"Oh, I suppose I shall have to go, and I will do my best, Dick; only I do wish we both were going. It is beastly to think of separating after all these years we have been together." "We have a few days left yet before you leave, so cheer up," answered Dick, "and suppose we make the best of them. What do you say to a swim and row to Black Ledge to-morrow morning?" "Good! I will meet you at eight o’clock. Bring along your tackle, for we may get some bass or black-fish, and we will make a day of it," responded Gordon enthusiastically, as they parted at the corner. On entering the house Dick immediately sought his father. "Father," he said, "what do you propose for me now that the Annapolis appointment is closed?" "I have been thinking over the question for weeks," answered Mr. Comstock, leaning back wearily in his chair. "I counted on the Naval Academy more than you did, I might say; for, Dick, things have not been going well in the business, and the family exchequer is at a very low point, so low in fact I hardly know just how things will end." Dick, immersed in his own selfish thoughts, for the first time realized how worried and care-worn his father appeared. "What is the trouble, Dad?" he asked with a world of solicitude and tenderness in his voice. "To tell you the truth, Dick, I cannot afford to send you to college. I am afraid that unless I can recoup my recent losses I shall be unable even to allow your sister to finish her art studies after her graduation next year, as we had planned. My boy, I have very little left." He stopped for a moment and his hand visibly shook as he passed it over his troubled brow. "I broke the news to your mother some time ago, and my visit to Washington was in the hope of recovering something from the wreck, but it looks dark. Also while there, beside seeing Senator Kenyon, I tried my best to get you into West Point. But that, too, was a failure." "Dad, don’t worry about me," said the boy, rising and going to stand by his father’s side; "I’ll get along all right, and between us we will fasten on something I can turn my hand to. I have had a mighty easy time of it for seventeen years, nearly, and I’m only too glad to pitch in and help out." "The situation is not so bad as all that, Richard," answered Mr. Comstock, gazing at his manly boy with a proud look. "You do not have to strike out for yourself for a good while yet. I even thought another year at Bankley, taking the post-graduate course, would be the best plan for the present. In the meantime you have a whole summer’s vacation ahead of you, which your good work at school richly deserves." "No, I’ve finished with Bankley," said Dick with finality in his tone. "Well! Well! We must talk about the matter some other time, my son, and if you intend to go to Black Ledge to-morrow morning with Gordon, you had best be getting under the covers." Whereupon Dick said "Good-night" and slowly climbed the stairs to his bedroom.