he drew himself to his full height.

"You will have to think about me as you please," he said; "I cannot
influence that, but I want you to understand that you are not to
interfere with my work. I think we understand one another perfectly,
Miss Compton. Good night."

And as he closed the door behind him he left a very angry young lady
biting her lower lip and almost upon the verge of angry tears.

"The boor," she exclaimed; "he dared to order me about and threaten me."

The telephone interrupted her unhappy train of thoughts. It was Bince.

"I am sorry, Elizabeth," he said, "but I won't be able to come up this
evening. I have some important business to attend to. How is your
father?"

"He seems very tired and despondent," replied Elizabeth. "That
efficiency person was here to dinner. He just left."

She could not see the startled and angry expression of Bince's face' as
he received this information. "Torrance was there?" he asked. "How did
that happen?"

"Father asked him to dinner, and when he wanted to discharge the fellow
Torrance told him something that upset father terribly, and urged that
he be kept a little while longer, to which father agreed."

"What did he tell him?" asked Bince.