score naturally relate to you alone.
But the matter of your own personal welfare seems to me to be
substantial enough ground to base a plea on. The family's feelings and
pride are also fairly important. Father's the kind of a man who sets
more store by the honor of his family than most men. You know that as
well as I do, of course."

"I know how father feels about it," returned Lester. "The whole
business is as clear to me as it is to any of you, though off-hand I
don't see just what's to be done about it. These matters aren't always
of a day's growth, and they can't be settled in a day. The girl's
here. To a certain extent I'm responsible that she is here. While I'm
not willing to go into details, there's always more in these affairs
than appears on the court calendar."

"Of course I don't know what your relations with her have been,"
returned Robert, "and I'm not curious to know, but it does look like a
bit of injustice all around, don't you think--unless you intend
to marry her?" This last was put forth as a feeler.

"I might be willing to agree to that, too," was Lester's baffling
reply, "if anything were to be gained by it. The point is, the woman
is here, and the family is in possession of the fact. Now if there is
anything to be done I have to do it. There isn't anybody else who can
act for me in this matter."

Lester lapsed into a silence, and Robert rose and paced the floor,
coming back after a time to say: "You say you haven't any idea of
marrying her--or rather you haven't come to it. I wouldn't,
Lester. It seems to me you would be making the mistake of your life,
from every point of view. I don't want to orate, but a man of your
position has so much to lose; you can't afford to do it. Aside from
family considerations, you have too much at stake. You'd be simply
throwing your life away--"

He paused, with his right hand held out before him, as was
customary when he was deeply in earnest, and Lester felt the candor
and simplicity of this appeal. Robert was not criticizing him now. He
was making an appeal to him, and this was somewhat different.

The appeal passed without comment, however, and then Robert began
on a new tack, this time picturing old Archibald's fondness for Lester
and the hope he had always entertained that he would marry some
well-to-do Cincinnati girl, Catholic, if agreeable to him, but at
least worthy of his station. And Mrs. Kane felt the same way; surely
Lester must realize that.