“But I wasn't going to take an unfair advantage of your youth,” he said, and looked at her with a benevolent smile. And then he wondered why he had not written every day. He could not understand it now. “Of course,” he assured her, “now that you are going to be one of our stockholders I'll have to send you reports of the work quite often.” He saw himself doing it. She would know everything. “What do you mean, Tommy?” she asked, excitedly. He told her how her father had promised to take one hundred shares for her and one hundred for Rivington. And then he told her he still had eighteen hundred shares to sell. Why shouldn't he tell her everything? “To whom are you going to sell the rest?” “I'm going to try to sell them to friends who will be interested in Mr. Thompson's experiments with men as well as in the money-making end. It will be very hard. You see, Marion, our company is going to do business in a new way. Of course, here in the East, people don't realize what corporations will have to do hereafter if they expect to stay in business.” This sounded very wise and business-like to both of them. Marion paid him the additional compliment of regarding him as a Westerner. He could tell by the way she looked when she said: “And what will your work be?” So he told her what he so far had kept a secret from her--what Thompson expected to make of the Tecumseh men through the aid of Thomas Francis Leigh. He really told it very well, because he kept nothing from her, and in so doing made his hopes realities. “Tommy, that is perfectly wonderful! I am so glad for your sake! And you can do it, too! I can see how you feel about it, and you are bound to win. And won't you feel glad--” Colonel Willetts and Rivington walked in. Rivington winked at Tommy--old signal 18--to show he had been pleading his friend's cause at court. Marion said to her father: “Tommy was just telling me about Dayton and his company. You must help him to sell that stock, papa.” Colonel Willetts worshiped her. He turned to Tommy: “Unfair weapons to use on a man in the man's own house, young man. Is that the Western way?” “The Western way is the best,” said Marion, positively. She rose and confronted her father. “Are you going to help Tommy? Yes or no.” Tommy felt uncomfortable. “Look here, sir--” he began, apologetically. “Of course I'll help Tommy,” said Colonel Willetts. “He's coming to the office.” And he turned the subject. Marion looked proudly at Tommy. CHAPTER XIX AT the breakfast table the next morning neither Tommy nor Mr. Leigh made any allusion to the stock-selling campaign. But as his father was leaving Tommy told him: “Colonel Willetts said last night he would help me place the stock. I'm to call at his office again.”