ot to tell you
until later."

"Perhaps the suspicion that we might not be overjoyed by the news had
a little weight with you, eh? Possibly that helped to delay
the--er--announcement?"

"No, sir, I--I don't think it did."

"Oh, don't you! Perhaps you thought we WOULD be overjoyed?"

"No, sir. We didn't think so very much about it. Well, that's not quite
true. Madeline felt that her mother--and you, too, sir, I suppose,
although she didn't speak as often of you in that way--she felt that her
mother would disapprove at first, and so we had better wait."

"Until when?"

"Until--until by and by. Until I had gone ahead further, you know."

"I'm not sure that I do know. Gone ahead how? Until you had a better
position, more salary?"

"No, not exactly. Until my writings were better known. Until I was a
little more successful."

"Successful? Until you wrote more poetry, do you mean?"

"Yes, sir. Poetry and other things, stories and plays, perhaps."

"Do you mean--Did you figure that you and Madeline were to live on what
you made by writing poetry and the other stuff?"

"Yes, sir, of course."

Fosdick looked across at Captain Zelotes. The Captain's face was worth
looking at.

"Here, here, hold on!" he exclaimed, jumping into the conversation. "Al,
what are you talkin' about? You're bookkeeper for me, ain't you; for
this concern right here where you are? What do you mean by talkin' as
if your job was makin' up poetry pieces? That's only what you do on the
side, and you know it. Eh, ain't that so?"

Albert hesitated. He had, momentarily, forgotten his grandfather and
the latter's prejudices. After all, what was the use of stirring up
additional trouble.

"Yes, Grandfather," he said.

"Course it's so. It's in this office that you draw your wages."

"Yes, Grandfather."

"All right. Excuse me for nosin' in, Mr. Fosdick, but I knew the boy
wasn't puttin' the thing as plain as it ought to be, and I didn't want
you to get the wrong notion. Heave ahead."

Fosdick smiled slightly. "All right, Captain," he said. "I get it, I
think. Well, then," turning again to Albert, "your plan for supporting
my daughter was to wait until your position here, plus the poetry,
should bring in sufficient revenue. It didn't occur to you that--well,
that there might be a possibility of getting money--elsewhere?"

Albert plainly did not understand, but it was just as plain that his
grandfather did. Captain Zelotes spoke sharply.

"M