She said this in a thoroughly matter-of-fact voice, but the banker almost jumped from his seat at the words. "You aren't thinking of getting married yet!" he exclaimed hastily. "I suppose I shall some day," she replied. "Of course you'll marry sometime," he said with relief; and ran on glibly,--"That is the natural thing. Every girl should get married early. But you must take good care, my dear girl, not to make a mistake. You might be very unhappy, you know. He might not treat you right." And with a sense of climax he exclaimed,--"He might lose all your money--ruin you!" "Yes, he might," Adelle agreed with composure. "They do that sometimes." She looked at him from her open gray eyes undisturbed by the prospect, as if, womanlike, she was aware of this unpleasant fate in danger of which she must always be. Mr. Ashly Crane knew that this was the point when his love-making should begin, but suddenly he felt that Adelle Clark was a very difficult person to make love to. "Perhaps you've been thinking of the man?" he opened clumsily. She shook her head thoughtfully. "No, I haven't." "But you could love some one?" "I suppose so," she answered in such a matter-of-fact tone that for the moment he was baffled. The present situation, he decided, was unfavorable for love-making, and searched desperately within for his next words. "I wonder what they look like," Adelle mused aloud. "Who look like--husbands?" "No, Edward's children--the other heirs," she explained. "Perhaps there aren't any," he snapped. And under his breath Mr. Ashly Crane consigned Edward S. Clark and all his offspring to perdition. XIX Mr. Crane was a persistent person. Otherwise he would hardly have arrived where he had in the Washington Trust Company. Having failed to broach the great subject in the afternoon, he immediately made another opportunity for himself by hustling Adelle, ahead of the others, into his own cab for the return drive to the city, and then jumping in after her and giving the driver the order to leave. It was very ill-bred and he knew it, but he was determined not to bother about Miss Comstock any longer. His vacation was very nearly at an end, and this would be his last chance for another year if the ward was to remain in Europe as was her present determination. He consoled himself with the thought that the others had Adelle's car at their disposal, and gave the order to take a roundabout road back to London. The driver needed but the suggestion to plunge them into a maze of forgotten country roads where there were no lights and no impeding traffic....