himself say, "Oh, Molly, can you
run up a minute?" And a moment later she was in the room. She was a
bewitching little body in her wide skirts and her pancake of a hat
with a feather in it as she sat there looking at her toes that
morning, with her bright eyes flashing up into his like rockets. But
there were lines under the eyes, and the rims of the eyelids were
almost red--as red as pretty eyelids ever may be. Barclay went right
to the midst of the matter at once. He did not patronize her, but told
her in detail just the situation--how the Golden Belt Wheat Company's
interest must be met by the bank under its guarantee, or Bob and his
father would be worse than bankrupts, they would be criminals. He put
Bob always in the foreground. Barclay unfolded to her all the plans
for going ahead with the work, and he told her what they were doing
for her father by giving him employment. He marched straight up to the
matter in hand without flinching.

"Molly," he began without batting his eyes, "here is where you come
in. That fellow Brownwell was up here this morning. Oh, you needn't
shiver--I know all about it. You had the honour of refusing him last
night." To her astonished, hurt face he paid no heed, but went on:
"Now he's going to leave town on account of you and pull out four
thousand dollars he's got in the bank. If he does that, we can't pay
our guarantee. You've got to call him back." She flared up as if to
stop him, but he went on: "Oh, I know, Molly Culpepper--but this is
no game of London Bridge. It's bad enough, but it's business--cold
clammy business, and sometimes we have to do things in this world for
the larger good. That roan simply can't leave this town and you must
bold him. It's ruin and perhaps prison to Bob and his father if he
goes; and as for your own father and mother--it makes them paupers,
Molly. There's no other way out of it." He paused a moment.

The girl's face blanched, and she looked at the floor and spoke, "And
Bob--when can he come back?"

"I don't know, Molly--but not now--he never was needed there as he
is now. It's a life-and-death matter, Molly Culpepper, with every
creature on earth that's nearest and dearest to you--it makes or
breaks us. It's a miserable business, I know well--but your duty is
to act for the larger good. You can't afford to send Bob to jail and
your people to the poorhouse just because--"

The girl looked up piteously and then cried out: "Oh, John--don't,
don't--I