ufacture of the incubators on shares. He enclosed the letters he
already had received from companies interested, none of which however
had made him any positive offer, only sounding him in general as to his
disposition to sell the patent rights on certain terms which had no very
promising prospects of ready money. And it was money Bauer wanted,--not
dim future prospects of the all-powerful medium of happiness or
unhappiness.

After his letter had been mailed, he felt a little uncertain about it
all, but he was of a direct, straight-forward habit and once started in
a course of action he seldom changed it. Once committed to the
correspondence with his father he would hold to it, keeping it all on a
cold business basis as if his father had no other relation to him, and
letting the heartache take care of itself. It is astonishing how many
heartaches do take care of themselves in this old world. Only, like
Bauer's, they are apt to take care of themselves so poorly that the ache
starves the heart out of house and home.

Two days later, Walter, who was in his room going over some complicated
formulae connected with Rausch's Dynamics, was interrupted by Bauer who
came running in from his room across the hall waving a little slip of
paper.

"What do you think of that," he exclaimed with unusual excitement.

Walter looked at the little yellow slip and read "One Thousand Dollars
payable to Felix Bauer by Halstead, Burns & Co., of Washington."

"They offer me that for my patent right, with a small percentage of
profit on certain sales."

Walter was excited in his turn and started to offer congratulations. But
Bauer's next words broke in on him.

"I'm going to send the check back. It's not enough and they know it."

"I believe you're right," said Walter, after a stare at Bauer in this
new light of money hunger. "The fact that they sent a check shows their
eagerness to get into the business and their faith in its value. What
will you hold them up to?"

"I don't know. But I am going to put the matter up to--to him."

"You mean your father?"

"Yes," said Bauer hastily. "The more I think of it the more I believe he
can get more than I can. I'll mail him Halstead's correspondence."

That same afternoon Bauer returned the check to Halstead, Burns, & Co.
with a brief business note saying that he was not prepared to sell out
at such a small figure. He added that he had placed the business
connected with the patent in the hand