undertaken to remonstrate with her brotherinlaw

"Good Heavens, Maude!" he had retorted impatiently. "The girl isn't going to marry every man who takes her

"No, Randolph," answered Mrs. Crosby in the longsuffering way that some women adopt when they feel

that the men of their family are deliberately obtuse. "Of course not; but she's going to marry one of them, and

you know how easy it is to make a mistake. A girl with Elizabeth's prospects is very attractive, especially to a

"I don't agree with you that Cary has no prospects. He's a very able chap, and as straight as a string."

"Perhaps," she agreed unwillingly, "from a man's standpoint, he may"there was the faintest possible

emphasis on the word "be all that is desirable; but I'm sure, if Helen had lived, she would have agreed with

A slight quiver had passed over Randolph Crosby's face at the mention of his wife's name. For a moment he

"Virginia is not New York. If you want Elizabeth to bury herself in the country, why, of course, I have

nothing to say." She paused, then she added in a lowered voice: "You know I've always felt that I must take

as far as I can her mother's place to Elizabeth, and I can't see her sacrifice herself without a word of protest. I

"Awfully good of you, Maude, I'm sure," replied Crosby, uneasily moving his neatly incased foot. "But I

don't think we need either of us worry about Elizabeth. She's as levelheaded a young woman as I know, and

when she makes up that mind of hers" he looked whimsically at his sisterinlaw, a smile, half of pride,

half of helplessness, spreading over his face"I don't think there's any power in heaven or on earth that will

Mrs. Crosby had spread out her plump, jeweled fingers and raised her eyebrows meaningly, indicating that at

She turned now to greet her husband and son as they emerged from the throng about them. There was an

"Too bad, Betty," he remarked in a rather thick voice to his cousin. "Beastly hard luck! Uncle Randolph's

He pushed back his straw hat from his damp forehead, and taking out his cigarettecase, offered it to Cary

with a, hand that shook perceptibly. When Fairfax declined, he took out a cigarette, struck the end of it once

"A lot of money changed hands," he remarked confidentially to Cary, his bloodshot eyes glistening.

The lines of the other man's face hardened, and unconsciously he drew himself up. Turning to Elizabeth, he

asked, in an undertone that excluded the others, if she would care to go to the paddock.

Elizabeth glanced at him in quick gratitude, and after a few words of explanation to her aunt they moved

Randolph Crosby, in the mean time, had succeeded in making his way through the groups of welldressed

men and women who, eager to sympathize with him and hear his explanation of the defeat, were impeding

his progress to the stable. When he reached his destination, he found Pat watching Jim, the stableboy, who

was rubbing Steadfast down. The boy's angry face was flushed, and a white line encircled his mouth.

"I tell ye it wa'n't no putup game!" he was saying hotly to another boy, who sat on the bottom of an

overturned pail. "I rode a straight race! What do ye take me fer, ye miserable tout?"

He turned threateningly toward the other. The sneer that met him seemed to drive away his last vestige of

selfcontrol. Shaking his fist in the other boy's face, his little figure trembling with rage, Pat shouted:

"Ye're a lowmouthed, dirty, snivelin' liar, an' ye know ye're lyin'" He stopped abruptly as his eyes fell on

"Well, Pat," remarked Mr. Crosby quietly, watching with a half smile his jockey's tormentor as he slipped

Pat raised his working face and looked full into the dark eyes that somehow seemed to have lost their cynical

He turned away abruptly and laid his hand, as if to steady himself, on the horse's deepbreathing side.

"The dirty hound!" he muttered under his breath. "An' me with every cartwheel I could scrape together on

"Ye don't risk what ye've been workin' fer since ye wuz a kid, scrimpin' an' screwin' so as ye kin hev a place

ter put yer sister where she'll be safe from that"his eyes glanced significantly to the paddock, where

flashily dressed men loitered about the horses, discoursing on their points to the painted women who

accompanied themIt unless ye've got a deadsure thing. It ain't no fault o' mine that Steadfast didn't win

He drove his hands into the pockets of his breeches and looked appealingly into the older man's face. Mr.

"I dunno, sirI swear I don't. The hoss wuz goin' like a bunch o' machinery, an' I thought I had the race won;

an' then all ter once I feels him give, sudden like, just like somethin' inside him had broke down. I done my

best, but he'd lost his spring, an' I knowed then he couldn't win; but what the matter wuz" The boy shook

his head despondently. "Did ye hear the crowd yellin' at me to give him the whip? Steadfast! Can ye beat

that? Lot they know about hosses!" Pat's voice was brimming with scorn as he ran his hand over the animal's

The horse turned his head and, fastening his great, velvety eyes on the boy, laid his muzzle on Pat's shoulder.

The boy hid his face quickly in the horse's mane, but not in time to prevent Crosby's seeing the pitifully

quivering chin. For a moment all that broke the silence was the stamping of the other horses in their stalls and

"Pat!" said Mr. Crosby at last. "Come here, my ladI want to ask you a question." They drew a little apart

The question was almost inaudible, but the jockey's sharp ears caught it, and he shook his head in vehement

"I ain't lef' him day or night, Mr. Crosby," he answered quickly. "I even slep' In the stallan' when I had ter

go and change me togs I lef' Mr. Norman an' Molly with him. Surely he couldn't ha' been no safer?"

The lad looked interrogatively at his employer. Mr. Crosby shook his head, and after telling Pat not to worry

any more about the race, and giving him some instructions for the following day, he walked back toward the

As he passed the paddock a short, stocky man in a check suit came toward him. His deepset eyes brightened

as they caught sight of Randolph Crosby, and he stretched out a thick, muscular hand adorned with a large

"Howdo, Mr. Crosby? How are you?" he asked, taking an enormous unlighted cigar out of his mouth.

"What was wrong with Steadfast?" His keen black eyes, under their shaggy eyebrows, fixed themselves

"Nothing, Tutney, as far as I know. I've just been talking to Pat. He says the horse was in perfect shape until

Tutney replaced the cigar in his mouth, and twisted it around and around with his tongue. The expression on

"That race cost me quite a lot of money," he replied quietly. " The odds were heavy, and it was a good purse."

The stocky man shifted his weight from one whitegaitered foot to the other and gave the cigar another twist.

"Oh, just some remarks I overheard. Crowd's pretty sore always is when it loses!"

"Why, they were sayin," the man began, lowering his voice, "that the Crosbys had won a lot of money on the

Tutney scrutinized the cold, impassive face sharply. He took the cigar out of his mouth.

"Mr. Crosby," he said at last, "you and I have known each other for ten yearseleven, to be exacthaven't

"And we've had a good many deals together of one kind or another." Again Tutney waited for the other man's

assent. "And in that time, in spite of the fact that there were plenty of chances for shady practise, I want to go

He turned abruptly away, as if ashamed of the emotion that had crept into his voice. Randolph Crosby's keen

"Thank you, Tutney," he said quietly. "That means a great deal, coming from you."

"Goodby, Mr. Crosby," he said huskily. He cleared his throat loudly. "I'm off to South Africa tomorrow.

Got to look after things there a bit. Let me know if at any time I can be of service to you."

Crosby thanked him again, and his eyes followed Tutney with an expression almost of tenderness as the

stocky man disappeared into the crowd. Then he resumed his walk toward the club enclosure. Unconsciously

At the entrance he saw the Porter Chadwicks, who, with the Crosbys, had lunched at the clubhouse before the

races. Chadwick glanced in Randolph Crosby's direction and said something in an undertone to his wife, and

A quiet smile played around the corners of Crosby's thin lips, but the tired, cynical look in his eyes deepened.

He stepped into the enclosure and almost ran into the arms of Griswold Peyton, who had been a classmate of

his at Harvard, and was one of his most intimate friends. Peyton started violently and turned scarlet.

"Tootoo badabout therace, old man!" he stammered. "Must speak totoMrs. Phillips. See you

He fled precipitately. A slight frown contracted Crosby's straight brows, and his lips tightened. He walked to

"Are you ready to go?" he asked his daughter. "I don't want to hurry you, but as the races are over"

She smiled joyously at her father, and her voice seemed brimming with the silver purity of the hermitthrush.

"Oh, Betsy!" A dark, vivacious face appeared at her shoulder. "I was so afraid you would leave before I had a

chance to speak to you!" The speaker put out her hand to Randolph Crosby. " So sorry about the race!"

"Thank you, Trixie"; and Crosby's hand closed warmly over hers. "Beatrix! Beatrix! Come here at once!"

The words came almost in a wail from a small, muchcorseted woman in a purple crepe de Chine, heavily

trimmed with Cluny lace. An expression of anguish shone through the powder on her horrified face.

"She only calls me that on occasions of great urgency!" laughed Trixie. "I shall have to go; but remember,

Betsy you're coming to me at Lawrence for a long visit this summer. I won't be put off again!"

She pressed Elizabeth's hand, and with a nod to the men flew off to rejoin her mother.

"Very much so," replied her father grimly. They started toward the exit. "Why, Humphrey!" he exclaimed,

A tall, finelooking man with irongray hair and mustache looked at him coldly and passed without

Randolph Crosby's face whitened. With muscles so tense that they showed like cords through the skin, he

walked to the waiting automobile. He stood back for Elizabeth to enter; then he got in and dropped down

"Coming, Fairfax?" he asked in a voice strangely unlike his own. "No? Well, drop in soon. All right,

When the parlormaid went into the library of the Crosbys' apartment the next morning and pulled up the

shade, the sun fell full on the figure of Randolph Crosby, sunk deep in his big armchair. His head was turned

a little to one side, as if trying to catch a sound that eluded him, and over his lips hovered the faint shadow of

a smile, not cynical or sarcastic, but as if the pettiness of life and its sordid estimates had passed him by

Mrs. George Crosby sat at her desk in the morningroom, a pile of unpaid bills before her and a thin line of

worry between her eyebrows. An indescribable atmosphere of unrest and weariness hovered about her,

accentuating the traces of wear which years of struggle had left behind. The limp folds of her teagown

hanging dejectedly around her stressed her dispirited appearance. The room, with its worn rug, soiled,

cretonneupholstered furniture and shabby hangings, seemed to fasten upon her the imprint of hard usage, as

if to revenge itself for her neglect of it by proclaiming aloud, in the privacy of the thirdfloor back, what she

fought with desperate determination to conceal from the critical eyes of the habitues of her perfectly

"Really, George," she exclaimed irritably, turning toward him, "I don't see how I'm going to meet this

additional expense! I've a pile of bills here now that there isn't the least prospect in the world of my ever

being able to pay, and some of the people are positively uncivil in their demands. Now, if I have to buy an

"Too bad, old girl," returned her husband nonchalantly, sinking into a deep chair by the window and opening

"Don't be absurd, George! Of course, Randolph's death isn't your fault; but I won't go to the length of saying

that our being so strapped isn't!" Her eyes ran impatiently over his relaxed figure. "And I assure you I haven't

the slightest intention of going to Newport this summer without the proper wardrobe. If I have to put on

mourningand I suppose I must, or people will talk, and they're doing enough of that as it isit's got to be

of the best. Cheap mourning is impossible; so you'll have to arrange to give me some money. Remember, it's

"Upon my word, Maude," he exclaimed, "you might show a little feeling! The way you're acting is

"How do you know he didn't?" rejoined his wife with acerbity. "No one seems to have the faintest idea why

he died. Even the doctors can't agree. Half of them say something about his heart, and the rest talk vaguely

about a stroke. For my part, I think the disgrace of that Steadfast affair was the cause."

George Crosby gazed intently at his wife's face, haggard and worn without its customary makeup. "Oh,

George! Why do you make me go into details? You know as well as I that there was something wrong with

the horse on Thursday, and it was pretty generally suspected that he had been tampered with. At all events, I

saw some of Randolph's most intimate friends cut him dead as he was leaving the grounds, and Randolph was

George Crosby's voice shook. He turned his heavy eyes toward the window and stared, unseeing, at the backs

"It's horrid! The whole thing is perfectly abominable!" continued his wife in a tone of extreme exasperation.

Yes, yes!" he exclaimed irritably. "I'll get you the money somehow; but you'll have to make it go as far as

"Trust me for that!" retorted his wife with a hard little laugh. "Years of training have taught me to get as

much out of a dollar as one hundred cents will buy, and maybe a little more, I'm sick of it! I'm tired to death

of having to plan and scrimp until even my fingers are beginning to look like claws!" She held out her

crooked fingers before him. "How is it that Randolph had plenty of money and could live like a prince, while

George Crosby shrugged his shoulders and moved toward the door. It was not the first time the question had

been put to him, and it aroused, even now, a feeling of antagonism against the brother whose inheritance had

been the same as his own, but who had increased his property tenfold, while George's had steadily dwindled.

"Perhaps an extravagant wife and son have had something to do with it!" he flung back over his shoulder as

he lingered on the threshold. "Well, poor Randolph can't enjoy his pile any more. What did you decide about

"She's coming to us, of course. She can't live alone, and if I have her under my eye I can perhaps keep away

"Quite right, Maude; the girl's a catch, and is bound to have a lot of attention. Much better to have her here.

"Oh, yes; she needn't go out, and Norman will be there to amuse her. I want the boy to take a good long rest

"You can't lay that to overwork! replied her husband with a short laugh. Almost the only thing that ever

"Like father, like son!" murmured his mother. "I never noticed a deep love of work in you, either!"

"Maybe not, but my father wasn't so lenient as Norman's is, and I had to work when I was his age. You can't

blame me for wanting to take life a bit easy now." He stretched luxuriously, and a selfindulgent smile

widened the full lips. "After all, one only lives once, and at my age there aren't so many years left to enjoy."

I wish you wouldn't everlastingly keep referring to that extremely unpleasant subject. It's positively

gruesome! We all have to die some time, of course, but there's no use in perpetually harping on the fact."

"Well, I'm off," he said, turning toward the stairs. "I want to get Randolph's affairs straightened out as far as I

can before the hot weather comes." He paused once more. "Tell Norman I expect him at twelvethat is,

But when Norman finally appeared in his father's office, George Crosby foresaw at once, from the

haggardness of the boy's face, what the interview portended. These heated scenes had occurred with

increasing frequency since Norman was fifteen, and were to be dreaded even more than the hardly less

Norman sank into the deep leather armchair that stood at the corner of his father's writingtable. Swinging

"You always are, aren't you?" retorted his father, with a scornful look from under his thick eyelids. Norman

Norman shifted his position uncomfortably. His bloodshot eyes were wandering about the room; finally they

"Well, what's the demnition total?" asked his father after a pause, attempting a facetiousness which the tone

George Crosby leaned far out of his chair, his hands gripping the arms, his wide eyes for once alight, gazing

"You you!" retorted his father, his face ablaze with anger. "You'll have us all, your mother and me

included, in the madhouse or in jailI don't know which! And it's only yourself you stop to think of! Fifty

How did it happen?" asked his father in a low voice, which he was evidently exerting his utmost willpower

"Fifty cents a point?" An incredulous look stole over George Crosby's face. "You say you were playing

auction for fifty cents a point?" Then, as no answer was vouchsafed, he added, as if to himself: "Just ten times

For a moment neither spoke. A tense, living silence wrapped itself about them, which the monotonous hum of

"How do you expect to pay this debt oferhonor?" queried his father at last, a sneer curling the corners of

The boy crouched back in his chair, as if for support, and raised miserable, hunted eyes to his father's grim

Norman swallowed hard. He roused himself from his halfreclining position, and his slender figure suddenly

"See here, dad!" he began. "I've just heard of a wonderful proposition, perfectly safe, and a deadsure thing,"

"But this one is absolutely on the level," Norman reiterated. "I happen to know the man who is at the head of

it, and he swears that you would double your money in three months. What's more, he proved it to me."

"It's a rubber company, formed to take over the Belgian interests in the Congo. At present prices rubber is a

veritable goldmine, and the demand for it is unlimited. They can't get enough on the other side, and you know

The color had come back into the boy's face, and his voice was quick and sharp. George Crosby eyed him in

"How much money does he want?" he asked at last. "Oh, a hundred thousand or so."

Norman's eyes dropped from his father's to the writingtable before which he sat. It was strewn with papers.

They lingered there for a moment; then he looked back at his father significantly.

"I thoughtperhaps," he hesitated, "you mightbe willing to invest someofUncle Randolph's

George Crosby turned violently toward the boy, who was tensely awaiting the result of his suggestion. "Do

"It's probably State's prison if you don't!" be retorted desperately. "What do you mean?" The question came

"I mean this." The boy was evidently goaded to desperation. "I raised the check you gave me for five hundred

George Crosby turned slowly back to the writingtable, and his gray head dropped into his hands. Lower and

Again that black silence folded itself about them. Once or twice a deep sigh broke from the bowed figure, and

"Good God!" The words seemed to have been wrung from him in spite of his efforts at restraint. "Good

"Don't, dad, don't!" he whispered huskily, rising and laying a shaking hand on the older man's shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" His father sprang to his feet, his eyes blazing, his drawn face working. "You thief!"

Norman swayed back as if his father had struck him, and a look as of an animal at bay crept into his face.

"You you call methat!" he breathed hoarsely. " You! Why, you don't know the meaning of the word

honesty! Don't talk to me!" The words were tumbling out of his mouth in a frenzy of anger. "Why, ever since

I was a kid I've heard you and mother planning and arranging how you were going to get out of paying your

bills! And now you call me a thief!" The young man's voice rose almost to a shriek. "How do you expect me

to be honest when I've been brought up never to pay for anything unless I had to?"

