ld take care of it. Archibald Kane thought seriously of
having his lawyer revise his will in such a way that, unless Lester
should reform, he would be cut off with only a nominal income. But he
decided to give Lester one more chance--to make a plea, in fact,
that he should abandon his false way of living, and put himself on a
sound basis before the world. It wasn't too late. He really had a
great future. Would he deliberately choose to throw it away? Old
Archibald wrote Lester that he would like to have a talk with him at
his convenience, and within the lapse of thirty-six hours Lester was
in Cincinnati.

"I thought I'd have one more talk with you, Lester, on a subject
that's rather difficult for me to bring up," began the elder Kane.
"You know what I'm referring to?"

"Yes, I know," replied Lester, calmly.

"I used to think, when I was much younger that my son's matrimonial
ventures would never concern me, but I changed my views on that score
when I got a little farther along. I began to see through my business
connections how much the right sort of a marriage helps a man, and
then I got rather anxious that my boys should marry well. I used to
worry about you, Lester, and I'm worrying yet. This recent connection
you've made has caused me no end of trouble. It worried your mother up
to the very last. It was her one great sorrow. Don't you think you
have gone far enough with it? The scandal has reached down here. What
it is in Chicago I don't know, but it can't be a secret. That can't
help the house in business there. It certainly can't help you. The
whole thing has gone on so long that you have injured your prospects
all around, and yet you continue. Why do you?"

"I suppose because I love her," Lester replied.

"You can't be serious in that," said his father. "If you had loved
her, you'd have married her in the first place. Surely you wouldn't
take a woman and live with her as you have with this woman for years,
disgracing her and yourself, and still claim that you love her. You
may have a passion for her, but it isn't love."

"How do you know I haven't married her?" inquired Lester coolly. He
wanted to see how his father would take to that idea.

"You're not serious!" The old gentleman propped himself up on his
arms and looked at him.

"No, I'm not," replied Lester, "but I might be. I might marry
her."

"Impossible!" exclaimed his father vigorously. "I can't believe it.
I can't believe a man of your intell