bout it now, but--listen to me! I am not
going to stand idly by and see her make herself as poor as Job's turkey
unless I know--positively know, do you hear,--that she is not to lose out
entirely. You've just got to say one thing or the other, Brady, before
it's too late. If she does all this for you, what will you do for her?"

Thorpe got up from his chair and began pacing the office, his lips
compressed, his eyes lowered. At last he stopped in front of Simmy.

"If I were you, Simmy, I would tell her at once that--it will be of no
avail."

Simmy glowered to the best of his ability. "Have you never asked her to
make this sacrifice? Have you never given her a ray of hope on which--"

"Yes,--I will be honest with you,--I asked her if she _could_ give it up."

"There you are!" said Simmy triumphantly. "I was pretty sure you had said
something--"

"My God, Simmy, I--I don't know what to do," groaned Thorpe, throwing
himself into a chair and staring miserably into the eyes of his friend.

"There is just one thing you are not to do," said the other gently. "You
are not to let her do this thing unless you are prepared to meet her half-
way. If she does her half, you must do yours. I am looking out for her
interests now, old chap, and I mean to see that she gets fair play. You
have no right to let her make this sacrifice unless you are ready to do
your part."

"Then say to her for me that she must keep the money, every penny of it."

Simmy was staggered. "But she--she doesn't want it," he muttered, lamely.
His face brightened. "I say, old boy, why let the measly money stand in
the way? Take her and the money too. Don't be so darned finicky about--"

"Come, come, old fellow," protested Thorpe, eyeing him coldly.

"All right," said Simmy resignedly. "I'll say no more along that line. But
I'm going to make you give her a square deal. This money is hers. She
bargained for it, and it belongs to her. She sha'n't throw it away if I
can help it. I came here to ask you to use your influence, to help me and
to help her. You say that she is to keep the money. That means--there's no
other chance for her?"

"She knows how I feel about it," said Thorpe doggedly.

"I'll tell her just what you've said. But suppose that she insists on
going ahead with this idiotic scheme of hers? Suppose she really hates the
money and wants to get rid of it, just as she says? Suppose this is no
part of a plan to reconcile--Well, you see what I mean