George Crosby raised his hand as if to quell the torrent of words by force, if necessary. For a moment father

and son glared angrily into each other's face; then, with a catch in his breath that was almost a sob, the young

His father sank into his armchair, and his face fell forward on his chest. His eyes, no longer languid, stared

vacantly out of his strained, white face at the litter of papers before him. It seemed as if some unseen spirit

had cast a spell over him, robbing him forever of the atmosphere of youth which had long been the wonder

The consequences of the boy's act loomed dark and sinister over him; his son's words stung him with

He passed his hands in a dazed way across his eyes, as if attempting to brush away a mist that obscured them,

and the papers scattered on the table began to assume shape. Mechanically he stretched out his hand and took

up a neat bundle secured by a rubber band. He listlessly read the name on the wrapper.

Once more his head sank forward, and his eyes stared out before him, as if trying to penetrate the granite wall

that concealed the future. A hunted look crept into them, and the grip on the packet tightened. He turned his

head, but not his eyes, in the direction of the youth cowering in the depths of the big chair.

"Hargis! I know him. If you should happen to run across him, tell him I should like to talk to him."

Norman rose. It seemed as if a heavy weight which had been crushing him had been removed, and he walked

quickly to the door. With a backward glance toward the silent figure so absorbed as to be apparently

In the tasteful library in which her father's presence still seemed to linger Elizabeth Crosby wandered about,

stopping now and again to touch tenderly some object that had been especially closely associated with him.

In the week that had elapsed since his death she had emerged from girlhood into the fuller estate of woman,

but there still lingered about her that exquisite trustfulness of childhood, produced by the protecting arm of a

She picked up a photograph of her father, the look of sad tenderness deepening on her pale face.

"My precious dad!" she whispered, passing her hand caressingly over the face. "I wonder if you know how I

She replaced the photograph on the table, her eyes blinded by tears, and groped her way to the armchair in

which the last night of her father's life had been spent. Sinking down on the arm, she laid her cheek against

"If only I couldhave been with youthrough itall!" she murmured brokenly. "I can't bear to think that

you had to face it all alone, with no one that you loved to help you and say goodby. Oh, that's the bitterest

part of it all! To think that you had to go without my being able to give you even a kiss, or one word to tell

you how I love you! If only I could let you know how grateful I am for all the happiness you gave me, and all

the sacrifices you made for me! And now you'll never know! Oh, darling, couldn't you come back for just one

little minute, just long enough to let me hold you in my arms and kiss you goodby?"

A great sob shook her slender form. She sat up resolutely and pushed back the heavy golden coils of hair that

She got up and walked toward the door, glancing at the clock on the mantel as she passed it.

"Nearly five!" she exclaimed under her breath. "I must hurry. Fairfax is due now!"

It still lacked a few minutes of the hour when the portieres which separated the drawingroom from the

library parted, and Fairfax Cary stepped into the room. In an instant Elizabeth's light footsteps sounded on the

"It's so good of you to let me come!" he answered, his eyes devouring her face. Major Barry gave me your

"Dear Uncle Tod!" Elizabeth led the way to a roomy sofa and sank down into the corner. "He has been very

"He naturally would be. He idolized your father, and I know there isn't anything on earth he wouldn't do for

"Oh, very well," she answered indifferently. The thrushlike lilt had gone out of her voice and great shadows

lay under her eyes. "I'm a little tired, naturally; there's so much to be done." She glanced wearily around the

"Yes," assented Elizabeth. "We've been here so longever since I was a little girl; and although it's only

rented, everything is so associated withfather that I feel as if I were living in a perpetual parting with him."

She resolutely forced back the great tears which had sprung to her eyes. "But Aunt Maude thinks I'm too

young to live alone, so I'm to go to them. Uncle George is my guardian until I'm twentyeight. I suppose

they're right, but" She sighed. Then she added in a sudden burst of confidence: "I wish the three years were

over! You see, our ideas of what is worth while in life don't agree. It's going to be hard for me to see my

"It isn't just the thing for you this summer," agreed Cary. "Can't you persuade Mrs. Crosby to go to a quieter

"Dear me, no! I shouldn't think of asking her. Imagine Aunt Maude cut off from her Newport season! She'd

be like a caged lion!" A wistful look had crept into the girl's blue eyes. "Will you be coming down, do you

Certainly not to stay with the Crosbys," he replied, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

"I don't understand it," she said thoughtfully. "I don't see why aunt dislikes you; you are always so nice to

"She naturally thinks none but the most gorgeous butterflies should flutter around such a brilliant little

"How silly!" she exclaimed. "I don't think even Aunt Maude could be so absurd! No one could possibly think

of you as a butterfly, and some day we shall all be trying to bask in the rays of your glory!" Fairfax Cary

laughed. Her praise and faith were very sweet to him, coming as they did after years of combat with obstacles

"When that day comesif it ever does," he said in a voice vibrant with feeling, "the glory will all be yours to

do with as you like; for any success I may achieve will be entirely due to your faith in me and to your father's

"Oh, no," she denied vehemently. "It was your ability that first attracted father's notice; and as for my faith in

you, if you had not had the qualities, the faith would never have been inspired."

An overpowering desire to catch her in his arms and tell her of the place she held in his life took hold of

Fairfax; but she looked so young, so unprotected, as she half reclined among the cushions of the deep corner,

"What right have I to ask her to marry me?" he thought savagely. "She's lonely now, poor little girl, and she

sees in me a man in whom her father believed, and who consequently has a sort of temporary glamour for

her. Wait until you have something real to offer her, man! Even if she cares, it isn't right to take so much and

"Next week. There are some legal matters to attend to and clothes to get." She looked significantly at her

"Yes, I know," Cary assented sympathetically. "If there is anything I can do, I'm sure you'll remember that I

"And I want to tell you," he went on gently, "that I shall always think of your father as `one who dared do all

that may become a man'a man too fine to stoop to a meanness, too great of heart to profit through another's

Elizabeth looked at him gratefully, her eyes brimming with tears. Impulsively she laid her hand on his arm.

"Ah," she murmured, "you were one of the few who really knew him for what he was!" Her chin quivered.

"The rest"she shrugged her shoulders sadly"they mean to be consoling, but youyou're the first who

Cary's hand closed warmly over her fingers, and his eyes looked fixedly into hers, as if trying to convey a

"If at any time you need me," he said gently in his deep, even voice, "promise me that you will send for me!"

"I want you to feel that you can call on me for anything at any time. Will you remember?"

Her eyes followed the straight, thin figure, with its dark, proudly held head, as it disappeared into the hall,

and a wave of desolate loneliness swept over her. Unconsciously she took a quick step after him and held out

her hands, but the outside door closed softly. She stopped, and her hands fell to her sides.

Notwithstanding Elizabeth's forebodings, the weeks that followed the Crosbys' move to Windy Bluff, their

place at Newport, passed rapidly and almost happily for her. Of course there were times when the realization

of what she had lost by her father's death overcame her with almost unbearable pain; but as day followed day

she became more or less accustomed to the loneliness which at first seemed insupportable. She learned to

watch the gay life about her with eyes that no longer shrank from the sight as from an overpowering light,

At first Mrs. Crosby had declined the invitations showered upon her, but by degrees she slipped back into the

social swing, encouraged by the fact that Elizabeth seemed to take her going out as a matter of course. But

the girl resolutely refused to enter into the pastimes of her aunt's pleasureloving friends. She spent her time

at the grand piano in the musicroom, with a book on the oceanlapped rocks in front of the Crosbys' house,

or working at the Red Cross branch which had been organized in town by Mrs. Maitland Andrews.

Her uncle and aunt treated her with affectionate consideration, not pressing her too hard when they found that

she was adamant in her desire for seclusion, but making her feel that her presence was at all times a pleasure

to them. It was only when Norman, after much letterwriting and telegraphing on the part of his mother, at

last appeared at Windy Bluff that Mrs. Crosby interfered with the girl's wish for solitude.

"It isn't right, dear, for a girl of your age to spend so much time alone," she expostulated one afternoon when,

after careful manipulation, she had succeeded in persuading Norman to ask Betty to take a sail with him in

his sloopan invitation which Betty bad politely declined. "And then, too, Betty dear, Norman is very fond

of you, and I think you might try to make his vacation pleasant. It's so long since he's had a chance to get any

So Betty pinned on a widebrimmed hat and accompanied her cousin to the little white boat bobbing serenely

"Betty," said Norman, after the sails had been raised and the boat had slipped away from her moorings, "do

An amused look crinkled the corners of her eyes. Norman nodded and glanced up at the white sail stretching

"I do andI don't," replied Betty thoughtfully. "As a specimen of social life, it's perfection; as a specimen of

human life, it's" She paused, and her face assumed an expression of deep seriousness.

"Rotten!" supplemented Norman understandingly. "Just what I think. How the mater can be so daffy about it

is more than I can see. Dad, toohe's not so bad, of course; but in his inmost heart, in spite of the fact that he

Betty shifted the tiller, and the boat danced along on her course, leaving two curling white waves bubbling

behind her. The rush of the exhilarating air on her face, the feeling of the boat under her controlling hand,

brought a bright flush to her cheeks, and at least temporarily lightened the heavy burden of her sorrow.

"Now thisthis is great!" exclaimed Norman enthusiastically. "You feel as if you were doing something!

In the few days he had been with them his eyes had partly lost their hunted, bloodshot look, and his pasty

"You're such a bully sort," he went on. "You've a way about you that gets meas if you had plenty of ballast

Betty laughed. In spite of his dissipations, she was fond of her cousin, for she realized intuitively that his

Immersed in the social life about them, his pleasureloving parents had left the boy to the care of servants

during the early part of his life, and to even less desirable companions, most of whom were unknown to them,

as the lad grew into manhood. It was hardly to be wondered at that, with plenty of money, an inherited taste

for excitement, and practically no supervision or restraining influence, he should have succumbed to the

"I suppose it's due to father," she answered. "He was so wonderfulso keen for a good time, and yet he

always seemed to know just when to stop. `Drink the top and leave the dregs,' he used to say; and, after

all"she looked brightly into the face beside her, with its weak chin and loose lips"the top is good

"I know," assented Betty gravely; "but that's where you show the stuff you're made ofwhether you're just

"But supposesuppose the cement has been entirely left out of your makeup! Suppose you're just sand, and

"I can't imagine any one, even if he doesn't acknowledge it, not wanting to stand up against what he knows

will sooner or later be his ruin. Father used to say that life was like any other business. Everything we do goes

down in the daybook on either the debit or the credit side. Every once in a while we have to balance the

book to find out how we stand in our bankaccount. It must be a horrid experience to find one has

"Betty," he said at last, "if you found out that some one you thought was on the level had played you a dirty

Betty's eyes searched his face thoughtfully. Norman nodded, his eyes still fixed on the glistening expanse of

"Why, I don't know, I'm sure." Betty hesitated. "You'd have to take so many things into considerationthe

reason the person had for wronging you, the motives, I mean. If it were done simply to injure you, why, of

course, it would be hard; but if it were the result of some overwhelming force, some terrible temptation that

had swept him off his feet, that would be different, and much easier to forgive. Why do you ask?"

When they got back to the house they found Mr. and Mrs. Crosby on the broad veranda, Mrs. Crosby busying

herself with the tea things, which had just been brought in. In their absence George Crosby had returned from

He looked unusually worn and exhausted. In the past few weeks he had lost weight, and his skin hung loosely

on his cheeks. His eyes were hollow, and unnaturally bright and restless; and he had acquired a habit of

"There's a letter for you on the table, Betty," remarked her aunt, after a searching glance at the faces of the

Elizabeth picked up the letter, which was addressed in Beatrix Hunnewell's handwriting, and moved toward

A little flush had crept into her face, and her eyes were luminous. She walked quickly down the gravel path to

her favorite spot among the rocks and, sinking down on a smooth stone, opened the letter. It ran: DEAR

When are you coming to us? I'm longing to see you, for I have so much to tell you that I can't very well write.

As I told you in my last letter, your friend, Fairfax Cary, has joined the club, and I'm seeing a great deal of

him. We play tennis together nearly every afternoon, and he very often comes back with me to dinner. I don't

know when I've met a man I admire so much. He's so entirely free from all meannesses, and has such a

wonderfully broad outlook! He's coming this afternoon to take me for a ride in his new car, for he says it's too

I must stop now to dress. I want to look my best, for I find Fairfax very exigeant! Write soon. As ever,

As if scorched by a devastating heat, Elizabeth drooped against the rock behind her. The flush ebbed out of

her face, and her eyes took on the pained look of a wounded fawn. The hand which held the letter fell into her

lap, and she turned her eyes toward the harbor, where the gorgeous lights of the sunset lay reflected in molten

masses of color. Great angry clouds obscured the sun, without entirely hiding it, as it sank slowly into their

embrace; and a silence breathless with sinister expectancy hovered over the waters.

The scene before her accorded perfectly with Betty's mood, and a very passion of revolt seized her. Slowly

her mind grasped the import of the letter. Its air of joyous possession of a newfound happiness stole over her

like the insidious poison of a tropical plant, benumbing her senses, but leaving her brain alert. With it came

the feeling that Trixie, in spite of her protestations of friendship, had taken advantage of her absence to

appropriate that which she knew Betty prized above all else. But did she know? A thin frown of perplexity

Scene after scene of her intercouse{sic} with Fairfax Cary sprang up vivid and lifelike before her,

culminating in the hour that he had spent with her after her father's death. With a little start of surprise, she

was forced to admit that even she herself had not guessed the nature of her feeling for him.

"What a fool! What a fool!" she murmured, clenching her hands impotently. "And now it's too late!"

A wild desire to test the sincerity of his promise to come to her at any time or place swept over her; but even

For a long time she sat motionless, her pale face turned toward the fading light. Little by little the flaming

brilliance softened into cool pinks and lilacs, melting at last into blue and neutral gray. And then, out of the

shadows, as if hung by an invisible hand, shone the light of the evening star. Clearer and clearer it burned,

with a steady effulgence that acted like balm on her wound; and at last a semblance of peace settled down

upon her. With a little sigh she roused herself and walked listlessly back to the house.

The International and Congo Rubber Company, in which, at Norman's suggestion, George Crosby had

invested heavily, was not proving the goldmine of promise. It was more like a bottomless pit which

swallowed with avidity the funds fed to it, and demanded more with everincreasing insistence. To save what

he had already invested, George Crosby desperately staked all that he could lay hands on.

The last statement of the concern had been the reason for his hurried trip to New York, and the unsatisfactory

conditions that he found on his arrival at the company's offices had caused his worst fears to be realized.

He was pacing up and down the floor now, his face drawn, his eyes staring wildly from beneath his

contracted brows. Mrs. Crosby sat tense and rigid in a big chair by the window, and her son leaned against

the mantelpiece. Their faces were ghastly, and a frightened look lurked in Norman's eyes.

"George! How could you have been so foolish?" demanded his wife, her angry eyes fixed on her husband.

"For Heaven's sake, Maude," he exclaimed between his teeth, "try not to make it any harder for me than it

already is! You know perfectly well why I did itit was to save this young scoundrel from State's prison!"

He pointed a trembling finger at Norman, who cowered under the lash of his words. "And now," he went on

"Very well, then, I'll find a way!" she exclaimed grimly. "If you think I'm going to sit calmly by and accept

the ruin you two men have brought on me, you have a very inadequate conception of my character. I decline

Both men shrank from the scorn in her voice, but neither answered her. Her husband took up an empty

envelope and began feverishly tearing it to pieces, but at her "George, put that down!" he obediently laid the

"Well, Norman," said his mother coldly, "as far as I can see, as you are the one responsible for this

Norman gave a hoarse, mirthless laugh and looked for an instant with haggard eyes into his mother's face.

"Marry Betty!" he jeered. "Why, that girl would as soon think of marrying me as she would" The words

"Why? Because she knows I'm not fit to sit in the same room with her, much less marry her!"

"How does she know? Have you been such a fool as to confide yourerescapades to her?"

"You haven't led us to believe you had overmuch!" retorted his mother contemptuously.

The muscles of the boy's mouth tightened, and he glared for a moment at the pitiless face below him. Then he

shrugged his shoulders impatiently and returned to his moody contemplation of the rug.

"There is nothing," Mrs. Crosby went on impressively, "that a girl of Betty's temperament likes better than to

reform a man. I think if you could impress on her how much her influence could do for you, you would find

that she was far from averse to marrying you. I know she's extremely fond of you. In fact, she told me so only

Evidently Norman doubted the truth of his mother's words; but, taught by long experience, he refrained from

"Did you ever stop to think that it's a pretty bum deal we're giving her?" he asked grimly.

"It's no time to think of that now," answered his mother impatiently. "She will surely marry some one, and

there's no reason on earth why she shouldn't be as happy with you as with any one elsethat is, if you

"Perhaps she would," assented the young man dubiously. "But I can't help feeling sorry for her."

"Sorry for her! Sorry for her! Naturally I'm sorry for her, too; buthow about your mother?" broke in Mrs.

Norman was silent. He knew that even the comparatively few years he had lived had made him unfit to be the

husband of any woman. Genuinely fond as he was of Elizabeth, the idea of injuring her beyond what he had

already done was repellent to him, realizing as he did that even her influence could not wean him from the

He was on the point of declining to fall in with his mother's plans when his eyes fell on the stricken figure of

his father, huddled in the big chair, George Crosby's face was gray with the unearthly pallor of a mortal

"All right, mother," he said huskily. "I'll do my best." He hastily left the room.

It was an unusually silent party that gathered around the softly lighted table for dinner that evening, and the

conversation, in spite of Mrs. Crosby's efforts to enliven it, dragged perceptibly. Dish after dish left the room

practically untouched, each one being so bent on concealing his or her lack of appetite that the same

condition of the others passed unnoticed. But of the frequency with which Norman's wineglass was refilled

his mother was more observant; and at last she indicated, with an imperious gesture that brought immediate

It was with a distinct feeling of relief that, the meal being ended, Mrs. Crosby rose and, drawing Elizabeth's

hand through her arm, led the girl to the veranda, which was lighted by the uncertain rays of a swinging

lantern. Sinking back among the cushions of a wicker sofa, she drew her niece down beside her.

