voided these young men
since their father's death, nodded pleasantly and would have passed on,
but Gerald stopped and held up his hand.

"I'd like to have a little talk with you," he said.

"Can you come in to-morrow? I'm rather in a hurry. To-night I have to
preside at a meeting."

"What I have to say won't take long," young French told him. "I want to
come to a definite understanding with you about this coal property."

Mr. Braden, for reasons of his own, experienced a decidedly nervous
feeling. "Huh!" he said. "An understanding! What do you mean?"

"You know damned well what I mean," Gerald replied. "You and my father
were in this thing together. He had an interest--or was to have one. We
expect to have the same interest. Is that clear enough for you?"

It could not be much clearer, but nevertheless Mr. Braden if not
bewildered gave an excellent imitation of that state of mind.

"Your father's interest in my coal property!" he exclaimed. "There is
some mistake. Your father had no interest."

"Oh, yes, he had," Gerald maintained.

"But I tell you you are mistaken," Mr. Braden protested. "I give you my
absolute assurance that he had no interest whatever."

"Your assurance--hell!" Gerald sneered. "What do you take me for,
anyway? Do you think I'm not wise to you?"

"If you have any evidence of your father's interest, produce it," Mr.
Braden returned.

"So that's the ground you take, is it?" said Gerald. "Well, I guess you
know I haven't any evidence that would hold. But all the same the two of
you were partners in this deal. I know it, whether I can prove it or
not. And what we want is to be let in on this on a fifty-fifty basis
with you."

"You do, hey?" Mr. Braden replied sharply. "Well, you won't be. Your
father had no interest at all. As it is, he owes me money, which--"

"Forget it!" Gerald interrupted. "He steered a lot of business your way,
and I'll bet you broke better than even. As for the coal, I saw a sample
of it on his desk months ago. _You_ weren't giving out samples. Then he
was trying to buy the Winton property. Buy it? He couldn't have bought
anything the way he was fixed at the time, and you know it. You were
going to put up for it, and you know that, too."

"What has that to do with the coal?"

"It had something to do with it. I'm telling you that we want a slice,
and we're going to have it--somehow."

"If you think I'm going to give away property to people who have no
right to it