The handwriting was Garry's.

"For the love of Mike!" said Kenny, staring.

"Please read it," said Joan. "It makes everything so simple."

Kenny obeyed.


"Dear Miss West:

"It was like Brian to write so splendidly of his father in an effort to
guarantee his own respectability as a suitable friend for your truant
brother and fix his identity for the sake of your peace of mind. And
I'm glad he told you to write to me.

"Though at this particular minute I would like best to thrash Kennicott
O'Neill into work and sanity, I might just as well admit the fact that
I'm merely in the chronic state of all men who love him and pass on
cheerfully to a pleasant task. All that Brian has said of his father
is true. As for Brian himself, he's a lovable, hot-headed chap with a
head and a heart and too much of both for his own peace of mind. And
he's so darned level-headed and unaffected he needs a Boswell. I hope
I've made good.

"The O'Neills, in short, are a splendid pair of fellows with a rush of
Irish to the head. They give each other more admiration and affection
when they're apart and more trouble when they're together than any two
men I have ever known. Personally I think they're miserable apart and