"I feel as if I hadn't half told you how happy it makes me to have you here with us," she murmured, pressing

A rush of tenderness swept over Elizabeth. Her parched soul, craving love with the intense desire begot by

long denial, reached out with an inarticulate cry for the first demonstration of affection she had received since

"Dear aunty!" she whispered brokenly, her hand clinging to the older woman's arm. "You're very good to me.

"No, dear," remonstrated her aunt; "it is I who should be the grateful one. You are filling the place in my

heart of the little daughter I have always longed for. Sons are very nice, Betty, but a mother's heart is always

empty, and her life incomplete, until she has the warm sympathy of a daughter who understands in a way

impossible to a man. I should love to feel that you were going to be with us always, that no one could ever

The ache in her heart was becoming more and more unendurable, and she grasped eagerly at the home that

"That's right!" she exclaimed warmly; then, as the men came through the doorway, she added: "Now let

Norman take you on the rocks; the moonlight is gorgeous on the water tonight. Norman, fetch a wrap for

Norman threw a scarf over Betty's bare shoulders, rising white and smooth out of the filmy black of her

gown. She reluctantly accompanied him to the water's edge and sank down on the rock over which he had

Betty's eyes were fixed on the path of moonlight which wavered on the dark waters. Her mind, wandering off

to the Hunnewells' home, pictured Trixie and Fairfax Cary strolling along the paths of the rosescented

garden, or watching this same moon from the pagoda, with its curtain of fragrant honeysuckle.

Norman, too, seemed content to sit in silence, and puffed away vigorously at the cigar which apparently

"I don't know, I'm sure, Norman," replied Elizabeth uncertainly. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how a girl like you would feel about that sort of thingmarriage, I mean, with a

"Ha! That's what almost all girls saygenerally just before they announce their engagements!"

"Well, in this case it's true," insisted Betty finally. "I haven't the least intention of marryingever!"

"If you thought it would help some onehelp him to keep out of trouble, and all thatwouldn't you?"

There was a wistful note in his voice. Betty turned her eyes, in which the hurt look still lingered, to the

recumbent figure of the boy beside her, his flushed face dimly visible in the uncertain light.

"Just this, Betty. I can't seem to be able tokeep straight. I've tried my best, and I just can't do it; and I

thought perhaps, if you could bring yourself to take me on you're so strong, I knowI could stand out

against it all. I'm sure I could! Oh, Betty, don't you think you could bring yourself to marry me?"

The words came out in a torrent of desperation. Betty looked at him as if, in spite of the fact that she heard

He roused himself from his reclining position and, putting his arm around her, bent his head down to hers.

His breath, heavy with wine and the smell of the cigar, sickened her, and she pushed him away almost

Norman took away his arm and, leaning his elbows on his drawnup knees, stared gloomily before him.

Something in the boy's humility turned Betty's feeling of resentment into one of contrition.

"But, Norman," she exclaimed, "it isn't that! Oh, please believe me! I'd do anything in the world to help you,

but I couldn't marry any one I didn't love. Norman dear, you know I'm fond of youreally fond of you, but it

"Do you think if I gave up drinking, and kept away from trouble generally, you could ever"

"No, dear; it isn't the kind of feeling which, no matter how strong it grew, could ever turn into the love I must

For a moment neither spoke; then Norman said curiously: "Have you ever known a man you could love like

Betty did not reply, and nothing but the splash of the waves as they dashed impotently against the rocks at

He's just the sort of guy who would get a girl like you. Well, I wish you joy of him! Awful prig, but he

wouldn't keep you up nights worrying!" He got up and stretched himself lazily. "Well, me for bed! How

"You're all wrong about my loving Mr. Cary, Norman," she said emphatically. "It's absolutely untrue. I don't

care for him at all, except as a friend; but he isn't a prig, Norman. He's the finest"

"All right!" agreed Norman indifferently, stooping to pick up the rug. "But don't get so stewed about it! I

"It's no use, mater," he announced sullenly to his mother, after Betty had bid them good night. "Just as I

"Not in so many words, but she showed it pretty plainly. He's just the kind of man she would fall

foralways gassing about ideals and uplift and all that hot air. Any one could see"

"Well," ruminated his mother, half to herself, "perhaps when Elizabeth learns that her father did not leave

behind him the savory reputation she sets such store by, she will realize that his daughter may not hold the

"Never mind what I mean, Normie. Go to bed! I think before long your pretty cousin will be thankful to

But it was well past midnight before Mrs. Crosby followed the advice she gave her son, and even then it was

not to sleep. Hour after hour she lay staring at the moonlight filtering in through the filmy curtains, and

causing the familiar objects in the room to assume grotesque and, to Mrs. Crosby's tortured mind, vindictive

Enraged at finding herself entangled in a net which wrapped itself tighter and tighter about her, threatening

her very existence, she groped about blindly, feverishly, to find the means of escape which she insisted must

exist. It couldn't be that she, Maude Crosby, after all these years of comparative immunitydue to skilful

manipulation on her part, she reminded herselfshould come to grief because a girl, a mere child, opposed

Keyed to its highest pitch, her mind reviewed the conditions that confronted her. Plan after plan formulated

itself, only to crumble away at the fancied touch of the girl's hand. But at last a course of action presented

itself which she thought would solve her difficulties, and she dropped off into a fitful doze.

The broad sunlight was streaming in through the open windows when she awoke and found her French maid

standing by her bedside, a dainty tray containing Mrs. Crosby's breakfast in the girl's hands.

The sultry atmosphere that had enveloped the Crosby household during dinner lasted throughout the next

morning, but Elizabeth did not suspect that she was even remotely the cause of it. Accustomed to her aunt's

moods, which succeeded one another with such frequency and rapidity that Betty had learned to regard them

with a more or less amused tolerance, she avoided Mrs. Crosby by spending the morning at the Red Cross

rooms. But when the feeling of oppression lasted through luncheon, she began to fear that Norman had

confided her rebuff of him to his parents, and that their changed attitude toward her was the evidence of their

When the meal was over she followed her uncle into his den, where he was generally to be found at times of

"Come in, Betty," he replied from the depths of his leather chair. "Come inI want to talk to you."

Betty dropped down among the cushions on the windowseat. "That sounds nice!" she said with her bright

Her uncle's likeness to her father had increased as the younger man lost weight, and with it his air of indolent

ease; and in the months she had passed in his home, when she had learned something of the burden under

She watched him fondly as he reclined in his big chair, his head resting against the back, his halfclosed eyes

following the rings of smoke from the cigar that he had just taken from his mouth. Betty waited for him to

begin; but as he did not seem inclined to open the conversation she remarked quietly:

The hand that held the cigar dropped nervelessly on the arm of the chair, and the cigar fell to the floor.

Muttering something about inexcusable carelessness, her uncle stooped down and picked it up. When he

"Uncle, are you ill?" she asked, coming to him and bending solicitously over him.

"I'm all right, thank you," he replied huskily, and reached with a trembling hand for the matchbox.

Betty leaned against the edge of the table beside him, and watched him doubtfully as he unsteadily applied

"Mrs. Maitland Andrews, the chairman of our Red Cross branch, is raising money for an ambulance to be

Betty made the announcement with the calm assurance of one who, never having been denied money in

reasonable amounts, did not consider a refusal possible. George Crosby settled even deeper in his chair.

"Betty, I'm sorry," he began at last, but until I get your father's affairs straightened out, I'mI'm afraidit's

"But, uncle," she expostulated, " father told me just before he died that he always kept several thousand

"There have been some pretty heavy drafts on it lately, howeverfuneral expenses and outstanding bills that

"Yes, I know, Uncle George, but they couldn't have exceeded a couple of thousand dollars, and there must

George Crosby's eyes fell before the girl's steady gaze. He examined the end of his cigar carefully.

"Betty," he said at last in a strained, hard voice, "I've been meaning to tell you about it for a long time, but I

thought I would wait untilwell, until you had got your strength back after the shock and grief of your

"No estate!" echoed Betty incredulously, bending toward him the better to see his face.

"No," he went on. "Your father made unfortunate investments before he died, and practically his entire

fortune was lost. It was thought that the shock and disappointment, and all that, were the cause of his death."

"I can't see how it is possible!" exclaimed Betty, clasping her hands piteously.

"My dear child"George Crosby turned his haggard, twitching face toward her"when you've lived as long

as I, you'll realize that in the financial world it's generally the impossible that happens, especially in times

such as these. Your father had the reputation of being a clever, hardheaded business man, but since I've been

going over his affairs I've been surprised, and I may say shocked, to find the number of wildcat investments

he made. Of course, in time some of them may be worth something, but at present" He paused

"Don't say that, dear child! You'll always have a home with us, of course, and the best we can give you; but

I'm afraid fivehundreddollar subscriptions will have to be cut out for the present at least. You understand, I

know, that it isn't because I don't want you to have the money, don't you, Betty?but simply because it isn't

He rose and put his arm around the drooping figure. Betty raised her white face to him.

"Thank you, Uncle George," she whispered tremulously. "You've always been very good to me, and I'm very

grateful; but what hurts me"her voice broke"is that any one should think that father was involved in

"Don't let that worry you, my dear. The world is so used to heavy jolts after men die that such a thing is no

"Oh, butbut father wasdifferent!" interrupted Betty almost fiercely. "He was not like that! Any one who

knew him at all must have realized that he wasn't that kind of man. Why, he had the biggest heart and soul of

"Bigness of heart and soul don't necessarily mean fulness of pocket, though," her uncle hastened to assure

her, with a dubious shake of his head. "Quite the reverse! Well, I'll do the best I can, and perhaps, as I say,

some of the investments will turn out better than we anticipate; but in the mean time we'll have to go a bit

As if in a dream, Betty crept up to the seclusion of her room and sank into a rockingchair in the deep bay

window. She gazed out at the expanse of water roughened into whitecaps under the lash of a strong south

wind. Benumbed and heavylimbed, she watched the gulls as they poised against the currents of air, hanging

suspended and almost motionless for an instant, and then with unerring precision swooping down into the

Hour after hour she sat as motionless as if a freezing breath had turned her into ice. The shadows crept across

the lawn to the water's edge, and still she sat with the look of pain deepening in her eyes.

It was almost dark when Mrs. Crosby knocked at the door, and without waiting for Betty's "Come in!"

opened it and entered the room. She had just returned from a bridgeparty at Mrs. Peyton Grenville's, and an

air of antagonism emanated from her, as if the afternoon had not been a profitable one.

Mrs. Crosby was one of those people who lay their winnings to their own skill and their losings to the malice

of fate, against which they protest long and loudly. This afternoon luck had been decidedly against her. She

had come directly from the motor to her niece's room, and was unaware of Elizabeth's interview with her

husband; but she had definitely made up her mind that the only way out of the difficulties which were closing

in about them was through the marriage of Elizabeth and Norman. As Betty had long since learned, it was not

"I want to talk to you a little, Betty," she began, sinking into the chair that her niece drew up for her and

Betty fixed her great eyes on her aunt's face in an almost visible effort to concentrate on her words. Inwardly

she shrank from what she realized was in store for her; for Mrs. Crosby's face had the implacable look that

"It's about Norman, dear," Mrs. Crosby went on. She was trying to untie the dotted veil which so cunningly

hid the marks that time and worry had left on her face, and Betty jumped to her assistance. "Thank you, dear;

She patted the girl's hand as she took the veil from her. Then she continued: "You know that boy is simply

infatuated with you, child; he talks of nothing else, and this afternoon, before I left for Mrs. Grenville's, he

"Men are strange creatures, Betty," her aunt went on. "Although they call us the weaker sex, it seems as if we

women are continually obliged to make allowance for their failings, and to strengthen them in their hours of

temptation. And, Betty dear, I don't suppose there is any higher vocation for a woman than that of saving a

man from the purgatory in which he would end if it were not for her help." She stopped to study the serious

face before her, and added playfully: "Don't look so solemn, child! A man's love ought to bring joy,

happiness, and not sadness!" The lines of Betty's face obediently relaxed into a pitiful attempt at a smile.

"Then will you let me tell the dear boy so, Betty?" asked Mrs. Crosby, an exultant look stealing over her face.

"He thinks you don't care. In fact, he told me so; and I should love to be the one to bring him the news that

"But"it seemed as if the girl's white lips could not frame the words, but after a pleading look into her aunt's

relentless face Betty went on desperately"Norman asked me to marry him, and II can't!"

"Oh, aunt!" Betty clasped her trembling hands piteously. "It's quite impossiblequite; you must see that!"

"I see nothing," answered her aunt uncompromisingly, "except that the boy loves you, and you are the one

Mrs. Crosby's voice broke over the last word. This sign of unwonted emotion brought a throb of pity into

"But, Aunt Maude," she faltered, "before hedied, father made me promise that I would never marry a man

I wasn't sure of or that he wouldn't have approved of. I don't thinkin fact, he would not have I'm quite

The words came with a cutting emphasis that pierced the girl's brain like a knife.

"Just what I say. Your father's life was not so exemplary that he could afford to criticise those who were

"I insinuate nothing. I state"Mrs. Crosby paused for an instant so that the full force of her words should

strike home "that Randolph Crosby, before he died, was publicly cut by his most intimate friends!"

As if unable fully to grasp the import of her aunt's words, Betty stared wideeyed into her face.

"My, father?" she gasped at last, a quiver of incredulous pain passing over her ashen face. "I don't believe it!"

Mrs. Crosby looked at her curiously. Such suffering as the girl exhibited at the assault on her father's name

was incomprehensible to her. After all, what did it matter? But she was quick to see the advantage it gave her,

"Well, whether you believe it or not, the fact remains that after Steadfast was so disgracefully beaten for the

Withers Stake there was a great deal of talk about foul play, and I myself saw Humphrey Welsh and several

others refuse to speak to your father. It was suspected that he had won a great deal of money on the

All the rancor of the past months over her loss on the race, for which she had always blamed Randolph

Elizabeth drooped further into her chair, and the line of pain between her eyebrows deepened. As a flash of

lightning reveals a scene in the darkness of the night, the picture of the club enclosure after the race rose

before her. She recalled her own and Fairfax Cary's doubts as to Steadfast's running, and her father's tense

As a logical sequence came the remembrance of Mrs. Hunnewell's peculiar behavior when Trixie had joined

them, and her insistence that the girl should return to her at once. There was evidently some truth behind her

aunt's words, but that her father was in any way connected with anything that bore the least resemblance to

Mrs. Crosby evidently realized that she had said enough, for her manner softened almost to tenderness.

"Forgive me, child, if I've hurt you," she said gently; "but your words struck me in a very vulnerable place.

When her only son is attacked, a mother naturally resents it. Your reflections on Norman's character goaded

me into doing what I long ago decided I would never dolet you know the estimation in which the world

held your father before his death. You see, it would hardly be possible, under the circumstances, for him to

She smiled sweetly at the girl; but Betty, her face drawn and rigid, continued staring fixedly at her aunt. She

did not relax when the older woman rose, and, laying her hand on her niece's shoulder, leaned over her and

Mrs. Crosby raised her eyebrows despairingly. She withdrew her hand and moved toward the door.

"I hope in time you'll feel differently," she remarked. "By the bye, Mrs. Goodhue has just returned from

Lawrence, and she told me this afternoon that your little friend Trixie Hunnewell is engaged to Fairfax Cary."

Betty did not reply, so Mrs. Crosby passed out into the hall, the perplexed frown lingering around her eyes.

Like a wounded thing stricken unto death, Betty sat alone, hardly aware that her aunt had gone. Her great

eyes, distended and dark with pain, gazed out into the fading twilight. She was forcing her mind back over

Scene after scene presented itself vividly to her, like little pieces of mosaic which fitted accurately into one

another; and at last a completed picture was disclosed which solved problems hitherto inexplicable. The

sudden falling away of people whom she had thought her friends, and whose unsympathetic bearing at the

time of her sorrow had puzzled and hurt her beyond words; the coolness of others with whom she had

unavoidably been brought into contactthe revelations of the afternoon explained it all.

The twilight deepened into night, and still she sat motionless, staring out into the dark, her brain groping

through the maze of memories for the image of her father. Her brow contracted as she struggled to visualize

the presence that always seemed to linger near her. When at last she succeeded, and the cold, keeneyed,

rather cynical face was outlined against the dark clouds of doubt that her uncle and aunt had raised, her lips

She rose stiffly and switched on the light. Going to the writingtable, on which stood the large picture of her

father, she took it up and looked tenderly into the stern face. Unflinchingly the keen eyes returned her gaze

until the questioning expression in her eyes turned into one of perfect trust, and the taut lines of her face

"No matter what they say," she whispered softly, "I shall always believe you were as true as steel!"

At her words the eyes seemed to soften into the look of tenderness they had always held for her.

Her eyes wandered from the photograph to the dainty things about herthe flowered chintses, the tasteful

furnishings, the pretty French prints, their wires concealed by shirred ribbons surmounted by a bow; the

glasstopped dressingtable with its array of silverbacked toilet articles; the inviting bed where she had

passed so many restful nights. The conviction came over her that she could no longer remain a member of

But where to go? She knew her world too well not to understand that the homes where the daughter of the

prosperous Randolph Crosby was so eagerly welcomed would be closed to the child of the discredited

outcast. But though no alternative suggested itself to her, the fact remained glaringly apparent that it was

A knock sounded at the door, and Marie, the French maid, asked if she could be of any assistance to

mademoiselle. Betty replied that as she had a headache she did not want any dinner and would not need her

again that night. Then she locked the door quietly, drew out a suitcase from the depths of the closet, placed

the photograph of her father carefully in it, and began hurriedly packing it with things from the closet and

drawers. Every now and then she glanced at the little gilt clock on the mantel, feverishly ticking the minutes

She took off the white muslin she had worn all day, and put on a black suit and a hat, over which she tied a

heavy veil. Then, with a final lingering look about the room, she turned off the lights, picked up the suitcase,

After listening intently for a moment, she stole along the corridor and down the stairs to the large hall below.

