whatever of his own prospects or his
father's affairs. I don't remember--at least, it doesn't matter--how he
came to say as much, but he did, and afterward gave me a whimsical
catalogue of his acquirements and accomplishments, remarking, I
remember, that 'there was not a dollar in the whole list'; and lately,
though you must not fancy that he discusses his own affairs with me, he
has now and then said something to make me guess that he was somewhat
troubled about them."

"Is he doing anything?" asked Mrs. Carling.

"He told me the first evening he called here," said Mary, "that he was
studying law, at his father's suggestion; but I don't remember the name
of the firm in whose office he is."

"Why doesn't he ask his father about his prospects?" said Mrs. Carling.

Mary laughed. "You seem to be so much more interested in the matter than
I am," she said, "why don't you ask him yourself?" To which
unjustifiable rejoinder her sister made no reply.

"I don't see why he shouldn't," she remarked.

"I think I understand," said Mary. "I fancy from what he has told me
that his father is a singularly reticent man, but one in whom his son
has always had the most implicit confidence. I imagine, too, that until
recently, at any rate, he has taken it for granted that his father was
wealthy. He has not confided any misgivings to me, but if he has any he
is just the sort of person not to ask, and certainly not to press a
question with his father."

"It would seem like carrying delicacy almost too far," remarked Mrs.
Carling.

"Perhaps it would," said her sister, "but I think I can understand and
sympathize with it."

Mrs. Carling broke the silence which followed for a moment or two as if
she were thinking aloud. "You have plenty of money," she said, and
colored at her inadvertence. Her sister looked at her for an instant
with a humorous smile, and then, as she rose and touched the bell
button, said, "That's another reason."

CHAPTER X.

I think it should hardly be imputed to John as a fault or a shortcoming
that he did not for a long time realize his father's failing powers.
True, as has been stated, he had noted some changes in appearance on his
return, but they were not great enough to be startling, and, though he
thought at times that his father's manner was more subdued than he had
ever known it to be, nothing really occurred to arouse his suspicion or
anxiety. After a few days the two men appeared to drop into