coal, copper and iron mines, a steel mill or two and a fleet of
steamers?"

He overpowered me for the moment. I had not thought of Jerry as being
all these things. To me he was merely Jerry. But I struggled upward
through the miasma of oppressive millions and met the issue squarely.

"There is nothing in John Benham's advice which directs any vocational
instruction," I said staunchly. "I was to bring the boy to the age of
manhood without realization of sin."

"A dream, Canby. Utopian, impossible!"

"It has not proved so," I replied, nettled. "I am merely following
instructions, Mr. Benham's instructions through you to me. The dream
is very real to Jerry."

Mr. Ballard gazed into the fire and smiled.

"The executors are permitted some license in this matter. We are
entirely satisfied with your work. We have no desire to modify in the
slightest degree the purely moral character of your instruction or
indeed to change his mode of life. Indeed, I think we all agree that
you are carrying out with rare judgment the spirit if not the actual
letter of John Benham's wishes. Jerry is a wonderful boy. But in our
opinion the time has come when his mind should be slowly shaped to
grasp the essentials of the great career that awaits him."

"I can be of no assistance to you, Mr. Ballard," I said dryly.