"because of an engagement."

"Oh, you can go any time, as you merely dropped in to call on the
ladies; but I dined here. Now---- Excuse me, Mr. Forrest, I've only
known you a day or two, but you've interested me, so to speak. You stick
to Allison, and you'll be of infinite use to him in case of trouble
here. He gets off his base sometimes. Stick to him, my lad, and your
fortune's made."

Ten minutes later, when John Allison, with vexation and trouble on his
brow, came down to the library, his guests were gone. A few lines on a
card explained. Each had engagements. "No wonder," said Mrs. Lawrence,
joining him presently. "I know what his engagement is, and Mr. Forrest
seemed to know what was coming."

Impatiently, irritably, the master of the house turned away. "I want to
hear no more of this. Of course, if it's true, I shall know how to act.
I'll--I'll go to the library in the morning, early."

This he did, and apparently to some purpose, for when he saw Mr. Forrest
at the club at noon he turned his back upon him and moved quickly away.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XI.

During the week that followed, Mr. Elmendorf seemed to tread on air and
bask in sunshine and favoring breeze. When returning from the trip,
Allison had almost made up his mind to get rid of him. Now, while at the
bottom of his heart he felt that he liked, and suspected that he
trusted, him less than ever, Allison found himself powerless to carry
out his intention. In the first place, Cary was certainly behaving
better than he had behaved in long months before: Aunt Lawrence vouched
for that. She deplored only the fact that he seemed unable now to fix
his ambition on any other career than the army. Still, even doting and
distracted parents have been known to cherish such an ambition long
months at a time, and to stimulate it by promises of "working all
possible wires" to secure the much-desired cadetship. Then if it
couldn't be had they were just so much ahead: the boy had been weaned
from evil habits and associations through his longing to enter the army.
That he should have been disappointed at the last was through no fault
of theirs, even though it gave them secret joy. They were doubly the
gainers. Had the father stopped to think, he would perhaps have seen
that Cary's steadiness and studious ways were all due to this new and
consuming desire and to the advice of his friends at head-quarters; but
Allison had many cares an