been exceedingly simple for me. You see, it was about three months ago
that Anne began to reveal more than casual interest in Percy Wintermill.
She—"

"Percy Wintermill!" gasped Braden, clutching the arms of his chair. "Why,
she has always looked upon him as the stupidest, ugliest man in town. His
attentions have been a standing joke between us. He is crazy about her, I
know, but—oh, well, go on with the story."

"To be sure he is crazy about her, as you say. That isn't strange. Half
the young men in town think they are in love with her, and most of them
believe she could make them happy. Now, no one concedes physical beauty or
allurement to Percy. He is as ugly as they grow, but he isn't stupid. He
is just a nice, amiable, senseless nincompoop with a great deal of money
and a tremendous amount of health. He—"

"I like Wintermill. He is one of my best friends. He is as square as any
man I know and he would be the last person to try to come between Anne and
me. He is too fond of me for that, sir. You—"

"Unfortunately he was not aware of the fact that you and Anne were
engaged. You forget that the engagement was to be kept under cover for the
time being. But all this is beside the question. Mrs. Tresslyn had looked
the field over pretty carefully. No one appeared to be so well qualified
to take your place as Percy Wintermill. He had everything that is
desirable in a husband except good looks and perhaps good manners. So she
began fishing for Percy. Anne was a delightful bait. Of course, Percy's
robust health was objectionable, but it wasn't insurmountable. I could see
that Anne loathed the thought of having him for a husband for thirty or
forty years. Anybody could see that,—even Percy must have possessed