John waited while he dictated a letter. Neither spoke till the stenographer had left the room. John met the girl's eye as she passed. There was a compassionate look in it. John was popular with his fellow employes. His absence had been the cause of discussion and speculation among them, and the general verdict had been that there would be troublous times for him on the morrow. When the door closed, Mr. Westley leaned back in his chair, and regarded his nephew steadily from under a pair of bushy gray eyebrows which lent a sort of hypnotic keenness to his gaze. "You were at the ball-game yesterday?" he said. The unexpectedness of the question startled John into a sharp laugh. "Yes," he said, recovering himself. "Without leave." "It didn't seem worth while asking for leave." "You mean that you relied so implicitly on our relationship to save you from the consequences?" "No, I meant--" "Well, we need not try and discover what you may have meant. What claim do you put forward for special consideration? Why should I treat you differently from any other member of the staff?" John had a feeling that the interview was being taken at too rapid a pace. He felt confused. "I don't want you to treat me differently," he said. Mr. Westley did not reply. John saw that he had taken a check-book from its pigeonhole. "I think we understand each other," said Mr. Westley. "There is no need for any discussion. I am writing you a check for ten thousand dollars--" "Ten thousand dollars!" "It happens to be your own. It was left to me in trust for you by your mother. By a miracle your father did not happen to spend it." John caught the bitter note which the other could not keep out of his voice, and made one last attempt to probe this mystery. As a boy he had tried more than once before he realized that this was a forbidden topic. "Who was my father?" he said. Mr. Westley blotted the check carefully. "Quite the worst blackguard I ever had the misfortune to know," he replied in an even tone. "Will you kindly give me a receipt for this? Then I need not detain you. You may return to the ball-game without any further delay. Possibly," he went on, "you may wonder why you have not received this money before. I persuaded your mother to let me use my discretion in choosing the time when it should be handed over to you. I decided to wait until, in my opinion, you had sense enough to use it properly. I do not think that time has arrived. I do not think it will ever arrive. But as we are parting company and shall, I hope, never meet again, you had better have it now." John signed the receipt in silence. "Thank you," said Mr. Westley. "Good-by."