When Carroll went out Mills took a turn across the floor. Before resuming his chair he stood for a moment at the window looking off toward the low hills vaguely limned on the horizon. His mood had changed. He greatly disliked to be puzzled. And he was unable to account for the fact that Gurley, a broker with whom he rarely transacted any business, had become possessed of two hundred shares of Roger Trust just at this time. Larsen, Skinner and Saintsbury were all in the secret of the impending merger with the Central States Company. There was Shepherd; he hadn’t told Shepherd, but there had been no reason why he should tell Shepherd any more than he would have made a confidante of Leila, who probably had forgotten that she owned the stock. Having acquired two-thirds of the Rogers shares, all that was necessary was to call a meeting of the stockholders and put the thing through in accordance with the formula already carefully prepared by his lawyers. When Carroll came back he placed a memorandum on Mills’s desk and started to leave the room. “Just a moment, Carroll”--Mills eyed the paper carefully. “So it was Shep who sold to Gurley--is that right?” “Yes,” Carroll assented. “Gurley only held it a day before he offered it to me.” “Shepherd--um--did Shep tell you he wanted to sell?” “No; he never mentioned it,” Carroll replied, not relishing Mills’s inquiries. “Call Shep and tell him to stop in this afternoon on his way home, and--Carroll”--Mills detained his secretary to impress him with his perfect equanimity--“call Mrs. Rawlings and ask how the Judge is. I understand he’s had a second stroke. I hate to see these older men going----” “Yes, the Judge has been a great figure,” Carroll replied perfunctorily. Carroll was troubled. He was fond of Shepherd Mills, recognized the young man’s fine qualities and sympathized with his high aims. There was something pitiful in the inability of father and son to understand each other. And he was not deceived by Franklin Mills’s characteristic attempt to conceal his displeasure at Shepherd’s sale of the stock. It was evident from the manner in which the stock had passed through Gurley’s hands that Shepherd wished to hide the fact that he was selling. Poor Shep! There could have been no better illustration of his failure to understand his father than this. Carroll had watched much keener men than Shepherd Mills attempt to deceive Franklin Mills. Just why Shepherd should have sold the stock Carroll couldn’t imagine. Constance had, perhaps, been overreaching herself. No matter what had prompted the sale, Mills would undoubtedly make Shepherd uncomfortable about it--not explosively, for Mills never lost his perfect self-control--but with his own suave but effective method. Carroll wished there were something he could do to save Shep from the consequences of his folly in attempting to hide from Franklin Mills a transaction so obviously impossible of concealment. III