"Well," James replied, indulgently, blowing another cloud of smoke--"'tis his wife that it's all about." "His wife!" the old man repeated, surprised and excited--"about Mrs. Gorham, d'ye say?" "That is--provided she is his wife. There is them that says she ain't." "Who says she ain't?" Riley almost shouted the words as he rose excitedly to his feet. "Who says she ain't? By God, I'll kill th' man phwat says that!" "Slowly, slowly," James answered, soothingly, thoroughly enjoying his father's amazement and excitement. "That's for them to settle as knows how, but it's to me Mr. Gorham must look to help him out. Now, do you understand where I come in?" "Ah, Jimmie, ye're killin' me wid yer slowness. Out wid it, la-ad! What do they say, an' who done phwat? Out wid it!" "The divorce was crooked, so they say; and now her first husband is here in New York and wants her back." "But it ain't true, Jimmie--it ain't true; tell me that." "I don't know yet myself," James admitted; "but there's a few things I do know what ought to be worth the coin to Mr. Gorham." "An' ye're goin' ter give 'em ter him?" "Perhaps," James replied, indifferently--"if he thinks they're worth what I do." "But Misther Robert has paid ye already, hasn't he? Hasn't these new prosperity things come out iv Misther Robert's pay?" "He's got what he's paid for," James asserted. "These new tips come to me while I was workin' on my own account. They're worth the coin to either side." "That's phwat ye meant when ye said there was more prosperity comin'?" "Sure." "An' if Misther Robert don't pay ye ye'er price, ye'll sell 'em ter th' other feller who says his wife ain't his wife?" "Business is business," James replied, sagely. The elder Riley's lips came close together as he rose quietly yet quickly from his chair. In a moment more he had seized James by the collar, and with a sudden, violent action, made easier by the recumbent attitude, deposited the younger man in a heap on the floor. Too surprised by the unexpectedness of the attack, James made no defence, and before he could even attempt to rise from his humiliating position the old man stood over him, shaking his fist in his face.