uch less this that seemed obscured in
uncertainty as to its rightful ownership. She believed very much in
Crane's bona fides, and had no doubt whatever but his statement of the
case was absolutely truthful. But Allis had refused to accept the money;
it would never do for her to go beyond her daughter's judgment. She even
thought it unadvisable for Crane to discuss the matter with her husband;
it would only worry him, and she was positive that, in his pride of
independence, he would refuse to touch a penny that was not actually due
him.

"But there's a payment on Ringwood due in a few days," Crane argued,
"and we must arrange for that at all events. If this money, which is
rightfully your family's, could be applied on that, it would make a
difference, don't you think?"

"I suppose John must settle it," she said, resignedly; "perhaps you had
better see him. I can't interfere one way or the other. I have no head
for business," she added, apologetically; "I'm not sure that any of us
have except Allis. We just seem to drift, drift, drift."

Crane stated the facts very plausibly, very seductively, to John Porter.
Porter almost unreasonably scented charity in Crane's proposal. He
believed that the bet was a myth; Crane was trying to present him with
this sum as a compensation for having lost Diablo. It wasn't even
a loan; it was a gift, pure and simple. His very helplessness, his
poverty, made him decline the offer with unnecessary fierceness. If
Allis had refused it, if she were strong enough to stand without this
charity, surely he, a man, battered though he was, could pass it by. He
had received a hopeful message from Allis as to Lucretia's chances in
the Derby; they felt confident of winning. That win would relieve them
of all obligations.

"I can't take it," Porter said to Crane. "Allis is more familiar with
the circumstances of the bet--if there was one--than I. It must just
rest with her; she's the man now, you know," he added, plaintively; "I'm
but a broken wreck, and what she says goes."

"But there's a payment on Ringwood falling due in a few days," Crane
remonstrated, even as he had to Mrs. Porter.

Porter collapsed, fretfully. He could stand out against prospective
financial stringency, but actual obligations for which he had no means
quite broke down his weakened energy. He had forgotten about this
liability, that is, had thought the time of payment more distant.
He would be forced to recall the money he ha