And Lord Galorey laughed and said: “Lord no, my dear man, not even that! It is pure good nature on his part—mere prodigality. Edith appealed to him, that’s all.” Relief crossed Ruggles’ face. He understood in a flash the worldly woman’s appeal to the rich young man and believed the story the husband told him. “Have you spoken to the boy?” “My dear chap, I have spoken to him about nothing. I preferred to come to you.” “You said,” Ruggles continued, “there were two ladies down to your place.” Galorey had refilled his pipe and held it as before in the palm of his hand. “I can look after the affairs of my wife, and this shan’t happen again, I promise you—not at Osdene, but I’m afraid I can not do much in the other case. The Duchess of Breakwater has been at Osdene for nearly three weeks, and Dan is in love with her.” Ruggles put the four checks one on top of the other. “Is the lady a widow?” “Unfortunately, yes.” “So that’s the nest Dan has got into at Osdene,” the Westerner said. And Galorey answered: “That is the nest.” “And he has gone out there to-day—got a wire this morning.” “The duchess has been in an awful funk,” said Galorey, “because Dan’s been stopping in London so long. She sent him a message, and as soon as Dan wired back that he was coming to the Park, I decided to come here and see you.” Ruggles ruminated: “Has the duchess complications financially?” “Ra-ther!” the other answered. And Ruggles turned his broad, honest face full on Galorey: “Do you think she could be bought off?” Galorey took his pipe out of his mouth. “It depends on how far Dan has gone on with her. To be frank with you, Mr. Ruggles, it is a case of emotion on the part of the woman. She is really in love with Dan. Gad!” exclaimed the nobleman. “I have been on the point of turning the whole brood out of doors these last days. It was like imprisoning a mountain breeze in a charnel house—a woman with her scars and her experience and that boy—I don’t know where you’ve kept him, or how you kept him as he is, but he is as clear as water. I have talked to him and I know.” Nothing in Ruggles’ expression had changed until now. His eyes glowed. “Dan’s all right,” he said softly. “Don’t you worry! He’s all right. I guess his father knew what he was doing, and I’ll bet the whole thing was just what he sent him over here for! Old Dan Blair wasn’t worth a copper when the boy was born, and yet he had ideas about everything and he seemed to know more in that old gray head of his than a whole library of books. Dan’s all right.”