"You, of course. Miss Merrick does not care to meet you again. You will
do well to avoid her in the future."

"I don't believe you, Weldon. You're bluffing."

"Am I? Then dare to annoy Miss Merrick again and I'll soon convince you
of my sincerity."

With this parting shot he walked away, leaving Mershone really at a loss
to know whether he was in earnest or not. To solve the question he
called a taxicab and in a few minutes gave his card to the Merrick
butler with a request to see Miss Louise.

The man returned with a message that Miss Merrick was engaged.

"Please tell her it is important," insisted Mershone.

Again the butler departed, and soon returned.

"Any message for Miss Merrick must be conveyed in writing, sir," he
said, "She declines to see you."

Mershone went away white with anger. We may credit him with loving
Louise as intensely as a man of his caliber can love anyone. His sudden
dismissal astounded him and made him frantic with disappointment.
Louise's treatment of the past few days might have warned him, but he
had no intuition of the immediate catastrophe that had overtaken him. It
wasn't his self-pride that was injured; that had become so battered
there was little of it left; but he had set his whole heart on winning
this girl and felt that he could not give her up.