"Oh, I shouldn't expect to do more. If I succeeded in that--I should
live."

"How much money have you got?"

"It's all here," she answered, picking up the black satchel and opening
it. "These are my securities, and I'm told they're very good."

"And do you take them round with you every time you go shopping?"

"No," Diane smiled, somewhat wanly. "They've been in the hands of the
Messrs. Hargous for a good many years past. They are entirely at my own
disposal--not in trust, they said; so that I had a right to take them
away. I thought I would just bring them to you."

"What for?"

"To keep them for my mother-in-law and pay her the interest, or whatever
it is."

"Why didn't you leave them with Hargous?"

"I was afraid, from some things he said, he would object to what I
wanted to do."

"And what made you think I wouldn't object to it, too?"

"Two or three reasons. First, Monsieur Hargous is not an American, and
you are; and I'd been told that Americans always like to help one
another--"

"I don't know who could have put that notion into your head."

"And, then, from the few glimpses I've had of you--I _will_ say it!--I
thought you looked kind."

"Well, now that you've had a better look, you see I don't. How much
money have you got? You haven't told me that yet."

"Here's the memorandum. They said they were mostly bonds, and very good
ones."

[Illustration: DRAWN BY FRANK CRAIG
THE BANKER TOOK A LONGER TIME THAN WAS NECESSARY TO SCAN THE POOR LITTLE
LIST]

With the slip of paper in his hand the banker leaned back in the chair,
and took a longer time than was necessary to scan the poor little list.
In reality he was turning over in his mind the unexpected features of
the case, venturing a peep at Diane as she sat meekly awaiting the end
of his perusal.

"Hasn't it occurred to you," he asked, at last, "that you could leave
your affairs in Hargous' hands, and still turn over to your
mother-in-law whatever sums he paid you?"

"Yes; but she wouldn't take the money unless she thought it was her very
own."

"But it isn't her very own. It's yours."

"I want to make it hers. I want to transfer it to her absolutely--so
that no one else, not even I, shall have a claim upon it. There must be
ways of doing that."

"There are ways of doing that, but as far as she's concerned it comes to
the same thing. If she won't touch the income, she will refuse to accept
the principal."

"I've thought of that, too; a