"Poor boy! He never was happy in his home life after that," Merry replied. "Ken, his brother, is a commissioned officer on one of the war boats. He had little shore leave and that left Jean and his father quite alone in their big house in New York. They never had been congenial in their interests, but the final break came when the father entered into some oil deal which Jean considered dishonorable. He told his father exactly how he felt about it. He said that he refused to inherit money that was taken from the poor who had invested their savings in the wildcat scheme, believing the firm to be honest. Of course his father was angry, and Jean, refusing to take one penny of what he called 'tainted' money, left home to make his own way in the world. "The father did not seem to care at first, for he had always loved Ken more than he did Jean, but when Ken came home on a leave he took Jean's part, and also denounced his father's dishonorable business methods." Jane was sitting very erect and her breath came hard. At last she interrupted. "Merry," she said in a voice she could hardly recognize as her own, "Jean's father, Mr. Willoughby, was my father's partner." Then she burst into unexpected tears. "Jean was nobler than I! Oh, Merry, I never can be his friend again. I am not worthy of him. I want you to be his best friend. You are so good. I am sure that in his heart of hearts he must love you." Merry leaned over and kissed her friend tenderly. "I hope Jean does love me," she said simply. "He is to be my brother, for I am engaged to Ken Willoughby. His three years in the navy are nearly over. Ken is coming home for good on September first." Jane's heart was filled with conflicting emotions. She was indeed happy when she heard the wonderful secret which Merry assured her she would have told her at once but Ken had wanted her to wait until he had given her the ring which he had bought for her in Paris. "But I just had to tell you, dear girl, when I realized that my friendship with Jean might lead you to believe that we cared for each other." Then, slipping an arm affectionately about her companion, Merry continued: "And now there is just one thing for which I am going to wish until it comes true, and that is that you and Jean may care for each other in the way Ken and I care. Then, Jane, I will be your sister. Think what that would mean, for we would share all of the joy that the future holds."