Subdued voices came from the diningroom, but the drawingrooms were deserted, and Betty made her way

unnoticed to the front door. Opening it softly, she crept out into the friendly darkness. Fearful lest the gravel

of the drive should betray her flying footsteps, she sped across the lawn toward the entrance gates, and with a

The moistureladen wind was blowing in fitful gusts that gave promise of rain in the near future, and Betty

quickened her pace once more. She kept her eyes anxiously alert for a conveyance that would take her to her

destination, for the suitcase increased in weight with every step and seriously impeded her progress; but at

that hour all the public hacks were in demand to take dinersout to the homes of their respective hosts, and

Betty did not dare to ask a lift in any of the returning private motors, for fear that the chauffeurs might

Notwithstanding the fact that she was thankful for the protection the darkness gave her, she started violently

at every unusual sound. Once or twice she had to stop, rest her suitcase on the ground, and lean for support

against a railing or tree until she recovered her breath sufficiently to be able to go on.

It was with an involuntary "Thank Heaven!" that she at last spied the bright lights of the wharf, which

revealed the shadowy hulk of the boat alongside. A continuous ebbing and flowing stream of dark figures

passed up and down the gangway, and Betty, realizing that not many minutes remained before the hour for

starting, hastily made her way to the ticketoffice and procured her passage for New York.

As she passed down the corridorthrough which whitecoated stewards were hurrying, calling vociferously,

"All ashore! All ashore!"she came face to face with Mrs. Maitland Andrews. Mrs. Andrews stared at her

doubtfully for a moment, trying to penetrate the heavy veil. Then, as Betty tried to edge past to her stateroom,

Realizing that it was impossible to escape recognition, and anxious to explain to Mrs. Andrews her inability

to make good her promise in regard to a donation for the ambulance, Betty drew the older woman into her

Perceiving from the tremulous tones of the faltering voice that something was amiss, Mrs. Andrews readily

"Why, of course, dear," she responded heartily. "We'll have a nice talknot a soul to interrupt us!"

Mrs. Andrews's role of confidante to every sort and condition of man occupied almost all the time that she

did not spend at the boardmeetings of the many societies she practically ran and supported. Bishops and

newsboys, great financiers and debutant girls, poured their difficulties into her sympathetic ears, and went

away strengthened by her sound counsel. Betty had always been an especial favorite with her, and with open

arms she had welcomed the girl into the Red Cross work, knowing that it was the most effectual means of

It was with deep concern that she noted the ghastliness of the young face and the tightly compressed lips. She

settled herself comfortably on the lounge and, in order to give Betty time to compose herselffor she saw

"I'm going to New York to order the ambulance. Isn't it splendid? All the money has been promised, and I

"That's what I want to tell you," she began impulsively, laying her hand on Mrs. Andrews's arm. "I can'tit's

"That's all right, dear; it won't matter in the least. It 'll come in from somewhereit always does. Please don't

fret about it!" Two great tears overflowed Betty's eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"I was afraid you wouldn't understand," she whispered tremulously. "I was afraid you might think I wanted to

pose as being very generous before all those women this morning and then back out in private; but I thought I

She caught her lower lip in her teeth in an attempt to still its trembling. Mrs. Andrews took the girl's hand

"No one can help, as far as the money goes. It's all gone every penny of it. Apparently father made

investments that didn't turn out well, and instead of being a rich man he was quite the reverse. I'm on my way

"I couldn't possibly staythere were conditions that made it quite out of the question. Not that Uncle George

wasn't perfectly sweet, and told me that they allways expected me to make my home with them, but"

"I understand," answered Mrs. Andrews gravely. "You don't want to be under obligations to them. Sometimes

it's like that, and the obligations keep mounting up and mounting up until it seems as if they would crush you,

no matter what you do in return. It's much pleasanter to stand on your own feet, even though it means hard

Betty turned a wan little face, over which flickered a watery smile, to the older woman.

"Have you had any training?" asked Mrs. Andrews. "Stenography, typewriting, or any of those things? So

"Father wouldn't let me take up anything like that. He said that I would never have to use it, and that it was a

waste of time and energy. The only thing he let me do was a course in Red Cross first aid and home nursing,

which was a thing he said every woman should know; but, of course, that's just the thing that won't be of any

A look of deep dejection settled over her, and for a moment they sat silent, listening to the ceaseless pulse of

Mrs. Andrews rose and, placing her hands on Elizabeth's shoulders as she stood beside her, said gently:

"I'm very glad I ran across you. I want you to go to bed now, and to sleep, mind youno lying awake

thinking and worrying! Tomorrow things will look brighterthey always do. Promise me!"

Elizabeth's face darkened as if a dense cloud, the forerunner of a storm, had passed over it.

"Ah," she said passionately, "you tell me not to worry, but how can I help it when people are saying such

"Are they?" asked Mrs. Andrews thoughtfully. "I haven't heard anything, but then I don't often hear slander.

People know it isn't exactly in my line." The even tones were a trifle contemptuous. "Or perhaps," she added

whimsically, "they knew it wouldn't be any use. You see, child, I happened to know your father!"

She stooped and kissed the girl impulsively. Betty clung to her a moment, unable to speak; then her arms

Mrs. Andrews shook her finger playfully as she disappeared through the door. And, strange to relate, Betty,

worn out and exhausted, followed her advice and slept peacefully throughout the night, a pitiful little smile

It was fully a month after Elizabeth's return to New York when Fairfax Cary ran across Major Barry in the

Pennsylvania Station as they were hurrying to their respective trains. At the risk of missing his connection,

"Have you seen Betty Crosby lately?" he asked hurriedly. Then, as Fairfax shook his head, he added: "She's

disappeared can't be found anywhere. Her uncle's nearly distracted. When can I see you?"

"Tomorrow at eleven, at my office," responded Fairfax, and they parted precipitately.

It was only when Fairfax was speeding through the cool tunnel under the river that he began to grasp the full

import of the major's words. Betty Crosby gone! Without a trace! It was inconceivable! Things like that didn't

happen in the set in which she moved. After her promise to him, too! No, he absolutely refused to believe it.

But the more he dwelt on the major's news, the deeper grew his concern. That she should leave the

uncongenial atmosphere of the Crosby home did not surprise him, but that she should go without telling any

one of her destination gave him, in spite of his determination not to credit the report, a feeling of extreme

"There must have been an upheaval of some sort," he thought grimly. "Mrs. Crosby's a pretty difficult

proposition at best, and she probably played on the child's nerves like a rasp. Can't say I blame her for cutting

It was this same question that he put to Trixie Hunnewell when they met on the club veranda as soon as he

had succeeded in drawing her away from the group of people with whom he found her; for, as he speedily

learned, she was in as deep ignorance as Major Barry and himself as to Elizabeth's whereabouts.

"She promised me before she left town that she would call on me if she was ever in trouble," he said, adding

ruefully, half to himself: "As I knew mighty well she would be before long! And Betty Crosby's not one to

Trixie eyed the tense, troubled face thoughtfully, and a feeling came over her that perhaps, in some way, she

had been the cause of that broken promise. She realized that her letters to Betty had been full of Fairfax Cary.

It was highly probable that Betty had imagined, as she herself had believed, that Cary's attentions were of a

different significance from what it now appeared was their real character. For Trixie had come to see that her

attraction for him lay in the fact that she was Elizabeth's friend and in constant communication with her.

"If it were really that way with them," she thought selfreproachfully, "I'm afraid Betsy felt that I wasn't very

But her contrition only added to her concern, and made her even more desirous of aiding in the search.

"I shall depend on you to let me know how I can help," she told Fairfax when he left her. "I shall be on

That the intervening hours had been trying for Fairfax, too, was evident from the alacrity with which he rose

to greet the major on his entrance into Cary's private office as the clock struck eleven the following morning.

"Sit here, major," he said, indicating a chair on the other side of his flat desk.

Major Barry laid his hat and cane carefully on the desk and sat down. His usual cheery expression had given

place to one of deep seriousness, and he nervously fingered his eyeglasses on their broad black ribbon.

"The first intimation I had of this," he began without preliminary, "was two days ago, when I met George

Crosby at Delmonico's. He looks like an old man. Have you seen him?" Fairfax shook his head, and the

major went on: "You know how the Crosbys have always held themselvesas if there wasn't any one quite

good enoughyou knowjust manner, of course, butwell, it's all gone as far as George is concerned. He

has positively crumpled up! I thought he'd been ill, and stopped to hear about it, but he insisted he was all

right. It was only when I inquired for Elizabethyou know I'm her godfather, always was very intimate with

He fixed his kind, candid eyes on Cary's face. Fairfax nodded understandingly. He had heard of the major's

romancehow the two men had loved and courted the beautiful Helen Rogers, and how, when Crosby had

succeeded in winning her, the majoror captain, as he then washad laid his hand on Randolph's shoulder

"You win, old man! Just as well, I guess; an army post's no place for a girl like that! But if you don't make

And when at the end of a year she had died, leaving the little flaxenhaired miniature of herself to take her

place, the two men had accepted the trust that was confided to them and lavished the deepest tenderness and

"She isn't quite sure which is her real father," chuckled Randolph when, on her third birthday, Barry had

"dropped in as he happened to be passing," as he put it, and Betty held out her arms to him with a gurgle of

delight. He "happened to be passing" so often those days that it had come to be a joke between the two men.

"All right, old man, I understandyou just keep on," Randolph had said with a slap on the back as he handed

the major his glass of whiskyandseltzer. "Between the two of us she may get one fairly decent father!"

And Tod Barry had laughed, and said that he was willing and anxious to contribute his share. So it was

evident from the major's manner, as he sat in Cary's big chair and twirled his eyeglasses, that Betty's lack of

Barry moved uneasily, and began beating a tattoo on the edge of the desk with his carefully kept nails.

"Some family trouble, as far as I can make out from what George said. I couldn't really get at the facts, but

George hinted something about Norman's wanting to marry her. Evidently Betty wouldn't have ityou know

what a miserable, dissipated little cur he is, and I suppose Mrs. George cut up rusty and made it unpleasant

for her; so she just left one night, taking a suitcase full of clothes, and they haven't heard of her since."

"Well, at all events, there's satisfaction in the knowledge that she has plenty of money," commented Cary.

That's just the rub! Has she? put in the major impatiently. "George as good as told me that Randolph's affairs

were pretty well involved when he died. He intimated that Elizabeth had gone off with the idea of supporting

"But I don't understand!" Fairfax exclaimed. "Randolph Crosby's fortune gone? Why, it's impossible! I know

"Well, not such a great deal. Mr. Crosby was too reticent a man, too selfreliant, to confide anything more

than was absolutely necessary, even to his lawyer, and of course I did only a small part of his legal work. But,

from what I saw of his holdings and from my knowledge of the man, I should say that what you suggest is a

In his effort to make it unconcerned, the major's voice sounded strained and unnatural.

"Humph!" The major was carefully examining the spring of his eyeglasses. "Cary," he said at last, looking

directly into the dark, keen face across the desk, "I think it's time Elizabeth Crosby's friends took a hand. As

her godfather, I feel a certain responsibility in regard to her, and I ask you to assist me in whatever search it is

necessary to make to determine the child's whereabouts and the condition of her affairs."

"I will gladly do anything in my power, Major Barry. As you know, or perhaps you don't know, everything

"Why the dickens, man, didn't you tell her so?" he exclaimed. Then all this would have been avoided!

"She knew, or at all events she must have guessed; but I couldn't ask her to marry me when I had practically

"Good Lord, Cary, you had a fine young man and a fine old name to offer her! What more could any girl

"Thank you, major. It's very kind of you; but even if it were true, that's not enough for a girl like Elizabeth

"It's enough for any girl, especially for one of Betty's stamp. Why, every bit of this would have been

There was a badly concealed tremor in Cary's voice, and the hand that held the pencil with which he was

"Take you! Why, man, are you blind? Selfdepreciation is one thing, but imbecilitythere, there"

He stopped and looked quickly at Cary, evidently afraid that he had gone too far; but the radiant expression

on Cary's face told him that he could have continued indefinitely in the same strain.

"Cary," he asked abruptly, "have you heard anything derogatory to Randolph Crosby since he died?"

Fairfax Cary paused for a moment before answering, his eyes wandering to the tall buildings pressing closely

in on his only window, a look of seriousness driving away the happy light in the dark eyes. He turned back to

"I was with them when they left the racetrack that afternoon, and I saw several of Mr. Crosby's friends

refuse to speak to him. Afterward I tried to find out the reason for it. As far as I could learn, it was pretty

"And of course the blame was laid on him, in spite of the fact that he lost the purse

"Well, of course I don't believe a word of itdon't see how any one could who knew the man; but the

question is, how can we prove it's false? I'm not satisfied to let the good name of my best friend and the father

of that child go down to posterity blackened. We've got to clear it, and we've got to find Elizabeth! Now,

"George Crosby has employed a private detective, but they're so afraid of people's talking, and of a scandal,

that they're tremendously handicapped. You see how it was with meI only learned by chance."

"I think I'll go and have a talk with Pat," ruminated Fairfax. "The boy may be able to tell us something. You

know, one of the last things Mr. Crosby did before he died was to send the boy enough money to make up

what he lost on the race. Pat told me about it just after the funeral. He was all broken up. It seems he has a

sister who is a bit of a highflier, from all I hear, and he's very anxious to establish her somewhere away

from the track influences. He had saved enough money to give her a start, but he lost most of it when

Steadfast was beaten, so you can imagine his gratitude at Mr. Crosby's generosity."

"Just like Rand!" The major's face twitched. "Well, let me know what you learn."

"I will, Major Barry. Could you meet me at the Sussex Club tonight at, say, eleven o'clock? I can't tell just

As soon as he was alone, Fairfax despatched a letter to the jockey's headquarters at Sheepshead Bay, and

spent the rest of the day in impatient perturbation awaiting his reply; but when the answer came, it was a

Pat's been hurt awful bad in the steeplechase this afternoon. Come as quickly as you can. MOLLY

Fairfax grasped his hat and rushed to the elevator. When he reached the street he jumped into a taxi and told

the chauffeur he would double the fare if he reached the Pennsylvania Station in time for the six seventeen

train. Fairfax got his train and the man his fare, and the young lawyer settled himself with as much patience

as he could command to pass the interval which must elapse before he could reach Pat.

Molly had evidently left word at the office of his coming, for when Cary reached the cheap hotel where the

Delaneys had their rooms a small boy took him in charge. The guide conducted him at once up the steep

stairs and down the narrow hall lighted by a flaring gasjet which disclosed the gilt and green wallpaper

"He's in there!" he said in a hoarse, terrorstricken whisper and fled precipitately.

Cary knocked softly, and the door was immediately opened by a thin youth with furtive eyes.

"It's him!" said this individual in a sepulchral voice and disappeared into the corridor.

Cary stepped into the dim room and closed the door. On the iron bedstead he could just distinguish the

indistinct outline of the jockey's figure. Out of the bandages that swathed his head burned two bright eyes,

feverishly restless. He pressed the boy's hand as it lay motionless on the counterpane.

"The jig's up, I guess, Mr. Cary. That steeplechasin's pretty sure ter git us sooner or later. Mr. Crosby

wouldn't never let me do it, but Well, I'm mighty glad ye got here in time. I've been wantin' ter see ye."

"Are they doing everything they can for you?" asked Cary, bending solicitously over him.

"Oh, yep! Sit down, Mr. Cary. I told Jim ter put a chair fer ye; ain't he done it?" Then, as Cary sat down, Pat

went on faintly: "They had a couple of doctors here, an' they patched me up some, but there ain't nothin' ter

be done, I guess. Kind o' tough, ain't it? I'd 'most got me pile tergether fer that little home fer Molly. I don't

For a moment he searched the sympathetic face before him, and then, as if satisfied with what he saw, he

"Mr. Norman's begun hangin' round again. He's in there with her now." With a quick glance of his eyes he

indicated the door opposite the bed, whence issued the low rumble of a man's voice punctuated by the shrill

tones of a woman. I don't like it!" he concluded hoarsely. When gents like him comes followin' up girls like

"Off an' on. He went ter Newport fer a while, an' I wuz hopin' it wuz all off, but fer the past few weeks he

ain't hardly lef' her fer a minute. Now ye kin see why I wuz so set on gettin' a quiet little place off

somewhere. Racetracks ain't no place fer a girl. If I could only ha' got that fixed, an' ha' felt Steadfast under

me once agin, it wouldn't ha' been so hard ter go. Gee, Mr. Cary!" A film came over the bright eyes. "Ye

don't know how I felt ter see that lout Burns ridin' that hoss! Why, he's got hands like a plowman!"

"I'm sure it must have been hard," Cary said softly. "I want to ask you about Steadfast and that race for the

Withers Stake, Pat. Have you ever suspected that there was anything wrong with the horse that day?"

"Yer mean he'd been doped? I didn't think so then, Mr. Cary; but lately, from things Molly's let drop, I've

kind o' suspicionedwell, I dunno. Ye see, when a girl gits jealous, she says all kinds o' things. When Mr.

Norman went off ter Newport, Molly got it inter her nut that he wuz rushin' some queen there, an' one night

she had sort o' highstrikes, an' she said if he wuzn't goin' ter make good she'd peach. Then she said

somethin' about what happened before the Withers race; but all of a sudden she stopped, an' I couldn't git

A feeling of compunction came over Cary. He could see that the boy's strength was ebbing very fast, but he

felt that he must do all that he could to get some clue to the mystery of Elizabeth's hidingplace.

