cee_, and he could not stifle a reflection that it would have been
kinder on her part to have spared him even so covert a reproach. He
tried to hide all signs of annoyance, but there was an edge in his voice
as he replied--

"I was inexperienced, no doubt, though perhaps not so much so as you
imagine. All my life I had been accustomed to spend a great deal of
time at the Works, and as I grew up my father had taken me into his
confidence about his growing anxieties, for even in his days he was
beginning to feel the strain of competing with the bigger firms. The
day for small men is over, Lilias, and one by one the private
manufacturers go under, ruined by the struggle to compete with the great
firms who are backed by practically unlimited capital. It was a dying
cause which I had to fight, and I became more and more convinced of the
folly of holding on until everything was lost; and then, in the very
nick of time, as it seemed, our most powerful rivals stepped forward and
offered to take over our business and to give me the post of manager.
There could be no doubt about accepting such an offer, and all my
friends rejoiced with me in the belief that the lean days were over, and
that a long lease of prosperity lay ahead."

"But why did they make you such an offer when your business was so bad
as you say? I can understand that it was a capital thing for you, but
where did they come in? They must have had an idea that it was for
their advantage as well as for yours, or they would not have tried to
get you," said Lilias, with a shrewdness that brought the smiles back to
her lover's face.

"Why, what a cute little woman!" he cried fondly. "She grasps the
position at once! Yes, of course, they made the offer for their own
advantage, not mine, for, you see, dear, there were a certain number of
good old-fashioned customers who still kept to us, and their business
was well worth having, though not valuable enough to make our Works pay
when the smaller orders dropped off. By taking over our connection they
made a considerable addition to their profits, even allowing for the
handsome salary given to me. Looking at the offer from a business point
of view, I saw no reason to doubt its good faith, but six months'
experience has raised some ugly doubts. More than once of late I have
felt convinced--"

"Of what? What are your doubts? What do you believe they mean to do?"

Ned jumped to his feet, and stood facing the gir