e man for you, dear, if you
wish."

Argyl ran to him and threw her arms about his neck.

"God bless you, daddy!" she cried, softly. "I just love you to death.
And," holding him away from her and smiling brightly at him, "I don't
think that it is necessary. I slapped him _hard_!"

Conniston came back into the room.

Argyl was speaking swiftly, emphatically. "Mr. Hapgood has just done
me the honor to ask me to marry him. He told me that he had acquainted
Mr. Conniston with his intentions, so it is no secret. No, I did not
slap him for that. But you, father, and you, too, Mr. Conniston, since
you are one of us in our work, ought both to know what he threatened.
He says that we are upon the very brink of failure; that Swinnerton
has almost sufficient strength to ruin us and our hopes. And he
threatened, if I did not marry him, to turn his back upon us and join
the opposition. And I slapped his face."

Mr. Crawford took her hand and kissed it.

"I can think of no more forceful answer you could have made him, Argyl
girl. Fortunately, I have not confided in him to any dangerous extent.
He knows--"

"He knows," she cried, quickly, "all that you have let Mr. Winston
know! Everything you have told your lawyer--"

She paused, hesitating. Mr. Crawford looked at her sharply.

"What?" he demanded, a vague hint of anxiety in his tone.

"He knows--for he told me--the exact condition of your finances."

"Had I not better go?" suggested Conniston. "I do not want--"

"No. You are with us. If Hapgood knows, if he is going to peddle what
he knows, you might as well know too! What did he say, Argyl?"

"He said, father, that you had played to the end of your string. He
said that you did not have ten thousand dollars in the world. He said
that you did not know where to turn to raise the cash for the rest of
the work we have before us. I--I--" She looked anxiously at him. "Did
I do wrong, father? Should I have temporized with him--ought I to have
kept him from going away angry?"

"You should have let me throw him outdoors. I am not afraid of him."
He turned from her to Conniston. His face was very grave, his eyes
troubled, but he spoke firmly, confidently. "You see, Mr. Conniston,
that we have a fight ahead of us. Some people would say that we are
on a sinking ship. What do you think?"

"I think," said Conniston, simply, "that we will win out in spite of
what people say. I hope I may help you."

"Thank you. To-morrow morning