"Eh," he grunted, "it is for the boy to say. Has he the courage? They
are his offspring."

The two men stood and looked at Lewis. His eyes passed from them to his
work and back again to Leighton's face.

"You are my father," he said.

"Come on," cried Leighton, without a moment's hesitation, "let us all
join in the slaughter. Just remember, boy, that it's no more cruel to
kill your young than to sell them into slavery."

Three days later all of Paris that counts was talking of the "Startled
Woman." The name of Leighton _fils_ was in many mouths and in almost as
many printed paragraphs.

"Leighton _fils_!" cried Lewis. Why _fils_?"

"Paris has a long memory for art, my boy," said Leighton. "Before I
learned that I could never reach the heights, I raised a small monument
on a foot-hill. They haven't forgotten it, these critics who never die."

Lewis was assailed by dealers. They offered him prices that seemed to
him fabulous. But Leighton listened calmly and said, "Wait." The longer
they waited, the higher climbed the rival dealers. At last came an
official envelop. "Ah," said Leighton, before Lewis had opened it, "it
has come."

It was an offer from the state. It was lower than the least of the