"But, by Jove, other people are not! You manage to get into mischief though you are railed up!" cried the victim, and a sort of spasm passed over his face, as of a smile violently suppressed. He glared at Jill, from her to Betty, from Betty to Jack, and then let his glance wander round the room--the big, handsome apartment so sparsely filled with the furniture of a smaller house. The sideboard looked poor and insignificant in the recess designed for one twice the size; the few pictures entirely failed to hide the marks of the places where the last tenant had hung his more generous supply. The carpet covered only two- thirds of the floor, and was eked out by linoleum. To the most unobservant eye it must have been evident that the owner of this house was a man whose means were so limited that the strictest economy was necessary in the management of his household. "Ha--ho--hum!" coughed the old gentleman suddenly. "Have you ever heard of such a thing as the Employers' Liability Act?" The girls shook their heads. Jack had glimmering ideas on the subject. "It's a sort of--er--of insurance, isn't it? If a workman fellow drops a sack on your head, the other fellow has to pay up, so he pays the insurance fellow to do it for him. That's the sort of thing, isn't it, sir?" "That is the sort of thing, sir, expressed with your natural elegance of diction. Does your father contract with an `insurance fellow,' may I ask?" "No--why should he? He doesn't employ any workmen." "He is responsible for his children, however, who are a hundred times more dangerous. How will he like it, do you think, when I send him in a bill for my expenses, and the loss of time caused by this accident? I put a high price on my time, let me tell you. It is of value to other people besides myself--of value to my country, sir, I am proud to think! If I am laid aside by the hand of Providence, that is one matter. It's a very different thing when it is done of malice intent. What should you say to a hundred pounds a week, eh, what?" Jill gave a squeal of dismay. Betty set her lips tight, and tried to look composed and haughty, but she felt a trifle sick. She could hardly bring herself to believe that such a proceeding would be legally possible, yet the old gentleman had distinctly said that such a law existed, and Jack appeared to know something about it. Beneath his air of bravado she could see that the boy shared in her own nervousness, and a wild idea of flinging herself at the stranger's feet and imploring his clemency was beginning to take shape in her brain, when a sound from without attracted the attention of all. It was the click of the doctor's key in the latch, and a moment later he entered the hall, and paused, as his custom was, to read the messages which had been pencilled for him on a slate. Then came the rustle of Mary's skirt, a few low-toned words, and the sound of quick steps approaching the dining-room door. It was a thrilling moment!