intelligence enough to see it for himself. Finally, about six weeks ago,
Anne rose above her environment. She allowed Percy to propose, asked for a
few days in which to make up her mind, and then came out with a point-
blank refusal. She defied her mother, openly declaring that she would
marry you in spite of everything."

"And that is just what she shall do, poor girl," cried Braden joyously.
"She shall not be driven into—"

"Just a moment, please. When I discovered that young Wintermill couldn't
be depended upon to rescue his best friend, I stepped into the arena, so
to speak," said Mr. Thorpe with fine irony. "I sensed the situation
perfectly. Percy was young and strong and enduring. He would be a long
time dying in the natural order of things. What Anne was looking for—now,
keep your seat, my boy!—what she wanted was a husband who could be
depended upon to leave her a widow before it was too late. Now, I am
seventy-seven, and failing pretty rapidly. It occurred to me that I would
be just the thing for her. To make the story short, I began to dilate upon
my great loneliness, and also hinted that if I could find the right sort
of companion I would jump at the chance to get married. That's putting it
rather coarsely, my boy, but the whole business is so ugly that it doesn't
seem worth while to affect delicacy. Inside of two weeks, we had come to
an understanding,—that is, an arrangement had been perfected. I think that
everything was agreed upon except the actual day of my demise. As you
know, I am to set aside for Anne as an ante-nuptial substitute for all
dower rights in my estate, the sum of two million dollars. I may add that
the securities guaranteeing this amount have been submitted to Mrs.
Tresslyn and she has found them to be gilt-edged. These securities are to
be held in trust for her until the day I die, when they go to her at once,
according to our contract. She agrees to—"