"She couldn't have chosen a better man," said Peters warmly, "if
he had only been content to wait a year or two--"

"Alex would probably have eloped with a groom or a circus rider
before she reached years of discretion!" laughed Miss Craven. "But
it's a difficult question, the problem of husband choosing," she
went on thoughtfully. "Being a bachelor I can discuss it with
perfect equanimity. But if in a moment of madness I had married
and acquired a houseful of daughters, I should have nervous
prostration every time a strange man showed his nose inside the
door."

"You don't set us on a very high plane, dear lady," said Peters
reproachfully.

"My good soul, I set you on no plane at all--know too much about
you!" she smiled. Peters laughed. "What's your opinion, Barry?"

Since his one interruption Craven had been silent, as if the
discussion had ceased to interest him. He did not answer Peters'
question for some time and when at last he spoke his voice was
curiously strained. "I don't think my opinion counts for very
much, but it seems to me that the woman takes a big risk either
way. A man never knows what kind of a blackguard he may prove in
circumstances that may arise."

An awkward pause followed. Miss Craven kept her eyes fixed on the
card table with a feeling of nervous apprehension that was new to
her. Her nephew's words and the bitterness of his tone seemed
fraught with hidden meaning, and she racked her brains to find a