marry an heiress, not the ward
of a poor fisherman."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"On the other hand, if she refuses the money, it will be mine to lay at
her feet. Can't you see what a vast contrast there will be in my
position?"

Mr. Galbraith nodded thoughtfully as if considering the matter from a
new angle.

"That's the only reason the fortune would mean anything to me--that I
might have something to offer her," continued Robert Morton. "Of
course, as you said, she would have the benefit of the money in either
case; but it makes a difference whether it comes to her by the mere
right of inheritance, or whether she takes it from her--husband."

"There is a distinction," admitted the elder man. "Now that you call
my attention to it, I can see that readily. It is a delicate one, but
its consequences are far-reaching. Well, you shall have your way! A
proportion of the legacy shall be offered to Delight, and the secret
regarding it shall be yours to keep or divulge as you see fit. You are
a noble fellow, Bob. I only wish--" He checked the impulsive phrase
that rose to his lips but not before the listener had caught its import.

"Mr. Snelling is a fine man, Mr. Galbraith," broke in Bob instantly,
dreading the words that might follow.

"Oh, I know it--there is no question about that," the capitalist
assented with haste. "Success is written all over his future, and I
know he will be a son-in-law to be proud of. He and Cynthia are
royally happy too, and no doubt know better than I what they want.
After all, none of us can live other people's lives; each must work out
his own."

"You've said it, Mr. Galbraith."

The financier smiled and his eyes twinkled beneath the shaggy brows
that arched them.

"You will have to be getting used to calling me by another name, young
man," he said. "Remember I am to be your uncle."

CHAPTER XXII

DELIGHT MAKES HER DECISION

Zenas Henry Brewster sat on the edge of his veranda, his long legs
crossed before him with a certain angular grace and his corncob pipe
held rigidly between his teeth. Beside him, ranged like sparrows on a
telegraph wire, were Captain Phineas Taylor, Captain Jonas Baker, and
Captain Benjamin Todd. From the row of pipes a miniature cloud of
smoke ascended, but save for the distant pulsing of the sea and the
murmur of the wind in the linden near the door not a sound was to be
heard through the afternoon stillness. Yet in spite of the
tr