My father a bankrupt? The very words
seem meaningless to me. Dr. Franklin, there must be some hideous
mistake."

"Unfortunately, it is no mistake, my poor child. These gentlemen you
mention, I may admit to you in confidence, were my informants."

"You say they gave you no details beyond the paramount fact of my
father's ruin? But surely they must have told you something more. I
have a right to know, Dr. Franklin, and I shall not rest until I do.
How did such a catastrophe come to him? There have been no gigantic
failures lately, no panics which could have swept him down. What
terrible mistake could he have made, he whose judgment was almost
infallible?"

The minister hesitated visibly, and when he spoke at last, it was as
if with a conscious effort he chose his words.

"I do not think it was any sudden collapse of some project in which he
was engaged, Anita, but a--a general series of misfortunes which
culminated by forcing him, just before his death, to the brink of
bankruptcy. You are a mere child, my dear, and could not be supposed
to understand matters of finance. If you will be guided by me you will
accept the assurance of your friends who truly have your best
interests at heart. Their statements will be confirmed, I know, by the
lawyers who are engaged in settling up the estate of your father. Do
not, I beg of you, inquire too closely into the details of your
father's insolvency."

Anita rose slowly, her eyes fixed upon the face of the minister, and
with her hands resting upon the chair-back, as if to steady herself,
she asked quietly:

"Why should I not? What is there which I, his daughter, should not
know? Dr. Franklin, there is something behind all this which you are
trying to conceal from me. I knew my father to be a multi-millionaire.
You come and tell me he was a pauper instead, a bankrupt; and I am not
to ask how this state of affairs came about? You have known me since I
was a little girl--surely you understand me well enough to realize
that I shall not rest under such a condition until the whole truth is
revealed to me!"

"I am your friend." The resonance in the minister's voice deepened.
"You will believe me when I tell you that it would be best for your
future, for the honor of your father's memory, to place yourself
without question in the hands of your true friends, and to ask no
details which are not voluntarily given you."

"'Best for my future!'" she repeated, aghast. "'For the honor of