"Pat," he said, bending over the limp form, "do you know where Miss Crosby is now?"

Pat glanced meaningly at the door between the two rooms. Again Cary shook his head. Pat stared

thoughtfully at him. "Well," he said at last, "it ain't fer the likes o' me ter be sizin' up gents like Mr. George

Crosby an' Mr. Norman; but in me own mind I allays puts 'em in a pretty low class, an' I knows Mr. Tutney

"Yep; owns them big diamondmines in South Africkyleast, him an' Mr. Crosby does together."

The boy's head moved restlessly on the pillow. The short twilight had darkened into night, and the little room

was shrouded in shadows. Outside, an indistinct murmur of voices floated up from the group of youths that

Cary had noticed standing on the bedraggled plot of grass before the hotel steps, but the words were

"I thought ye'd gone!" There was a world of relief in the weak voice. "It's all rightonly I wuz kin' o'

lonesome. I s'pose I wuz lightheaded fer a minute, an' I thought I wuz alone. It's kind o' hard ter die when ye

Cary bent over the slight figure, motionless in the glow of the electric light which flickered up from the street

"If ye couldI don' hardly like ter ask it o' ye, but ye're so kindif ye could"there was infinite entreaty in

the ashen face"look after Molly a bit? Ye see, there won't be any one afterafter"

With a lump in his throat, Fairfax promised to do everything in his power for the girl.

"I've got to go now, Pat," he added regretfully. "I told Major Barry I would meet him at eleven o'clock in

town. He's trying to find Miss Betty, too, but I'll be down again the first thing in the morning."

The boy's fingers tightened for a moment around the sinewy hand; then he released it.

Goodby!" he whispered huskily. "Ye're on the levelI kin trust ye. I've tried ter be straight, too," he added

"You've tried, and you've succeeded, Pat!" Cary stooped over him, his voice deep with feeling. "That's what

Mr. Crosby used to say`That boy's as straight as a string; I'd trust him anywhere!'"

"It's kind o' comfortin', ain't it," he faltered, "ter think there's some one ye know out there?" He raised his eyes

to the window, open at the top to admit as much as possible of the night air. The new moon shone through the

Cary knocked at the door between the two rooms, told Molly Delaney that he had to leave, and with a last

clasp of Pat's limp hand let himself out into the hall. He glanced at his watch as he passed the gasjet, and,

startled at the lateness of the hour, hurried down the stairs and through the group of loungers still loitering in

the front yard. Jumping into a hack that stood at the curb, he directed the driver to make all possible speed to

"Wonder if Pat's dead?" remarked one of the group in a hushed voice. "That cove's just lef' him. Mike said his

"He looked kind o' cut up," answered another of the crowd. "I guess he's pretty close ter gone, poor old Pat!"

Cary, in the mean time, was hurrying to the train, which was just pulling out as they reached the station. He

darted across the platform and swung upon the last car. He was still panting a little when he walked down the

aisle and came face to face with George Crosby, who had entered the car from the other end.

"OhahCaryhowdo?" he hesitated and held out his hand. "Was it you I saw making that flying leap

Crosby was evidently trying to speak with his oldtime lightness. "Close shave!" replied Cary laconically.

"Come and speak to Mrs. Crosby," continued the other, and Fairfax followed him somewhat reluctantly to

"I thought it was you," she exclaimed as she put out her hand; " but I've never seen you in such mad haste

As usual when he was with Mrs. Crosby, he was possessed by an intense desire to irritate her by voicing her

insinuations, and then watching her discomfiture; but in his present frame of mind the mood did not last long.

"I've just come from Pat Delaney," he said quietly to Mr. Crosby. "He's been dreadfully smashed up in a

He looked past Mrs. Crosby to the dim outlines of the plain, stretching unbroken and dark to meet the

"Quite well, thank you," answered Mrs. Crosby quickly. She looked straight into the keen, dark eyes, and

added with the least possible quiver of her eyelashes: "It has been a great pleasure to have her with us this

He experienced a curious sensation, almost of admiration, as he watched the skill with which she met his

thrusts. Crosby, on the contrary, had sunk farther into his seat, and the unnatural pallor of his skin had

"Yes, indeed!" replied Mrs. Crosby. "We're devoted to the child, and can't possibly get along without her!"

With a word of farewell he walked through the car into the one ahead, in search of a vacant seat. He settled

"The major's rightGeorge Crosby looks twenty years older than he did in June. Too bad! Well, it happens

that way sometimes. Mrs. Crosby, too, doesn't look quite as youthful as she did. I wonder if they're really so

worried over Betty's disappearance! I wouldn't have given them credit for so much heart. They weren't going

The muscles of the firm chin tightened, and unconsciously he straightened his shoulders.

"Well, they're rightI don't know much; but I'm going to know more before long! I'll find Betty Crosby, if I

have to search every inch of the way between here and San Francisco; and when I do, there won't be any

more shillyshallying! There isn't any reason for it, now that the money's gone. I'm almost glad of it!" A half

It still lacked a few minutes to eleven when Cary entered the door of the Sussex Club, but, knowing the

major's unusual punctuality, he went at once to the room where they had arranged to meet.

When Fairfax Cary entered the lounge of the Sussex Club he found young Tony Page, who had just returned

from France after three months' service as a stretcherbearer in connection with the American Ambulance,

"But the peach experience of them all," Fairfax heard him remark as he passed on his way to the corner where

he was to meet Major Barry, "was the time I got wounded." He glanced at his arm, which he carried in a

sling. "It was before Verdun, and every one had been working his heart out day and night trying to get the

wounded back. It was some job, for there were so many that every hospital was overflowing, and we

stretcherbearers thought we were lucky if we got three hours' sleep out of the twentyfour. Every once in a

while one of us would be knocked out, and then there would be the dickens, and all to find a man to take his

place. Well, that night it seemed as if all Hades was let loose. Generally they talk about a curtain of fire

behind the force attacked, but this time it seemed as if we were in the center of it. The shrapnel had been

falling round us like hail, and finally a splinter struck Tom Strawbridgeyou know TomPhiladelphia

"We had a man on the stretcher," Tony went on, "and of course we had to take him in; but when we reached

the hospital we made up our minds we'd get Tom or die in the attempt. We knew it would be frightfully

difficult, if not impossible, but we weren't going to let that stop us if we could get the extra man. Apparently

there wasn't one to be found for love or money. Small wonder, too, for it looked like almost certain death to

go back into that inferno. Then some one tapped me on the arm. I turned and saw a boylittle chap he was;

young, too, from his voice. It was dark; I couldn't really get a good look at him, but he asked me if he might

go with us. Of course I snapped him up, and we jumped on the ambulance and drove like mad to the place

where we'd left Tom. That sure was some ride! The road was all torn to bits by heavy traffic and by the

shells, and every once in a while we would jounce into a pit that seemed as if we would never get out of it.

All the time those great, screeching Jack Johnsons were crashing around us, exploding with a fury that

Tony Page stopped and shuddered, and then, as if to emphasize the reality of his present surroundings, shook

"Yes, finally. He was about all in, but we put him on the stretcher and started back to the ambulance. Those

beastly shells never let up for a minute, and at last one exploded about fifty yards from us, and a great piece

of it caught me in the arm. I felt a gush of blood, and knew that a big vein had been cut. Fortunately we were

close to the ambulance, so we shoved Tom in, and then the little chap we'd picked up started to put a

tourniquet on my arm. His hands looked awfully small for a boy's, and he had the most wonderful touch! I

tried to see his face, but his cap was pulled down over his eyes, and I was sort of dazed from the shock, so I

didn't really care much; but when we got back to the hospital, and I was taken into the ward, I took a good

There was a tense silence, while Tony Page's quick eyes ran over the eager faces about him. Major Barry had

come in, and he and Fairfax stood a little to one side, listening to the young man's story.

Fairfax Cary caught the back of the armchair behind which he stood, as if to steady himself. Major Barry

"The same," acquiesced Tony cheerfully. "She's been working in the hospital. Mrs. Maitland Andrews sent

her over and paid her expenses; and when Betty heard we were short a man, she took the clothes of one of the

Horrified incredulity shone on Major Barry's face, from which the ruddy color had fled.

"Am I sure? Am I sure I'm alive?" Tony looked significantly at his arm. "Why, of course I'm sure! That girl

saved my life," he asserted gratefully. "I've always known Betty; used to play tennis with her a lot at the

Country Club and different places. I always knew she had grit; but believe me, that night was enough to make

the nerve of the strongest man crack, much less a woman's. She didn't seem to care, though; she walked

through that Hades as quietly as if she'd been strolling along Fifth Avenue. I tell you, there was some

Fairfax Cary was hanging on every word, his face livid, his eyes like coals of fire. Tony took up a cigarette

"Paul Townsend's at the head of the hospital. You remember him, don't you? Big, strapping fellow, looks like

Adonis, fair hair, very bright blue eyes. He's a fiend for work, simply eats it up, has that hospital humming

day and night, and no matter what time you bring in a poor wretch he's always on the job. Well, he's in love

with Bettyabsolutely dotty about her. I think it began long before he went to France. At all events, when he

found out what she'd done, he went right up in the air said he was responsible for the nurses under him,

and such a thing must never happen, again. Betty stood there with a quiet little smile on her face and asked

him what it mattered. Gee, that girl has sand! You ought to have seen old Paul's face! He was fairly sputtering

with rage and excitement!" Tony chuckled delightedly. "But he made her promise not to do it again. He told

Fairfax Cary walked to an armchair in the corner and dropped into it. He covered his eyes with his hand, and

"Frightful! It never should have happened. I don't know what Mrs. Andrews was thinking about. The front's

no place for a girl like Betty. Never stops to think of herself. She's just as apt as not to do it again!" he

Fairfax agreed disconsolately, and they stared anxiously into each other's face.

"Tell you what, old man!" The major emphasized his words by bringing down his clenched fist into his open

palm. "One or the other of usor both of us, if necessarymust go over and bring that child back!"

"Now which shall it be?" the major went on thoughtfully. "I'd give half my life to go, but"a quizzical,

rather wistful light gleamed in his kind eyes"I think, Fairfax, perhaps you'd have more influence."

It was the first time the major had called him by his Christian name, and it seemed to Cary as if in some way

it brought him nearer to Elizabeth, and gave him a part ownership in her. He impulsively put out his hand and

"And, Fairfax," he went on whimsically, "if Betty wants to stop in Paris and get her trousseau, tell her it will

be my weddingpresent." He hesitated before he added softly: "They tell me the Bermudas make an ideal

"I'm afraid it isn't going to be as easy as all that," he answered with a rueful shake of his head.

"You can't tell, my boy; you can't tell!" Then the major asked abruptly: "How about this fellow Townsend?"

"He was at the head of the Rockefeller Institute for a while. He's always been a great admirer of Betty."

"Well, the sooner you get off the better." Major Barry reached for the evening paper, which lay on a table

near them, and, adjusting his eyeglasses carefully, turned to the shipping news. "The Touraine sails

"I'll give you some letters. It would be useless going without the proper credentials. By the way, did you see

"Yes; I've just come back from Sheepshead Bay. The poor little chap met with a bad accident this afternoon,

"Too bad! I'm sorry to hear that!" The major's face expressed real concern. "What happened?"

"Too bad! He was a nice little lad. Good sortabsolutely straight. No chance for him?"

"Shame! Randolph never would let him ride in those steeplechasessaid he was too light, and also too good

a boy." The major paused for a moment before asking: "Did he say anything about the race?"

"Nothing definite; but be seemed to suspect that something was wrong with Steadfast, and he intimated that

The major raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips under the gray mustache. "So?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Norman Crosby seems to be running her pretty hard. Pat's been a good deal worried over it."

"He also told me that Mr. Crosby was interested in some diamondmines in South Africa with a man by the

"Tutney? Oh, yes, I know Tutney. Randolph was in a lot of schemes with him. He's a keener, all right, but I

guess he's honest without any question; and he thought a lot of Randolph that I'm sure of. Did Pat say

"Rather a large order, eh? Well, all right, old man; I'll hunt up the address and cable it to you. Perhaps that

"I hope you're a good prophet," he replied, rising and pushing back his chair. "Will you write those letters

The two men walked out of, the room, stopping on the way to get the number of Betty's hospital from Tony.

The sun was just rising behind the tall buildings in Brooklyn the next morning when Fairfax jumped from a

taxi at the wharf of the French line. Picking his way through the bustling throng of porters, he boarded the

vessel, went at once to his stateroom, undressed, and went to bed. They were well past Fire Island when he

awoke, to hear the rhythmic throb of the engines as the boat plowed her way through the deep waters.

With a feeling that for the present he had done as much as lay in his power, he turned over and went to sleep

again. He dreamed that the boat had been sunk by a torpedo, and that Betty, dressed in a torn, bloodstained

khaki uniform, was standing on a miraculously floating stretcher, holding out her hands in an effort to save

In a base hospital somewhere in France, Betty, oblivious to the commotion her disappearance had caused,

toiled night and day, stilling the pain of her heart by the ministrations of her hands. It was trying,

nerveracking work, which made demands on heart and sympathies as well as on muscles, and which sent

her to bed so nervously and physically exhausted that she perforce must sleep. But at times, when she was on

night duty, and the occupants of her ward were quiet, a feeling of desolation crept over her that made her

gaze almost enviously at some gaunt form in a nearby bed on whose face dwelt that expression of aloofness

It was after one of those nightwatches that Dr. Townsend stopped her in the corridor as she was on her way

As Cary had said, she had known the doctor well in New York, and the fact that he was in charge of the

hospital had been one of the reasons for her acceptance of Mrs. Andrews's suggestion. It had also influenced

Mrs. Andrews in making the offer to Betty; for, knowing the man and his admiration for Betty, she realized

that the girl would be well looked after. Indeed, she hoped that, in time, in the close association of the work,

the feeling which she knew existed at least on Townsend's side might develop into a stronger attachment

That she had been right in her predictions was apparent from the look of concern on the doctor's face as he

"No, indeed"; she answered with an attempt at lightness. "Work is what I came over for!"

"I know, but we don't want to overdo it. You look mighty thin to me!" His eye ran over the almost ethereal

"No, I know," he said sympathetically. His eyes came back to hers with a look of more than concern. "But I

"No fear of that," she answered resolutely. "I wouldn't allow myself to give out, after seeing the wonderful

"It's been play since you came!" answered Townsend softly. "You've filled the whole place with sunshine,

and it seems now as if I couldn't get tired. You've been an inspiration as well as a help!"

"It's awfully good of you to be so encouraging," she answered gratefully; "for, of course, I realize that I must

"Failed nothing!" retorted Townsend emphatically. "I can tell you that your deft ways and the sight of your

sweet face have helped many a man to endure without a word tortures that have wrung his soul! And Iwell,

The words sounded extravagant, and Betty raised her eyes with a little laugh to his; but the expression on his

"Tell me I won't have to do without you!" he entreated, coming a step nearer to her.

"But, my darling"the strong hand closed over hers"I love you! Don't you think in time you could"

She sped up the stairs to her room and, flinging herself face down on her bed, sobbed convulsively.

With the assistance of Major Barry's letters, which seemed to have the effect of magic in making difficult

paths straight, Fairfax, one afternoon about ten days later, found himself wending a tortuous way from Paris

in the direction of a great smokecloud which hung pendent from the sky. In and out of the many vehicles

that blocked the road, his chauffeur picked a way past huge signposts, devastated fields marked with

mounds bearing little wooden crosses and soldiers' caps, streams swarming with bathing soldiers, their horses

The air was choking with dust, white and fine, that sifted through and into everything, covering all, yet never

seeming to rest. Nearer and nearer to the great smokecloud they drew, an incessant booming as of thunder

roaring in their ears. Under the cloud Fairfax could see the flash of mighty guns, whose concussion shook the

A sharp scream rang in their ears, and a great black object hurled itself past them and buried itself violently in

a deep, selfmade grave. Cary involuntarily ducked and grasped the side of the car, while the chauffeur

They entered the remains of a village. Tom houses, piles of brick and mortar, debris of every kind lay

scattered about. Desolation and ruin even more marked than that of the forlorn countryside through which

The chauffeur stopped the car before a long, low building over which floated the Red Cross flag. Fairfax

jumped out and, entering the doorway, arrested a young man who was dashing through the hall. His hands

"Miss Crosby?" he repeated breathlessly. "Can't say, I'm sure, whether you can see her or not. We're rushed

to death this morning. Three hundred wounded came in last night, and we've none of us had any sleep. I'll see

He vanished up the steep stairs, leaving Fairfax waiting impatiently in the bare hall, breathing that

indescribable atmosphere of suffering induced by the pungent smell of anesthetics and disinfectants. Through

halfclosed doors he saw endless rows of closely packed beds, and in each a figure swathed in bandages, the

same look of patient suffering carved on each face. Outside, the continuous bursting of shellsdangerously

He heard a light step behind him, and, turning, saw a slender figure in the uniform of a Red Cross nurse

coming toward him. At first he did not recognize the pale face that looked out from under the white

headdress with its little red emblem. It was only when Betty smiled and stretched out her hand that he saw

"Betty!" he exclaimed, clasping her hand in both of his. "How did you find me?" she asked quietly.

"I learned from Tony Page, at the Sussex Club. He was telling how you saved his life. I was waiting for the

major and happened to overhear himit was by the merest chance. Betty, why did you do it?"

"Come in here." Betty turned to a little room, half office, half receptionroom, which happened to be empty.

Fairfax looked at her gravely. Great shadows encircled her eyes, and her shoulders drooped wearily.

Betty looked out of the window at the ruins on every side. Then she turned back to Fairfax.

