tephen struck his closed fist into the palm of his other hand. He wore
one glove. What had become of the other he could not have told.

"You do?" he shouted. "You do? By gad! Then do you know what it means?"

"Yes, I know that, too. Now, Stevie, be a good boy and set down and keep
cool. Yes, I want you to."

He put his hands on his nephew's shoulders and forced him into a chair.

"Now, just calm yourself," urged the captain. "There ain't a mite of
use workin' yourself up this way. I know the whole business, and I can't
tell you--I can't begin to tell you how sorry I feel for you. Yet you
mustn't give up the ship because--"

"Mustn't give up!" Stephen was on his feet again. "Why, what are you
talking about? I thought you said you knew! Do you think that losing
every cent you've got in the world is a _joke_? Do you think that--See
here, do you know who this shareholder is; this fellow who's going to
rob us of all we own? Who is he?"

"Didn't Mr. Sylvester tell you?"

"He said that there was such a man and that he had the estate cinched.
He told us about that note and all the rest. But he wouldn't tell the
man's name. Said he had been forbidden to mention it. Do you know him?
What sort of fellow is he? Don't you think he could be reasoned with?
Hasn't he got any decency--or pity--or--"

He choked, and the tears rushed to his eyes. He wiped them angrily away
with the back of his glove.

"It's a crime!" he cried. "Can't he be held off somehow? Who _is_ he? I
want to know his name."

Captain Elisha sadly shook his head. "I'm afraid he can't, Stevie," he
said. "He's got a legal right to all 'Bije left, and more, too. It
may be he won't be too hard; perhaps he'll ... but there," hastily. "I
mustn't say that. We've got to face the situation as 'tis. And I
can't tell you his name because he don't want it mentioned unless it's
absolutely necessary. And we don't, either. We don't want--any of us--to
have this get into the papers. We mustn't have any disgrace."

"Disgrace! Good heavens! Isn't there disgrace enough already? Isn't
it enough to know father was a crook as well as an idiot? I've always
thought he was insane ever since that crazy will of his came to light;
but to steal! and then to leave a paper proving it, so that we've got to
lose everything! His children! It's--"

"Now hold on, boy! Your dad didn't mean to take what didn't belong to
him--for good, that is; the note proves that. He did do wrong and used
an