e worse for the understanding.
I hope your father, when he went up there, didn't discover what your
duties were supposed to be."

"No," Mary said rather dryly, "I don't believe he did."

"Well," he said thoughtfully, at the end of a short silence, "I am
profoundly thankful that she's made so--solid a success."

Up to this moment none of their talk had been quite real to Mary. She had
betrayed no inattention to him and when it had come her turn to carry on
the conversational stream she had done so adequately and even with a
certain vivacity. But it had meant no more than an occupation; something
that passed the time and held her potential thoughts at bay.

This last observation of his, though, struck a different note. He had
done full justice to his pleasure in Paula's success at the very
beginning of their talk. Now he meant something by it. Leaning forward a
little for a keener look at him, she asked what it was that he meant.

He was a little surprised to be brought to book like that, but he made
hardly an effort to fence with her. "I was glad, I meant, for purely
non-sentimental reasons. Her success may prove, I suppose, a practical
solution of some difficulties."

"Practical?" she echoed. "You don't mean,--yes, I suppose you do
mean,--money difficulties. Do you mean that Paula's going to be invited
to support the family now?" She finished with a little laugh and he
winced at it. "Father said something like that to me one day while I was
down south with him," she explained. "Only he said it as a joke,--a sort
of joke. That's why I laughed."

"He talked to you then about his affairs?" Wallace asked. "May I ... Do
you mind telling me what he said?"

"Of course not, if I can remember. He'd been remiss, he said, about
making money. He said that if he had died, then when he was so ill, there
wouldn't have been, beyond his life insurance which was for Paula, much
more than enough to pay his debts. Practically nothing for Rush and me is
what that came to. I pointed out to him that we could take care of
ourselves, and he said that anyway as soon as he could get back into
practise, he'd begin to make a lot of money and save. It must be a good
deal worse,--the whole situation I mean--than I took it to be, for you to
mean that seriously about Paula."

She had managed an appearance of composure but in truth she was badly
shaken. Money matters was just about the one real taboo that she
respected and to break over this h