"If I'd told Uncle Tod, he would have told Uncle George, who would have insisted on my coming back to

New York, and that I'm not going to do!" Again she looked out of the window, a rebellious light in her eyes.

"I don't know what the major has done since I left," answered Cary stiffly. "I started a few hours after I

"Why did you come?" asked Betty calmly; but behind the quiet words and tone lay an inexorable resolve.

Instinctively Betty recoiled from him, and a dark flush spread over her face. "You!" she exclaimed in a

For a moment Fairfax studied the condemning face. That she would refuse him, in spite of the major's

predictions, he had fully expected; but that she should show such repugnance startled him. Outside the

thunder rolled ceaselessly, punctuated now and again by the screech of a shell as it tore its way through the

"It was very good of you to come so far, and I assure you I'm very grateful for your interest, but it's quite

useless. I'm happy here, and Dr. Townsend seems to find me useful, which is something"

"Yes," reiterated Fairfax gravely, "my lovethe love I've had for you ever since we first met, when I had as

little hope of ever being able to tell you of it as if you were on a different planet. When conditions changed I

thought that perhaps, after all, I did have something to offer you that you might be willing to accept; and I

know that your innate generosity will prompt you to tell me whether you have already pledged yourself to

The straightforward sincerity of his words caught Betty's attention. She looked long and fixedly into his eyes.

"Miss Hunnewell?" repeated Fairfax wonderingly. "Why, we're very good friendsthat's all."

"Engaged!" A look of incredulity leaped into the dark eyes. "Who told you that?"

Well, it's a lie!" The strong jaw snapped. "There has never been anything of that kind between us. I admire

"But"there was a note almost of pleading in her voice "you've been seeing a great deal of her this

"Yes," assented Fairfax gravely, "I have. When you're separated from the one who is more to you than life

itself, it sometimes makes existence easier if once in a while you hear something about that person, and Miss

Her face had turned very white, and her lips trembled. Fairfax was watching her intently, a hurt look in his

"What a cad you think me!" he exclaimed bitterly, walking to the window, where he stood gazing out, his

Betty impulsively took a step after him. Her breast, under the white kerchief, was rising and falling

But the man's shoulders squared themselves resolutely, and the dark head proudly refused to turn. Betty

"Darling!" he whispered passionately, pressing her to him. "Don't you care for me just a little? I love you,

"Perhaps some dayperhaps when my father's name is cleared," she whispered brokenly. "I shall never

"They do!" she interrupted vehemently. "A great many people believe that he was involved in something

dishonorable before he died! When it's proved to be false, then I may think of marrying. Until then"

"Goodby," she said hurriedly. "Thank you again for coming so far, and give my love to Uncle Tod!"

"By way of South Africa. I'm going there to see Barney Tutney. He may be able to give me some points."

"Barney Tutney? Yes!" she mused. "He would know. You're taking a great deal of trouble," she added softly.

"Trouble!" he repeated happily. "Nothing is trouble that I do for you. I consider it a privilege to be able to do

any service for you or for your father. You remember, I told you that once before."

Once more Betty held out her hand; then she passed through the door and sped along the hall and up the

Fairfax got into the motor and hurried back to Paris. His firm mouth was drawn in a straight line, and his

A few days after Cary's visit a number of letters and papers reached Elizabeth. Except for an occasional note

from Mrs. Andrews, they brought the first news she had had from home since her arrival in France, and she

Seating herself by the table which stood before the window, she spread them out before her. The letters were

Cary's hastily scrawled line, written on the train, she read first. It was very short, and simply stated that he

had started for Cape Town, and would see her on his way home. She slipped it back into its envelope, a little

smile parting her lips, and picked up one addressed in Mrs. Crosby's rather bold hand.

Unconsciously Betty steeled herself. She opened the letter, and at the first words the smiling lips compressed

themselves into a straight line. An angry flush spread over her face, and a horrified expression widened her

blue eyes. Her face blanched, and she turned the page with a hand that trembled.

"Fairfax Cary!" she gasped. "Never! It's impossible! It's so inconceivable that it's ridiculous!"

Your uncle and I met him on the train the evening of the murder, and he told us he had just left the Delaneys.

His own words are an absolutely conclusive proof. Could any evidence be more convincing?

Elizabeth unfolded a newspaper clipping which her aunt had enclosed, and in great black letters the words

Sister of WellKnown jockey Found Murdered in Sheepshead Bay HotelProminent Lawyer

Her eyes devoured the column of small type which described how Molly Delaney's body had been discovered

early on Saturday morning by the doctor who had come to see Pat. The boy was dead, and Molly was found

lying half on the bed, half on the floor of her room, a bullet through her heart. Although the room was in great

disorder, apparently nothing had been removed, for money and jewelry lay scattered about, showing that

Various clues had been followed, the most conclusive centering around Fairfax Cary, who had been seen by a

number of persons hurriedly leaving the hotel. That he had been with the Delaneys was testified by Michael

Frost, the hallboy, who had conducted Cary to Pat Delaney's room shortly after seven o'clock. To make the

evidence doubly convincing, a letter from Molly Delaney, written on the afternoon before the murder, and

Cary, in the mean time, had disappeared, and no trace of him could be found. It was not thought, however,

that he would be able to elude the police for very long, for descriptions of him had been sent broadcast

With a gasp of dismay Betty let the paper flutter to the table before her. She rested her elbows on it, and her

head dropped into her hands. In spite of the newspaper report, in spite of her aunt's biting words, not even the

shadow of a doubt of Cary's innocence entered her mind. It was impossible for her to believe that the man

who had left her so recently, whom her father had respected and trusted, could be guilty of this atrocious

"How could any one connect a man like that with murder? It's wicked! Brutal!" Her hands clenched, and she

Her eves fell on the other letters which had come in the same mail. She opened the major's first and, glancing

hurriedly through the first pages filled with tender reproaches, concentrated her attention on the words that

Fairfax Cary has been implicated in a nasty scandal, out of which I'm doing my best to extricate him. The

evidence against him, however, is very strong, and I don't know how we're coming out. Whoever murdered

Molly Delaney covered his tracks with incredible cunning, and now that Pat is gone, it seems almost

Whether or not the boy died before the murder was committed, we have been unable to ascertain. We only

know that Cary left the hotel at about half past nine. The question is, was the girl alive when he went away?

This only Cary can answer. Can you tell me his whereabouts? I've cabled to his address in Paris, but have had

"Dear Uncle Tod!" thought Betty penitently. "He's a trump! I'm afraid I haven't been very good to him."

You must come home at once. We need you to help us to clear Fairfax Cary from this dreadful charge that's

been brought against him. We shall expect you to stay with us. As ever, affectionately, TRIXIE.

Elizabeth gathered up the papers, dropped them into a drawer, and went in search of Dr. Townsend.

Hurriedly, and it must be confessed rather incoherently, she explained to him that she must return to New

He gave his consent without comment. It was only when he stood by the motor which was to take her back to

"Goodby," he said gently, as he held her hand closely in his big clasp. "Will you come back to us?"

"If you don't, I'll come to you," he declared, with a look that sent the blood into Betty's face. "This horror

"I hope so," agreed Betty fervently. "Goodby, and thank you again for being so good to me!"

The motor started, and Betty, turning to wave her hand, saw him as he stood before the low building, the

sunlight glinting on the gold of his hair and bringing into high relief the outlines of his muscular frame.

"That is a man!" she thought, and a feeling of selfreproach came over her at the thought that she was

deserting the post of duty at the time of greatest need. "I will surely come back!" she hastened to assure

Never before had the trip across the Atlantic seemed of such interminable length, and it was almost in a

frenzy of impatience that Betty stood on the deck as the steamer passed through the Narrows into New York

Harbor and caught the first glimpse of the jagged outlines of the city emerging from the golden October haze.

She had cabled Major Barry when to expect her, and as the vessel slipped smoothly into its berth, she scanned

When she at last discovered him, in spite of his expression of glad welcome, she saw at once from the

anxious look that lurked in his eyes that the situation had not improved. But it was not until they were seated

in the Hunnewell motor, which Trixie had sent for her, that Betty asked the question which she had been

"It's outrageous!" he asserted savagely. "The evidence is purely circumstantial, but they've piled it up, and

"Oh, yes, of course, right awaySturgis and Fellows, capital men, both of them, and we're not leaving a

stone unturned; but if I could only get in touch with Cary! Every minute that he's away seems to strengthen

The conviction was creeping over her that if it had not been for her Fairfax could have cleared himself long

It may be a couple of months. Everything is so unsettled now that you can't tell how he'll be delayed."

"You can't tell. Sometimes, especially when you don't want them to be, these detectives are deuced clever at

The motor turned into Fifth Avenue and fell into line with the endless procession of hurrying cars. Betty

looked at the familiar scene with the eyes of an alien. The wellknown faces framed in the windows of the

swiftly passing limousines, smiling and nodding to her in recognition when the traffic paused, gave her a

feeling of surprise that she should be remembered after the long interval which had elapsed since she took her

part in the drama. It seemed as if she were looking at the spectacle from a great distance, as if it were being

The hurrying throngs on the streets passing in and out of the handsome shops, the same intent, strained look

on the faces as the swinging doors swallowed or ejected them, forced themselves on her consciousness, and a

helpless feeling of futility seized her. So lately removed from the scenes of combat where men with the

courage born of high resolve struggled desperately to preserve the highest ideals of civilizationwhere they

fought and died that liberty, the most precious heritage of man, might be transmitted as of old to the

generations yet unbornthe picture before her looked crude and cruel in its selfish luxury and

"It isn't good form to show one's feelings," the major reminded her whimsically, perceiving at once the trend

of her thoughts. "But they're really not so heartless. They're most of them doing their bit; only, of course, they

"Did he know I was coming back from France?" An anxious look crept into the blue eyes.

They had reached the park, and Betty's eyes wandered to the avenue of elms stretching their arms high above

"Well, not just now," admitted Betty slowly. "When some one who is sacrificing himself to do something for

you gets into difficulties himself, you naturally want to do your best to help him out; but when it's all

"Well, here we are," he remarked as the motor stopped before the broad steps of the Hunnewells' house. "I

They passed up the steps and into the hall, and Trixie caught Betty in her arms.

"Oh, Betsy!" she exclaimed, a little break in her voice. "How could you give us such a scare?"

Betty put her arm around the girl, surprised and touched by her exhibition of feeling.

"I never thought it would make such a commotion," she said, while a smile which was almost as bright as of

"Imagine!" exclaimed Trixie. "Didn't you know we would care? Have you heard anything new?" she asked,

"Yes, about five o'clock. I may have something more to tell you then"; and be ran briskly down the steps.

They stopped to speak to Mrs. Hunnewell, who came out of her boudoir to greet Elizabeth. Contrary to

Betty's expectations, she gave the girl a warm welcome, and seemed to be delighted to have her with them.

"We've been hearing your praises sung so loudly for the past month," she said, with a teasing glance at

Elizabeth looked wonderingly at her, but Beatrix drew her up the stairs without giving her time to reply.

"Betsy's tired to death," she explained to her mother over her shoulder. "And Major Barry's coming back to

But when they reached Elizabeth's room Trixie's solicitude for her friend's health seemed to vanish. After

having helped Elizabeth to divest herself of her hat and coat, she drew her into her own room and closed the

"Tony Page! In love with me!" repeated Betty wonderingly. "Mercy, no! What ever put such an idea into

"Oh, well, I wanted to be sure this time. He talks incessantly about youhow you saved his life and how

"Ridiculous! Even if I did, that doesn't mean he's in love with me! And as to the bravery" She paused, and

the light died suddenly out of her face. "Trixie, when your life isn't worth two cents to you, it doesn't take

more than two cents' worth of courage to risk it. And sometimes it takes all the courage in the worldmuch

more than you possessto face the prospect the future holds. No, Trixie, it wasn't courage that night; it was

just the desire to end it all. You see, I didn't want to live." The thrushlike voice faltered.

"I'm determined to clear the names of my father and Fairfax Cary. I may be wrong, but the conviction is with

me day and night that when Molly Delaney's murderer is found, the stain on my father's memory will be

"I don't know, Trixie; I haven't the faintest idea. But one thing I do knowI know it wasn't Fairfax Cary!"

"Trixie," she said quickly, putting a hand through Trixie's arm and drawing her to the lounge, "will you

"Why, of course, Betsy, ask anything you like. I haven't anything to hideat least not yet!

The bright color deepened under the cream of Trixie's skin, and unconsciously her eyes strayed to a large

photograph that stood on her dressingtable. Betty's eyes followed hers, and she looked into Tony Page's

smiling face. For the first time since her father's death her vivid smile played over her face.

"I think, on the whole"the flutelike cadence of her laugh rang through the room"I'll wait till then before

"Why, Betsy!" began Beatrix, startled at the change in the girl beside her. "What do you mean?"

Oh, nothing," replied Betty happily. Only it's heavenly being here with you, Trix!"

Major Barry noticed the change as soon as he entered the drawingroom at five o'clock and found the girls

"What have you been doing to my goddaughter?" he asked, smiling at Beatrix as he shook hands.

The intervening hours had apparently had their effect on him, too, for he had regained some of his oldtime

"Well, she looks like a different girl, almost as if she had anticipated the good news that reached me only a

few minutes ago. Cary's on his way home," he added joyfully, turning to Elizabeth.

"That I don't know, but I had a letter from Bordeaux, saying that he would sail on the following day on the

Rochambeau. He said he ran across Tutney at Madeira. Odd, wasn't it? And he intimated that he had had a

"I hardly think soat least not just yet. He expects to come over before long, however, for he wants to make

investigations himself. I gleaned from Cary's letter that things are not quite to his liking."

Beatrix rang, and when the butler appeared she told him, to bring the evening paper. When it arrived Major

"Don't worry your pretty head about that, my dear! I'll be there, if I have to camp out all night on the wharf.

I've kept my campaigning outfit and am prepared for all emergencies," he added whimsically. He folded the

paper carefully and placed it behind the lamp. A headline had caught his eye which he did not care to have

Betty see. Evidently the detectives, too, were aware of Cary's proximity, and his arrival would doubtless be

simultaneous with his arrest; but this the major did not think it necessary for Betty to know. As it was, either

"Not a thing. As far as I can make out, it's all up to Cary. If he can prove that Molly Delaney was alive when

"Well!" He hesitated a moment, then his eyes fell on her troubled face. "We'll have to establish his innocence

in some other way," he concluded with a hopefulness that he was far from feeling.

True to his word, the next morning found Major Barry waiting impatiently, in the crisp air that was blowing

in from the sea, for the great black vessel creeping up the teeming river. Near him stood unobtrusively two

men, who evidently considered him an object of unusual interest, for they kept him constantly in sight. When

he was joined by a short man with quick, alert eyes and a pointed nose, they evinced everincreasing

"That's Sturgis, the lawyer," one of the men remarked in an undertone to his companion.

"I guess that settles it!" answered the other, a gleam of triumph lighting his keen eyes.

It was he who, when Fairfax Cary came quickly down the gangway, stepped forward and said quietly:

Fairfax stopped abruptly, and the hand that he had stretched out in greeting to Major Barry fell to his side. He

looked at the face at his shoulder inquiringly. The second man appeared on the other side.

"Better come quietly, Mr. Cary," he remarked, turning back his coat and revealing the shield pinned on his

"It's a mistake, Fairfax, my boy, of course; but we'll just jump into the taxi with these two gentlemen and talk

it over on the way. This is Mr. Sturgis," he added, indicating the man beside him.

Fairfax bowed in a dazed way and accompanied the men as they led the way to the street.

"Something to do with Molly Delaney's murder," answered the major, eying him keenly.

"Here we are!" exclaimed the major as they reached the curb. "Will you meet us there, Sturgis?" he asked.

When the major walked into the Hunnewells' drawingroom, two hours later, he was rubbing his hands

"Just as we thought, Betty dearthat boy is no more implicated in the murder than I am," he announced

joyfully to Elizabeth, who had left her seat on the sofa and came to meet him. "Whether he can prove it is

another story. He's convinced that Molly was alive when he left. He says he could distinctly hear her talking."

"Yes, I know; but you know what quixotic ideas of honor Cary has, and he didn't actually see the man,

Betty's fair head went up defiantly. "Why, becausemy dear child, he's been arrested! He's in the Tombs!"

"Why, you could hardly go there, you know!" The major paused; then he added: "Of course, if you were his

"How different?" argued Betty rebelliously. "He got into this trouble doing something for me, and I insist on

The major groaned inwardly. The determined expression on Betty's face indicated that she was in deadly

"Sturgis is trying to arrange about bail. Couldn't you wait until Cary's out?" pleaded the major.

I really don't think you're treating them quite right. After all, you know, he's your father's brother, and they

"I know," agreed Betty remorsefully. "I must go. I'll go this afternoon, late. Now go down and tell Fairfax I'm

coming." She took hold of the lapels of his coat and, raising herself on her toes, kissed his cheek. "You're

such a dear!" she whispered tremulously. "I don't know what I should do without you!"

"There, there," he said tenderly. "I'm doing nothing at all, nothing at all; but don't worryI'm sure we shall

But his optimism was all on the surface; for as he sped downtown to hear the result of Sturgis's efforts to get

Cary out on bail, he gave himself over unreservedly to the depression that had gradually been closing in on

"No matter how hard one may try to put a cheerful face on it," he thought gloomily, "the fact remains that the

And in this Sturgis agreed when he met him in front of the Tombs and they stopped for a few minutes' talk

before going in. Bail had been refused, and the outlook was far from reassuring.

But Major Barry had thrown off his air of depression by the time he and Sturgis reached Cary's cell. He

"Well," he began cheerily, "luck's against us for the time being, my boy! The powers that be won't listen to

"So there's nothing to do but to establish your innocence as quickly as possible. Now, how are we going to do

He and Sturgis sat down on the chairs, and Fairfax dropped down on the cot. Fairfax shrugged his shoulders

"I only know that the girl was alive when I left the hotel. As to conjecturing who killed her, you can do that

Cary considered for a moment in silence, while the two men searched his face anxiously.

