"Why, see here, old man; if you were Madge's brother, you couldn't be putting the screws on any harder! What's got into you to-night?" Griswold was inexorable. "Miss Grierson hasn't any brother, and she might as well not have any father--better, perhaps. As God hears me, Raymer, I'm going to see to it that she gets a square deal." "In other words, if she has made up her clever little mind that she wants to be Mrs. Ed. Raymer----" "That is it, exactly." "By George! I believe you are in love with her, yourself!" "I am," was the cool reply. "Well, of all the-- Say, Griswold, you're a three-cornered puzzle to me yet. I don't know what the other three-fourths of the town is saying, but my fourth of it has it put up that you've everlastingly cooked my goose at Doctor Bertie's; that you and Charlotte are just about as good as engaged. Perhaps you'll tell me that it isn't true." "It isn't--yet." "But it may be, later on? Now you are getting over into my little garden-patch, Kenneth. If you think I'm going to stand still and see you put a wedding ring on Charlotte Farnham's finger when I know you'd like to be putting it on Madge Grierson's----" Griswold's low laugh came as an easing of stresses. "You can't very well marry both of them, yourself, you know," he suggested mildly. And then: "If you were not so badly torn up over this shop trouble, you'd see that I'm trying to give you the entire field. I shall probably leave town to-morrow, and I merely wanted to do you, or Miss Grierson, or both of you, a small kindness by way of leave-taking." "Leave town?" echoed the iron-founder. "Where are you going?" "I don't know yet." "But you are coming back?" "No." Once more Raymer puffed at the shortened cigar until the end of it glowed like a small distress signal in the dark. "Tell me," he broke out finally: "has Margery Grierson turned you down?" "No." "Then Charlotte has?" "No." "Confound it all! can't you say anything but 'No'? Do you mean to tell me that you are going away, leaving me bucked and gagged by this labor outfit to live or die as I may? Great Scott, man! if my money's gone, yours goes with it!" "You are freely welcome to the money, Edward--if you can manage to hang on to it; and I have pointed out the easy way to salvage the industrial ship. Can't you give me your blessing and let me go in peace?" The blessing was not withheld, but neither was it given. "I came here with my own back-load of trouble, but it seems that I'm not the only camel in the caravan," said the young ironmaster, thoughtfully. "What is it, Kenneth? anything you can unload on me?" "You wouldn't understand," was the gentle evasion. "I can only give you my word that neither Miss Margery nor Miss Charlotte are in any way concerned in it." "And you don't want to draw your money out of the plant?" "No. For your sake I wish I had more to put in."