with a U. S. surveying party and he's all right.
A year or two out there will put me right."

Walter looked at him doubtfully.

"What a chump I must have been all this winter not to see. I wouldn't
have believed it if I read it in a book."

Bauer smiled again.

"You couldn't do anything if you had known. Nobody could. The change of
climate will fix me all right. Lucky that money is coming in just now.
Lots of fellows don't have my good luck."

"Good luck?"

"Yes. I might be sick here without a cent, and be dependent like
Franklin out at the day camp. I felt awfully sorry for him at the time,
didn't you?"

"Yes, tell me! but no! it hurts you to talk?"

Bauer nodded. "I don't have any pain to-day. Just weakness. It's only
one lung, the doc says. It might be my knee joints or my mucous or a
dozen other places worse than lungs. If you're going to have
tuberculosis have it when it will raise the most sympathy. If I only had
a heart-rending cough to go with the hemorrhages I could get some church
or tuberculosis society to send me out to Arizona free of charge."

Walter was so upset by the whole thing and so disturbed by the
inevitable revelation that was bound to come that he sat miserably
silent, while Bauer rambled on in a disconnected manner to all outward
appearances quite unterrified by his trouble, or at any rate making a
brave and successful attempt at deceiving his friend. But at last he
unexpectedly gave Walter an opportunity to lead up to the article in the
paper.

"Seems a little queer I don't hear from him. I understood Halstead and
Burns were going to pay at once. Would you mind going down after the
three o'clock mail? I feel a little uneasy about it. Never had so much
money before. Probably never will again."

"Did you have any reason to distrust your father?" asked Walter.

"No, I told you his faults were of another sort."

"What would you do if he should try to cheat you out of the money?"

"How could he do that?"

"Didn't you give him power of attorney to act for you?"

"Yes."

"Well, what would hinder his having the check from Halstead drawn in his
name instead of yours?"

"Nothing, only------"

"Only what?"

"Why, just sheer humanity."

Bauer was sitting up on the couch, his hands doubled up and his eyes
fixed on Walter.

"What is it?" he said at last quietly enough. "Are you keeping something
from me? I would rather have it from you than from anyone else."

"Poor old man!"