"I prefer not to express an opinion as to who it was," he replied at last, "I didn't see the man or recognize his

"Well," said Sturgis, rising, "I know Major Barry has other matters to discuss with you, so I'll leave you."

"Now," began the major, drawing his chair closer to Cary, "tell me about Tutney. It was extraordinary your

Fairfax came out of the abstraction that had fallen on him and fixed his dark, penetrating eyes on the major's

"Yes," he assented, "it was great luck. He had just arrived from Cape Town, and was, I think, as glad to see

me as I was to run across him. He asked me at once about Randolph Crosby's affairs. It seems that he and Mr.

Crosby and a number of other men had formed a syndicate to develop this diamondmine, with an agreement

that no one should sell his interest without first giving the other directors a chance to buy it. Shortly after Mr.

Crosby's death a large block of the stock was offered at public sale. Tutney, when he heard of it, was

naturally a good deal upset, and immediately suspected that the stock was Mr. Crosby's. He evidently felt

pretty badly about it, for he realizes what the future of the property will be, and he knew what a mistake it

was to sell before its true value was reached. He's a great admirer of Miss Crosby, and I know he felt that if

his supposition were correct, and the stock was her father's, that her executor didn't have her best interests at

"He asked me who the trustees were," continued Fairfax; "and when I told him that George Crosby was sole

executor, he didn't seem overpleased. He said he thought it was a mistake to entrust a big estate like that to

any one man, even though you had unlimited confidence in him. The chances for mistakes in judgment alone

"Yes; he said he knew it was. He scoffed at the idea that Mr. Crosby had made unwise investments. He said

any one who knew Randolph Crosby at all knew him for a sagacious business man, keen, and of remarkable

acuteness, while at the same time he had an unusual sense of obligation and honor."

"Did you tell him that the entire fortune was gone, and that Crosby's daughter was working to support

"I asked him if it were possible, and he said not unless the trustee had mishandled the estate."

"Just as I thought!" The major leaned forward and tapped Fairfax lightly on the knee. "Mark my words, boy,

George Crosby and that precious son of his have made away with that child's money! Now, it's going to be

my business to find out where and how it has gone." He straightened up. "Betty wants to see you," he

Fairfax started. He glanced around the bare cell, at the stone walls, the iron door, and barred window through

"Insists on it, my boy," continued the major briskly. "And, Fairfax, when you've known Betty as long as I

have, you'll realize that when she makes up her mind" He spread out his hands and shook his head

helplessly, an indulgent smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. "You know what an old fool I am about

hersimply can't refuse her anything. I don't have to tell you that I'm not particularly anxious to have her

come here. No reflection on you, of course, butwell, it isn't just the thing under the circumstancesyou

"Well, she's coming, just the same. Says she has something of the utmost importance to tell you."

The major looked sympathetically at him. He did not add that Betty had said that she intended shortly to

"If that's what she's coming to tell him, he'll know it soon enough," he thought pityingly. "I know what the

poor boy's going through, and suspense, hard as it is to bear, is better than despair."

He patted Fairfax on the shoulder and bade him goodby, promising to return after luncheon.

If Elizabeth experienced any feelings of trepidation as she left the warm sunshine and entered the ominous

chill of the massive gray building, Major Barry, who was watching her closely, failed to detect it. Even when

the door was unlocked and they entered the long passage where tier upon tier of cells looked down upon

them, each with its tragicfaced inmate tense with suppressed revolt or huddled in passive lethargy, she

The guard stopped before a door and inserted the key. It opened, and Betty stepped into the cell. The door

Fairfax rose and turned quickly toward her. His face was very white, but there still clung to him his air of

proud reserve, and the dark eyes looked out fearless and unashamed from under the straight brows.

Betty came quickly to him and held out her hand. He hesitated for a moment, and then, taking it, held it

A semblance of a smile parted the sensitive lips. He indicated the chair beside which they stood. After Betty

had seated herself, he sank once more on the cot and fixed his eyes on the shifting bars of light.

Betty pressed her hands tightly together in her lap, and a lump rose in her throat. Her eyes rested pitifully on

the bowed, dark head. She swallowed hard; then, rising suddenly, she ran to the cot, seated herself beside

"Oh, my dear, my dear!" she whispered brokenly, laying her cheek against his. "I didn't tell you the truth that

A tremor passed over Fairfax. He clenched his hands until the knuckles showed white.

"Don't what?" Betty drew back, and her great eyes, pansyblack in the uncertain light, rested on the white,

"Oh, yes, I do," she asserted. "I realize perfectly what I'm doing. I'm telling the man I honor above everything

on earth that I love him. It's high time that he knew, for I've suddenly discovered that I've loved him for a

Cary got up suddenly and, walking with quick, nervous steps to the door of his cell, placed his hands on the

grating. He shook it slightly; then he turned back to Betty, who had taken a step after him.

"It's real!" he whispered huskily. "Sometimes I think it must be a dream, and I have actually to go and feel the

locked door before I can believe it. "But now," he went on, the look of pain deepening in his eyes, "those bars

have begun to press in on me closer and closer, until I can feel them on my forehead. I know in time they'll

He strode past her and, sinking once more on the cot, buried his face in his hands.

"Fairfax!" Betty ran to him, sat down beside him, and put her arm around his shoulder. "You mustn't have

such dreadful thoughts! Nothing can taint your soul but sin, and, darling, your friends know how far that is

"You don't know, no one knows until he's been locked in, what it means to be caged in a place like this, with

the knowledge that no power on your part can get you out! It's hideous, horrible!" he whispered hoarsely.

Betty laid her hand on his head and drew it gently to her until it rested on her shoulder. Stooping over, she

"I should deserve to be kicked if I took what your pity and gratitude are prompting you to give!" he said. "No;

I love you too dearly to allow you to sacrifice yourself for a man who has passed through an ordeal like this!"

"That's very different," he broke in. "The discredit in no way reflected on you."

"Well," exclaimed Betty, with a little laugh of triumph, "then that's settled!" "What's settled?"

"Don't call me Miss Crosby!" interrupted Betty imperiously. "And as to understanding, why"her voice

softened"the big fact remains that we love each other, dear, and after that nothing matters. Dear heart, you

"You're the most difficult man I ever proposed to," remarked Betty, with a tremulous little laugh. "Well, if

you won't be nice, I'm going to ask you a question. Who was in the room with Molly Delaney that night when

"It might not, and then it would bring unnecessary pain to innocent people. I know too much about that to be

"If we could only get at the motive," she said, half to herself, "it might be a clue! Why should any one want to

"It's hard to tell," he answered evasively. "With people like that there are so many reasons. It might have been

"Well, I sha'n't rest night or day till I find out." Betty rose as the guard inserted his key in the lock. "I'll see

"Did you learn anything?" asked Major Barry anxiously, when she joined him in the waitingroom.

"He absolutely refuses to tell who it was. Uncle Tod, I want to go down to Sheepshead Bay and look through

those rooms. I'm convinced that there must be something there that will give us a clue."

"Yes, I know," Betty assented obstinately. "But it may be the only chance of saving him!"

"I'll try to arrange it, but I'm afraid there isn't much hope. Where are you going now?"

The major stopped in the crowded street along which they were walking on their way to the Elevated train

"I knew that Cary loved you, and I suspected that you cared for him; but really, Betty, I hardly think thatat

"You hardly think that now's the time for me to tell the world of my belief in Fairfax's innocence?" she said

defiantly. "You'll have to forgive me for differing with you. I can't imagine any time more appropriate!"

The major looked at her with a gleam of admiration in his eyes. The color had mounted in her cheeks, and her

"Of course, my dear," he answered in a conciliatory voice, "we all believe that Fairfax is innocent. Tell me,

They crossed the street and passed up the steps to the Elevated. When they were seated in the train Betty

"I don't know what he means," she said. "I only know that I'm going to marry him as soon as possible."

"Well, you modern girls certainly know your own minds!" remarked the major. "Now, in my day if was

"To wait until we were asked?" interposed Betty merrily. "Well, things have changed, Uncle Tod; now it's the

other way round. You men don't realize it, but it's really the women who do the proposing. We let the men

think the old custom is still in force. It makes them happier, and doesn't alter the fact!"

But after she had said goodby to the major at her uncle's door and had entered the hall, the happy look faded

from Elizabeth's face, and was replaced by one of firm resolve. She foresaw a struggle, and with

She went into the familiar drawingroom, and a slight feeling of surprise came over her at finding it exactly

as it had been in the spring. The furniture stood in its accustomed places; the same photographs looked at her

from their silver frames; the same copy of Omar Khayyam lay on the table by the same vase, which was filled

as of old with pink carnations. Everything was just as she had left it; but, in spite of its familiarity, a different

spirit brooded over the room, subtly conveying an impression of suspense, of dread.

"Absurd!" thought Betty, with a little shake of her shoulders. "I'm getting abnormally imaginative! It's I who

She heard a step in the hall, and Mrs. Crosby parted the portieres and walked into the room. In spite of the

carefully shaded light, in spite of her elaborate mauve teagown and artistic makeup, Betty was shocked at

Mrs. Crosby kissed the girl's cheek mechanically and dismissed the question with a wave of her jeweled

They crossed the hall and entered the luxurious room. George Crosby rose from a deep chair by the fire and

came slowly toward Betty. He kissed her affectionately and, turning back to the fire, dropped again into his

He held out his hands to the blaze. They were thin and wrinkled, and twitched spasmodically, and in the light

"You've been gone a long time, Elizabeth," began Mrs. Crosby in a curiously restrained voice. She had seated

herself in the corner of a sofa, on the other side of the fire, and Betty sank down beside her. "Do you think

"Your uncle has hardly slept or eaten since you left," Mrs. Crosby went on plaintively; " and I" She paused

What made you think we wouldn't care?" asked Mrs. Crosby reproachfully. "It has been a dreadful six weeks!

I only hope you will never know such suffering and anxiety as you have caused us!"

"Oh, Aunt Maude," she whispered, "I wasn't happy, either; but I couldn't stayI had to do something!"

"You might at least have told us where you were. We had no idea, and it isn't safe for young girls"

A silence fell on them, broken only by the crackling of the flames and the subdued snap of a log as it broke in

"Oh!" Mrs. Crosby glanced furtively at the girl's pure profile as she gazed past her into the fire. "I can

"Escape?" repeated Betty in a bewildered voice and with an inquiring look at her aunt.

"Both Trixie and Fairfax told me," answered Betty. "I am going to marry Fairfax Cary," she added quietly.

A happy smile illumined the girl's face. "Yes," she went on, the thrushlike lilt ringing in her voice, "he came

"Before any one else knew about it," interposed Mrs. Crosby bitingly. "But of course he has absolved you of

"Oh, I refused to marry him when he asked me; but later I found that I loved him and couldn't live without

"So now we're engaged," she concluded happily at least I am to him. I suppose he isn't engaged to me, for he

George Crosby sank back into his chair, a relieved expression stealing over his face. Betty's eyes dilated, but

"That's the troublehe has an exaggerated sense of honor. If it were not for that we should know, or at least

have a very definite idea, who Molly Delaney's murderer is. Fairfax knows who was with her while he was

A step had been coming along the hall, and when she finished speaking Betty looked up into Norman's livid

"Hello, Betty!" he exclaimed in a voice which he was evidently struggling to make sound natural. "So you've

"Yes," answered Betty gravely, looking searchingly at the shrunken figure and restless, glittering eyes. "I

"That nursing business has been run into the ground, anyway", observed Norman{sic} He lit a cigarette and

"You wouldn't think so if you had ever been in one of those hospitals and seen the need!" retorted Betty

"Death!" he exclaimed passionately. "The whole world's gone mad on the subject! Can't we keep away from

it?" He paced the room with quick, short steps. "It's got to a point where it's a morbid obsession with people.

You hear it talked about wherever you go! You read it in every book, magazine, newspaper. It positively

jumps at you from every street corner until your brain's fairly reeling! I should think at least in one's own

He stopped at a mahogany chest that stood on a small table and, taking out a bottle, poured whisky into a

glass. Raising the glass high above his head, his eyes burning feverishly, he exclaimed hoarsely: "To hell

Norman!" exclaimed his mother in a horrified voice. "What is the matter with you? I've never seen any one

change as you have in the past few weeks!" She looked meaningly at Elizabeth. "It's been like this ever since

"Let's go away, mater, somewhere where it's warm and sunny. This beastly chill has got into my bones."

"Well, hardly tomorrow, dear; there isn't such desperate haste as all that, surely. The next day, perhaps." She

considered thoughtfully for a moment and added: "We might go to the Hot Springs."

"For Heaven's sake, don't go where there are a lot of prying, gossiping people!" exclaimed Norman hastily.

For a moment no one spoke, and a tense stillness settled over the room. Then, as if unable to bear it, Norman

"He's been like that ever since you refused to marry him," said Mrs. Crosby, looking reproachfully at the pale

face beside her. "As I told you at Newport, you could have done everything in the world for him, Betty; and

now there are times when I'm really anxious about him. Don't you think you could come with us on this trip?

Betty stared into the manycolored flames as they darted up the chimney, a feeling of apprehension clutching

at her heart. This, then, and not the worry over her disappearance, was the reason for the atmosphere of

anxiety and suspense that hung over the household. But, in spite of the fact that her heart was swelling with

"I'm sorry, Aunt Maude," she faltered. "If you'll only postpone the trip a little I might, but nowit's

"I don't know, Uncle George. I only know that I've got to stay and do what I can. You see, I have a feeling

"Why people were so unkind to him just before he died, and how he came to make such unfortunate

investments. It's all so confused and unexplainable now, and I do so want to straighten it out! You must

She turned to him, eager for his sympathy and indorsement; but George Crosby did not reply. He sank deeper

The tall clock in the corner struck six in silvery tones, and Betty rose quickly.

She kissed them both and passed out into the hall. Norman came out of the drawingroom.

"I'll walk back with you," he said, taking his hat and gloves from the hall table.

"Betty," he began, as soon as they reached the sidewalk, " I wouldn't get mixed up in this Fairfax Cary mess

if I were you. It won't do any good; and you can't affordno girl canto have your name connected with a

"As I'm going to change my name to Cary before long, I'm naturally more anxious to get Fairfax out of this

"Betty," exclaimed Norman, stopping abruptly and staring at her, "you're not you're not going to marry

"I am," interposed Betty calmly; "so don't make too many derogatory remarks about your future cousin!"

They walked on to the Hunnewells' house in silence, and Norman rang the bell. The door was opened, and

with a hurried good night he raised his hat and ran down the steps, leaving Betty to enter the luxurious

It was with steps heavy from fatigue that Major Barry entered the dark hall of his little apartment that

evening, at about half past nine o'clock, and switched on the light. He took off his hat and coat in the tiny hall

and, going into the sittingroom, lit the lamp. In his hand he held several letters. He settled himself in the

comfortable chair by the table and, raising the lid of the humidor, took up his pipe and filled it leisurely.

"It certainly is good to have a little quiet at last," he said half aloud. "You must be getting old, Tod; you can't

stand the pace the way you used to. This last month has taken it out of you, my boy!"

He lit his pipe and, placing his glasses, with their broad, black ribbon, on his nose, took up the pile of letters

"Wonder whose writing this is?" he soliloquized, gazing thoughtfully at one addressed in a tight, cramped

hand. He broke open the flap and took out the folded sheet. It was a short note from Barney Tutney, written

Major Barry's hand shot out toward the telephone on the table beside him. He gave the number of Tutney's

hotel, and in five minutes had arranged an immediate interview with him at the apartment. He hung up the

When the bell rang, a little later, he jumped to the door, all trace of his fatigue gone. He grasped Tutney's

hand in cordial welcome, helped him off with his coat, and drew him into the cozy room.

"Sit down, Tutney," he said. "Do you smoke?" He opened the humidor, and Tutney selected a cigar. "I'm

The major held a match to the other man's cigar and studied his face as he drew in the smoke.

"I'm very glad you decided to come over so soon," he remarked, settling himself back in his chair.

"I thought it was about time," he answered slowly. "By the bye, I'm mighty sorry about Cary." He looked

"A bad business!" admitted the major. He puffed a moment in silence, then he added quietly: "Of course, he

"Of course not," agreed Tutney. "But, just the same, I guess there are people who are glad to have him where

"Perhaps those same people won't be overjoyed to hear of your return," remarked the major grimly.

"Probably notprobably not!" The keen eyes snapped. "Things weren't goin' exactly right, and it don't do to

let 'em get away from you. It's much better to take a hand in the beginnin', and oftentimes you can prevent a

"Yes," assented the major gravely. "But in this instance I'm afraid we're too late. I blame myself"

"You couldn't do nothin', Major Barry," interposed the man, replacing the cigar in his mouth. He took a long

puff and watched the smoke float off into the shadows. "How could you know how things were goin'? Now,

if I'd been here, instead of in South Africa, things might have been different. When that stock was put up for

"There ain't no doubt of it. The transaction was pretty well covered up, but I've managed to trace the brokers,

and now I have my proofs. George Crosby's been speculatin' pretty heavily the last three months; and,

besides, he got mixed up in a shyster rubber scheme, and from what I can learn, lost a pile of money in it."

"Do you think there is any possibility of getting the estatewhat is left of itout of his hands?"

"Well, of course that's a question for a lawyer; but from the evidence I've been able to gather, I think Miss

Crosby has a mighty strong case against her uncle. To my mind, there ain't no question but what she can force

"She'll make a big mistake if she don't. If she waits for the three years to be up before she demands an

accounting, there won't be anything left. It don't seem possible," Tutney ruminated, "that Randolph Crosby's

pile should all be gone in four months and his daughter workin' for a livin'! Well, it's the first and last time, to

my knowledge, that Mr. Crosby got fooled in his man. He thought an awful sight of his brother."

