The man hesitated a minute. Then he took the hand. “I should think I could give five hundred dollars’ worth of honesty--and I ’d like to give as much over as I can afford.” He said it lightly. But there was a little ring to the words, and the sullen look had vanished from his face. “That’s all right,” said John. He nodded and was gone. The assistant bookkeeper sat staring at the pen in his hand--“A rascal,” he chuckled, “but not a fool rascal!--He said it straight, did n’t he?” He chuckled again. He drew the sheet of paper toward him. Then he looked up as if a sudden thought had struck him--“And _he ’s_ no fool either!” he said slowly. The pen began its letter to the manager of the C. B. and L. When the letter reached the manager, he threw it on his desk with an exclamation of disgust. “What’s up?” said the superintendent. “Harrington.” “What?” “Backed out,” said the manager. “More money?” “I don’t think so.” He consulted the letter. “Says he’s sick of it--the whole business.” “Virtuous?--His virtue has n’t been of much use the last few weeks,” suggested the superintendent. “Nobody ’s any use,” said the manager tartly. The two weeks’ losses had worn on his nerves.... “There ’s a man in that office I should like to get,” added the manager after a minute. “He’s young--sort of a boy. But I ’ve a notion we could use him--if we knew what he ’d cost.” The manager of the C. B. and L. meditated, off and on, the next few days, what John would cost. He never arrived at any conclusion that quite satisfied him. Just as he had fixed upon the bait that should tempt a young man who had his way to make in the world--a pair of clear blue eyes confronted him, shining mistily. There was a deep, still glow about that boy when he spoke of Tetlow that made him feel the boy was beyond him. The manager of the C. B. and L. was a practical man and when, in the process of calculation, he ran up against eyes of a young man, he swore softly under his breath. XXII John was turning the question in his mind all day--where the president should spend his vacation. But each route that he blocked out presented at some point an insuperable obstacle, and he was forced hack to the starting point to begin over.... The place must be far enough from the road so that Simeon would not be reminded of its existence, yet near enough for John to return to his mother at an hour’s notice. He had watched her with special care in the days that preceded the directors’ meeting.... If she should grow worse and he could not leave her?