"You are very wise and prudent, Mr. Waterford," laughed the beautiful young lady; "I shall be there, for one." "Thank you; then we shall be sure to have a pleasant time," added the skipper. "But I shall not go unless some of the rest of the party appear. I will not go alone." "Mr. Whippleton will be in the Florina, near us. We shall sail in company, and he will have a party in his boat." The young lady very properly repeated her stipulation that others should join the party, and when the terms were duly arranged, Mr. Waterford left the house. Miss Marian glanced at me, and that was all. Probably she did not think I was worth noticing; but she changed her mind before night, for it so happened that I was one of the party in Mr. Waterford's yacht that day. The servant showed me up stairs, where I found Mr. Collingsby comfortably sick in his arm-chair. CHAPTER XIII. IN WHICH PHIL LOOKS INTO THE OPERATIONS OF THE JUNIOR PARTNER. As I went up the stairs, I did not see how Mr. Whippleton was to sail a party in his yacht on the lake, and still explain to me the difficulty about the books of the firm. But then, what had been so mysterious in the ways of the junior partner was now becoming more tangible. In solving the problem of the invoices, all the rest of the trouble seemed to be unravelled. Mr. Ben Waterford intimated that Mr. Whippleton was to sail his boat with a party on the lake within an hour or two. Perhaps he intended to complete his great purchase before that time. I did not believe that he expected anything of the kind, however. I found myself very suspicious of Mr. Charles Whippleton. He had plundered the firm of a large sum of money, and it looked now as though he intended to enlarge his operations in this direction, rather than make good the deficit. I found it impossible to escape the responsibility of my position, and it pressed heavily upon me. [Illustration: THE INTERVIEW WITH MR. COLLINGSBY. Page 147.] "Well, young man," said Mr. Collingsby, as I entered the chamber, where he was seated. "Mr. Whippleton sent me to see you in regard to a transaction he wishes to complete this forenoon," I replied, producing my papers. "Why didn't he come himself?" I could not help thinking there was a great deal of force in this question, and it strengthened some vague resolves in my mind. "I don't know, sir. He told me to show you this list of lumber, with prices," I continued, explaining more fully the errand upon which I had been sent. "He should have come himself," added the senior partner, with a frown. "What is the balance in the bank?" "About six thousand dollars," I replied, handing him the memorandum I had made. "It ought to be thirty, if not fifty thousand. Don't you make any collections now?" "Yes, sir; about the same as usual."