"Which makes George Crosby's behavior just that much more reprehensible," said Major Barry indignantly.

Tutney agreed and rose to go, promising to have his testimony ready at any time it was needed if a lawsuit

were decided upon. For a long while after Tutney left Major Barry sat puffing at his pipe and staring into the

shadows. On his usually genial face was the expression it had worn when he and his command pursued Red

Wolf's band after the massacre of Pine Notch. If the major had been the judge, in spite of his kindly heart,

However, he decided to postpone telling Betty of his discovery until the web which entangled Fairfax Cary

"The poor child has quite enough to worry her," he thought regretfully as he rose and switched off the light;

Contrary to the major's predictions, he did obtain permission to visit the Delaneys' rooms, and the next

morning he and Betty motored down to the hotel at Sheepshead Bay, where a detective met them. They

mounted the steep stairs and passed down the narrow hallway, with its unwholesome wallpaper and

threadbare carpet. There was a portentous chill in the stale air, and Elizabeth shivered a little as the detective

The door opened, and they entered the jockey's room, evidently untouched since the day after his death. It

looked neglected and desolate, with its unmade bed, halfopen bureau drawers, and scattered papers. In one

corner lay a crumpled redsilk shirt next to a stained pair of ridingbreeches, and standing near was a

ridingboot, its mate lying beside it. By the bed stood a small table, its baize cover gray with dust. In the

A sob clutched at Betty's throat, but she resolutely forced it back. She glanced at the door, slightly ajar, which

He pushed back the door and let her pass. The men followed, and instinctively the major took off his hat.

The room was in great disorder. A trunk half filled with a motley array of garments stood in front of the

window. On a chair gaped a suitcase, out of which trailed a worn shirtwaist. On the top of the bureau was a

The mantel was littered with photographs of actors and actresses, jockeys and trainers. On one corner of it, on

a stand, rested Molly's best hat. It was the one she had worn at the races on the afternoon before Randolph

Crosby's death, and Betty saw once more the girl's audacious face sparkling under the crimson feather and

The remembrance of that last happy afternoon brought the hot tears of regret into Betty's eyes, and to hide

them she turned quickly to the mantel. She took up the hat and with gentle fingers brushed off the dust which

lay thick on the drooping feather. A large photograph that stood behind the stand fell forward, disclosing a

Grimes, the detective, who had been idly turning over some old newspapers on a table near the window, came

"Well, if that don't beat all!" he said under his breath. "How do you suppose we came to pass that up?"

The major left his place by the door, where he had lingered, and the expression of extreme distaste which had

The sharp, gray eyes narrowed, and he stepped toward the door that led into Pat's room, the major following.

Betty took an irresolute step after them and stopped. Her eyes fell upon the bed against which Molly had been

found, and as if drawn by a power she could not resist, she walked slowly to it. She stood for a moment

gazing down upon it, her imagination painting in vivid colors the last scene in the girl's life.

In the weeks of her hospital work, death had in a measure lost its horror for her, but this was different; this

was death in its most revolting form, without the nobility of selfsacrifice. It was sordid, hideous, repulsive!

A shudder passed over her, and she turned quickly, as if to rid herself of the room and its associations, when

her eye was caught by the glint of something bright in the space between the mattress and the wooden side of

She stooped down and saw, lying on the slats, a small glittering object. From the other room came the

indistinct murmur of the men's voices, broken once by an exclamation from the detective. Betty hastily put

her hand into the narrow space; when she drew it out it held a gold cigarettecase. The case was half open,

and the cigarettes under the gold bar were stained and dark. Betty looked at it, her eyes widening in horror.

"That was a great find you made, Miss Crosby," said a voice at her shoulder. "Now, if we can discover why it

was put there, and what went through it the night of the murder, I guess we'll have our man, all right!"

Elizabeth started violently and turned quickly, involuntarily keeping the hand that held the cigarettecase

Major Barry had joined them, and was standing beside her. At the man's words he, too, fastened his eyes on

"Miss Crosby"the detective spoke impressively"in the name of the law, I ask you to tell me what you

He stepped toward her, and Betty, slowly drawing her hand from behind her back, held out the

"Slipped out of his pocket when he stooped over the girl!" mused Grimes. He turned the case over, searching

for a mark on it. A monogram stood out in bold relief on the cover. "C," he ruminated. "Cary"

Elizabeth did not answer, and the detective went back to his study of the letters.

He held out the case to Major Barry for his corroboration; but the major shook his head.

"I haven't my glasses," he explained; "but I can see enough to know that the initials don't stand for Fairfax,

Grimes shook his head doubtfully, evidently loath to let a victim escape out of his net until he had another to

"Maybe," he assented; "but it ain't for me to say. I'll take this to headquarters right off. You're sure you don't

"It's mighty important evidence. This and the dictograph are the best clues we've had yet, and we have you to

With a hurried goodby to the detective, they passed into the hall. Neither spoke as they walked through the

deserted corridor, their footsteps echoing desolately against the closed doors. It was only when they were

alone in the taxi that Betty's selfcontrol gave way. She clutched the major's arm, her horrorstricken eyes

"There, there, my child," he said soothingly. "You mustn't take it so to heart! You'll make yourself ill!" "Oh,

"Nonsense, child; some one was bound to find it sooner or later. As it happens, it is fortunate that it was you,

for now we may be able to get the boy away before suspicion fastens on him. Will you tell the Crosbys, or

"I will, of course," replied Betty hurriedly. "Oh, how ghastly, how awful for them! Do you really think he did

She looked almost pleadingly into the candid face beside her. The major pursed up his lips and stroked his

Her eyes filled with tears. Major Barry continued to stroke her hand, and began to tell her of the best course

to be pursued to get Norman away. He drew a glowing picture of the openings for young men in faroff lands,

where the boy would be cut off from his old associates and temptations. Gradually he led Betty's thoughts

But it was a very white, tremulous Betty who ascended the steps of her uncle's house, before which stood

Norman's motor. As the major saw her disappear into the hall, he decided that he would follow her as soon as

Elizabeth went at once to the library, where she found Norman seated in a big chair with newspapers

scattered around him. At the sight of her white face he jumped to his feet and came quickly to her.

Steps sounded in the hall, and Norman glanced fearfully toward the door. A look of relief came into his face

"Has anything been found?" he faltered in a low voice, his eyes fixed on Betty's face.

"You must goquick, Norman, quick! Don't stop to talk!" She was pushing him toward the door. "Your

"Who are they, and what are they coming for?" asked George Crosby irascibly, coming toward Betty.

"Oh, Uncle George!" she moaned, going to him and laying her hand gently on his arm. "It's about Molly

Betty did not answer, but the expression on her face seemed to give him all the information he needed. He

turned from her and, sinking into a big armchair, buried his head in his hands. Betty ran to him and put her

George Crosby rose and with uncertain feet followed her. Betty walked beside him, watching him anxiously.

When they reached the hall be put his hand into his breast pocket and, drawing out his wallet, took out the

There was a hurried goodby, the front door opened and slammed, and the feverish throb of the motor

sounded in their ears. Swaying slightly, George Crosby turned again toward the library. Betty put her arm

through his and guided him back to the chair by the fire. He fell into it, and his gray head dropped against the

As gently as she could, Betty told them of the search of Molly's room and the resulting discovery. "Who

Mrs. Crosby's tone was sharp and quick. Betty hesitated, and it seemed as if every drop of blood in her body

had flowed back to her heart, leaving her numb and cold. George Crosby raised his head and fixed haggard

eyes upon her. The silence closed in upon them like the crushing walls of an inquisitional room.

Mrs. Crosby stepped menacingly toward Betty, who shrank from the look of implacable rage and hatred in

Youyoutraitor! Living in our house, taking advantage of information you got while we were saving you

from starvation! And nownow"her voice rose almost to a shriek"you've hounded my boy out of his

home! God only knows where he can go! Why did you do it? You've brought nothing but misery to us!"

Under the lash of her aunt's words, Betty's eyes had widened until they looked like pools of dark water

"Never thought! Never thought!" repeated her aunt angrily. "No, you never think of any one but yourself and

"Yes!" repeated Betty in a strained voice which she hardly recognized as her own. "If it had not been for the

stigma on my father's name, I should never have felt justified in entering on this search. As it was"

Mrs. Crosby's thin lips were drawn back in a derisive smile. Betty hesitated, and her eyes wandered to the

"What did you find?" demanded Mrs. Crosby once more. "In spite of the ruin you've brought on us, you've

"I think you're wrong there," he remarked quietly, after a searching look at Elizabeth's quivering face. "We've

been looking into Randolph's affairs a bit latelysome of his business associates and Iand we've

Mrs. Crosby's face blanched, the two brilliant spots of color standing out grotesquely on her cheeks. George

"I mean this, Mrs. Crosbywhen Randolph died he left some very valuable stock, which has since been

George Crosby's hand tightened on the arm of his chair until even the nails showed white. His face was livid.

"I know through one of the other directors of the concern, in which Randolph held a large interest. This man

has traced the sale of the stock." He turned suddenly to George Crosby. "Do you deny it?"

George Crosby sank even deeper into the big chair, and his hand went up to his sagging mouth. Unable to

meet the accusing eyes fixed on him, his head fell forward until his chin rested on his chest. Betty took a

"My dear, it's simply thisyour father died, as we all believed, a very rich man. It is since his death that his

"That's just it; who could have sacrificed your interests and betrayed your father's confidence? Who had the

"Uncle George, did you do this thing?" Betty drew nearer and nearer to him, her eyes wide, her mouth

She sank down on her knees beside him and clutched his arm. There was a long silence.

Betty drew back slowly, as if still loath to believe what she heard. "My father's brother!" The words seemed

As if in hope that he was about to disclaim his culpability, Betty stooped eagerly toward him; but he stopped

abruptly, and once more the gray head fell forward. A heavy silence wrapped itself about them, which at last

"Well, it's all out now!" she said violently. "I suppose you'll send your uncle to join Norman in prison!"

Betty looked at her aunt as if her words were husks void of the grain of meaning. Bending over her uncle's

huddled form, she stroked his gray head tenderly; then she stooped over and kissed him.

"Uncle George, don't worry about it!" she whispered so softly that the words hardly reached the others. "I'm

sure it was all a mistake. I don't believe it was for yourself you took the money. At all events, it will never

A great sob shook the bent shoulders. George Crosby caught her hand and held it to his lips. Betty kissed him

again, and then, holding out her hand to Major Barry, drew him out of the house.

Major Barry's face was glowing with satisfaction as he sat in Cary's cell the next morning and rehearsed for

"I tell you, that little girl's a wonder, Fairfax!" he exclaimed. "She was in a nasty fix there, with the evidence

of her cousin's guilt, which she had found herself, in her hand. She naturally didn't want to implicate him, and

"But you say she wouldn't let it go when the detective suggested that the `C' on the case stood for my name?"

"No, sir! She spoke up loud and clear then, all right! Now, the next thing is to discover what was heard

"That seems like an almost hopeless quest, now that Pat's gone," answered Fairfax gloomily.

Can't tell, my boy; luck's begun running for us now, and I wouldn't be surprised at anything. It was too bad

Sturgis couldn't arrange about bail yesterday. I had hoped, when I telephoned, that you would be out last

"Apparently it couldn't be done. There's always so much red tape in a case like this."

"I wanted to come down and tell you all about the discovery myself, but I knew Sturgis would give you the

facts, and I really felt that I must go to the Crosbys'. It was fortunate that I did, for that fiend, Maude Crosby,

was at poor little Betty neck and crop, and, I think, would have rent her asunder if I hadn't turned up when I

did. She's a devil, that woman!" The major's shoulders stiffened and his jaw snapped. "I should like to see her

"Won't consider it for a minute," returned the major. "Nothing I could say or do would convince her that she

"Well, after all, it's Betty's money, and she's the one to decide. It isn't as if she will really need it now."

"No; there's comfort in that thought. You're not going to let her go back to France, are you, Fairfax?" asked

"She's not going out of this country for some time, if I have anything to say about it, and she seems to think I

have, unless"a light spread over Cary's face"I can persuade her to take that trip to Bermuda that you

"That would be great! The sooner the better." Major Barry glanced restlessly at his watch. "It seems to me

A guard appeared at the door and unlocked it; but the man who was with him was not the alert, keeneyed

lawyer, but a slender youth with slack shoulders and narrow, furtive eyes. The major looked inquiringly at

Fairfax, who shook his head in answer to the unspoken question. The boy slouched into the cell and touched

the brim of his hat awkwardly. "Mr. Cary," he began in a high, shrill voice, "you don't remember me, but I'm

"Why, Jim!" he exclaimed. "Of course I remember you! You used to take care of Steadfast."

"Sit down, Jim, sit down; of course I remember you, and so does Major Barry, I'm sure." The major nodded

pleasantly to the boy, and Fairfax went on: "Weren't you with Pat the night he died? I seem to recall seeing

"Yes, sir; that's what I come ter see ye about. I wuz with Pat till late that night."

Jim was sitting on the edge of his chair, nervously twisting his hat around in his bigknuckled hands.

"Was Molly alive when you left?" The major asked the question eagerly, leaning far out of his seat.

Mr. Sturgis had arrived in time to hear the boy's words, and the three men looked at one another in

"Well," exclaimed the major triumphantly to Fairfax, "that lets you out! I wish we had known this before," he

"I'm sorry, sir, but I didn't know nothin' about what happened after I lef' till about a week ago. The night Pat

got smashed up I went to Texas with Mr. Vinton's horses. We wuz on a ranch, and didn't often get the

newspapers. I wuz kind o' surprised that Molly didn't let me know how Pat wuz, but she an' I had had a row,

and I s'posed she wuz too mad to write. It wuz only when I had a letter from a friend of mine that I

"I knowed it would be, sir. I felt awful bad when I heard Mr. Cary wuz up fer murder, and I sez ter meself,

`You fer the Great White Way, Jim!' an' I beats it right on. I should think any guy would know he ain't done

"Well, when I went away, Mr. CrosbyMr. Norman Crosbywas in the next room with Molly. He'd been

there all evenin', an' they'd been havin' it out hot an' heavy. We could hear 'em, Pat an' I, even with the door

shut, but we couldn't make out what they wuz sayin'. Fer a long time Pat hadn't liked the way things wuz

goin', so he rigged up one o' them dictograph things in Molly's room and strung the wires into his."

"He wanted ter find out about the Withers Stakeye know, when Steadfast got licked?" He glanced

interrogatively at Major Barry, who nodded. "Well," he went on, "I'd been givin' Pat some dope about what

happened just before that race, when he went off ter dress, an' then Molly had let drop enough ter put him

wise that somethin' wuz wrong. I wuz in the stable all the time Pat wuz gone. Mr. Norman an' Molly didn't

"Molly an' me had been pals since we wuz kids, an' I wuz kind o' sore when she dropped me," he half

whispered. "I knowed Mr. Norman wuz rushin' her, an' I wanted ter find out how far things had gone, so I hid

He wuz tellin' her that he loved her, an' he kissed her. Then he went inter Steadfast's stall, an' I heard Molly

askin' him what he wuz doin'. He said he wuz fixin' things so that he an' Molly could go off on a trip an' have

a bangup time. It wuz after I told Pat that that he got the dictograph; an' the night Pat died we heard the

whole thing. Molly told him that she'd seen him dope Steadfast, an' there wasn't no use in his denyin' it, an'

she'd fix him, all right, if he didn't do as he'd promised an' marry her. Pat made me write it all down. He wuz

pretty far in, an' he wuz afraid he'd forget somethin'. He said Mr. Cary had promised ter come back in the

mornin', an' he wanted ter have it fer him. So I wrote it down an' hid the paper under the cover o' the table by

the bed, where Pat could reach it, an' where Molly wouldn't be apt ter find it. Then I had ter go. As it was, I

"Your testimony will be invaluable in clearing Mr. Cary," remarked Sturgis. "We shall want you to repeat

"Yes, sir; that's what I come on fer. I wasn't goin' ter let Mr. Cary be put out o' bizness fer what he ain't done.

Mr. Cary's on the level, sir! He's all right, an' I couldn't stand by an' see him takin' what ought ter be comin'

It was about four o'clock that afternoon that Fairfax Cary ran up the front steps of the Hunnewells' house.

When he entered the hall the air was vibrant with the rich chords of the "Nocturne in F." He stood for a

moment drinking in its tender harmonies. Wave after wave of the music passed over him, pulsing through his

veins into his heart, until at last it seemed as if his soul had been washed white from the prison taint which,

even after he left the Tombs, had hovered over him with a sickening sense of impurity.

Stronger and more penetrating rose the music, with its swelling chords and haunting melody. Fairfax pushed

aside the portieres and stepped into the room. The music stopped abruptly, and Betty, with a little cry, rose

He held her to him, and kissed her hungrily with the pentup passion of long months of waiting. When he

"I haven't had time to cry in weeks," answered Betty tremulously. "You don't suppose I could stop to cry

"I've been telling you so for weeks. If you don't believe it now, you never will!"

"I sha'n't feel sure of you until we're married," answered Fairfax. "We can be very soon, can't we, dear?"

"I told you in France that I wouldn't marry any one till father's name had been cleared."

"Darling, it has been! Jim Murphy, your father's stableboy, came to see me this morning. He saw Norman

"Molly was with him, and it was after her threat to expose the whole thing that he killed her."

"I'm ready now, as far I can be," she whispered softly. "I can't get a big trousseau, Fairfax. You know why,

don't you, dear? I haven't a cent in the world. Do you realize that you're getting a penniless bride?"