Gorham watched the unyielding back of his friend until he turned the
corner, then he closed the door.

"Poor old Stephen," he sighed to himself. "If I had only been blessed
with that boy."




IX


Allen had ample opportunity to act the part of the hydra. When his
father left him after their stormy interview the boy utterly failed to
realize the seriousness of the situation. The "pater" had been angry
with him before,--if the truth be told, he was usually angry with
him,--so the fact that the altercation this time had been more severe
than usual was a matter simply of degree. The cutting off of his
allowance was a tangible evidence that his father was more than
ordinarily angry; but, on the other hand, Allen felt himself to be the
aggrieved party, and in a virtuous burst of righteousness he declared to
himself that he "didn't want the pater's money, anyway." He considered
it fortunate that it was still early in the month, and it did not occur
to him to consider the rather handsome balance he still possessed as too
tainted to retain; but as he looked at it the upshot of the whole matter
was that now he would be forced to go into business at once--and this
was his strongest desire since he had met Alice. So Allen "hiked it" to
New York, and spent a fortnight seeking out the opening which should
best offer him the opportunity to become a captain of industry with the