ruger. "But if you are too willing to take the
risk, too indifferent as to your future, the world, our world, which
after all is the only world, may say that your wife's fortune made it
unnecessary for you to bother about a career or even about having to
earn your own living."

Beverly looked indignant.

"You know the world, particularly our section of it, has rather an
unpleasant way of putting things. I should not like to have a son of
mine accused of such motives even though I knew it to be untrue."

Beverly was silent. He dimly saw that his father was right.

"Think it over," suggested old Cruger.

"Have I your consent?" asked Beverly.

"Don't put me in the position of being compelled to say, 'Bless you, my
child,' after I have damned you for disobedience," said the elder
Cruger laughingly. "Be quite sure, my boy, that I shall adapt myself
to conditions. If I say 'yes,' it is because I know you will do as you
please in any event, and I don't want to cloud your happiness by
interposing useless objections. I merely warn you! Good-night,
Beverly."

"Good-night, father." Beverly left the room and the elder Cruger
returned to his work.

It was about five minutes before three the next afternoon when Anton
Von Barwig's card was brought up to Helene's room by Joles. Herr Von
Barwig had evidently taken the precaution to have his name printed on a
piece of pasteboard, so as not to offend Joles's delicate sense of
propriety.

"Will you see him, miss?" asked the man-servant; glancing at the
cardboard somewhat suspiciously.

"Ask him up at once, please," said Miss Stanton, in such a decided tone
that Joles hastened to obey her orders.

Helene was perplexed; she had been thinking all the morning of the
false position she found herself in. She had told the old music master
that she could not play at all, or could only play a little, and that
she wanted to take piano lessons. At the very outset he would discover
that she was quite a good amateur pianoforte player, with a fine
musical ear, and then he would see through her ruse and refuse to teach
her. She felt that he would see her pretences were only for the
purpose of getting him to give her lessons and she was afraid that he
would be very much offended.

"After all, what does it matter?" she asked herself; and the answer
came quickly, "It does matter." The more she thought of this the more
perplexed she became. Why should she care one way or the o