isted Anne in the death watch, eh?" said Mr. Thorpe,
with a ghastly smile.

"Don't say that, sir," cried Braden, flinching.

"I may not have the opportunity to speak with you again,
Braden,--privately, I mean,--and, as my time is short, I want to confess to
you that I have been agreeably surprised in Anne. She has tried to do her
best. She has not neglected me. She regards me as a human being in great
pain, and I am beginning to think that she has a heart. There is the bare
possibility, my boy, that she might have made you a good wife if I had not
put temptation in her way. In any event, she would not have dishonoured
you. It goes without saying that she has been wife to me in name only. You
may find some comfort in that. In the past few weeks I have laid even
greater temptations before her and she has not fallen. I cannot explain
further to you, but--" here he smiled wanly--"some day she may tell you in
the inevitable attempt to justify herself and win back what she has lost.
Don't interrupt me, please. She _will_ try, never fear, and you will have
to be strong to resist her. I know what you would say to me, so don't say
it. You are horrified by the thought of it, but the day will come when you
must again raise your hand against the woman who loves you. Make no
mistake, Braden; she loves you."

"I believe I would strike her dead if she made the slightest appeal to--"

"Never mind," snapped the old man. "I know you well enough to credit you
with self-respect, if not self-abnegation. What I am trying to get at is
this: do you hold a grudge against me for revealing this girl's true
character to you?"

"I must ask you to excuse me from answering that question, grandfather,"
said Braden, compressing his lips.

The old man eyed him closely. "Is that an admission that you think I have
wronged you in saving you from the vampires?" he persisted ironically.

"I cannot discuss your wife with you, sir," said the other.

Mr. Thorpe continued to regard his grandson narrowly for a moment or two
longer, and then a look of relief came into his eyes. "I see. I shouldn't
have asked it of you. Nevertheless, I am satisfied. My experiment is a
success. You are qualified to distinguish between the Tresslyn greed and
the Tresslyn love, so I have not failed. They put the one above the other
and so far they have trusted to luck. If Anne had spurned my money I
haven't the slightest doubt that she would have married you and made you a
goo