t
the bottom of this.

"Now be plain with me," he cried, "you've seen Willy Forrest again and
this is his doing. Yes or no, Anna? Don't you tell me a lie. It's
Forrest--he took you to Ascot?"

She smiled at his anger.

"I ran a horse named Lodestar under the name of Count Donato. I believed
that he would win and he lost. That's the story, father. Why drag any
names into it?"

He regarded her, too amazed to speak. His daughter, this bit of a
schoolgirl as he persisted in calling her, she had run a race-horse in
her own name? What a thing to hear! But was it an evil thing. The girl
had plenty of courage certainly. Very few would have had the pluck to
do it at all. Of course it was unlucky that she had not won--but, after
all, that could soon be put straight.

"You ran a race-horse--but who trained it for you? where did you keep
it? Why did I know nothing about it? Look here, Anna, this isn't dealing
very fair with me. I have never denied you any pleasure--you know I
haven't. If you wanted to play this game, why couldn't you have come to
me and told me so? I wouldn't have denied you--but five thousand; you're
not serious about that--you don't mean to say that you lost five
thousand pounds?"

"I lost five thousand pounds, father--and I must pay the money. They
will call me a cheat if I do not. It must be paid on Monday--Willy says
so--"

He turned upon her with a shout that was almost a roar. She knew in an
instant how foolish she had been.

"Willy Forrest--did you lose the money to him? Come, speak out. I shall
get at the truth somehow--did you lose the money to him?"

"I lost it through him--he made the bets for me."

"Then I will not pay a penny of it if it sends you to prison. Not a
penny as I'm a living man."

She heard him calmly and delivered her answer as calmly.

"I shall marry him if you do not," she said.

Gessner stood quite still and watched her face closely. It had grown
hard and cold, the face of a woman who has taken a resolution and will
not be turned from it.

"You will marry Forrest?" he asked quietly.

"I shall marry him and he will pay my debts."

"He--he hasn't got two brass pieces to rub together. He's a needy
out-at-elbow adventurer. Do you want to know who William Forrest
is--well, my detectives shall tell me in the morning. I'll find out all
about him for you. And you'd marry him! Well, my lady, there you'll do
as you please. I've done with a daughter who tells me that to my f