His success had also the effect of making his plans more expansive and aspiring. Should E. & W. go on as it was going, he must within half a year become quite well off,--almost rich, in fact. Such being the case, might it not be a mistake for him to attach as much importance as he had done to the iron-business and its possible effect upon the dower of Miss Tramlay? She was a charming girl, but money ought to marry money, and what would be a share of the forty or fifty thousand a year that Tramlay might make in a business which, after all, could have but the small margin of profit which active competition would allow? There were rich families toward whose daughters he had not previously dared to raise his eyes, for their heads would have demanded a fuller financial exhibit than he cared to make on the basis of the few thousands of dollars which he had invested in profitable tenement-house property. As a large holder of E. & W. his position would be different; for were not the heads of these various families operating in E. & W. themselves? Little by little he lessened his attentions to Lucia, and his visits to the house became fewer. To Phil, who did not know the cause, the result was quickly visible, and delightful as well. The only disquieting effect was that Mrs. Tramlay’s manner perceptibly changed to an undesirable degree. That prudent lady continued to inform her husband that there seemed to be no movement in Haynton Bay villa plots, and that the persistency of the young man from the country seemed to have the effect of discouraging Mr. Marge, who really had some financial standing. The change in Marge’s manner was perceptible throughout the Tramlay family. Even Margie experienced a sense of relief, and she said one evening to Lucia,-- “Isn’t it lovely that your old beau is so busy in Wall Street nowadays? He doesn’t come here half as much as he used to, and I don’t have to be bored by him while you’re talking to Phil. You ought to fit up a room especially for me in your new house, Lu, for I’ve endured a dreadful lot for your sake.” “You silly child,” Lucia replied, “you might catch Mr. Marge yourself, if you liked. Mamma seems to want to have him in the family.” “Thank you for the ‘if,’” Margie retorted, “but I don’t care for a husband almost old enough to be my grandfather, after being accustomed to seeing a real nice, handsome young man about the house.” “He has money,” said Lucia, “and that is what most girls are dying to marry. Papa says he is making a fortune if he is as deep in the market as some folks say.” “I hope he is,” said Margie. “He ought to have something besides a wooden face, and a bald head, and the same set of speeches and manners for all occasions. What a splendid sphinx he would make, or an old monument! Maybe he isn’t quite antique enough, but for vivacity he isn’t any more remarkable than a stone statue. Just think of what Phil has saved us from!”