found Alice deep in the mysterious detail of her
growing responsibility, but not at all disturbed to be discovered at her
work. The desk which had been placed in her father's library was as near
a duplicate of his in reduced size as could be found. A bunch of letters
covered one end of it, while a neatly arranged pile of checks directly
in front of her showed that the contents of her mail had proved
profitable. She told Riley to bring Allen here, and the boy stood
regarding her for a moment before she looked up.

"Don't let me disturb you, Miss--Manager," he said, loftily, as he
caught her eye. "We magnates become peeved by interruptions--I always do
myself."

Alice laughed as Allen unlocked the drawer in Gorham's desk and placed
the desired papers in his pocket.

"Isn't it fun?" she asked, merrily.

"Isn't what fun?" was the unresponsive reply. "I haven't burst any
buttons off my waistcoat watching you and Mr. Covington do the
turtle-dove act while I drag out a tabloid existence in a two by twice
hall bedroom, and stay tied down to my desk all day. Where does the fun
come in?"

The girl looked at him in complete surprise. "What in the world--" she
began.

"Oh, I mean it--every word!" he insisted. Now that he had plunged in
there was no retreating. "I say, are you going to marry him?"

"I'd be angry with you if you weren't so terribly amusing, Allen," she
replied, smiling again after the first shock of his outburst. "Truly,
you don't know how funny you are when you try to be serious. It doesn't
fit."

Allen bit his lip. "I'm a joke still, am I?" he asked, without looking
at her. "I thought it was the pater's prerogative to consider me that,
but I see he didn't get it patented."

"Is it being a 'joke' when you ask questions which you have no right to
ask?"

"If you knew how I feel inside you'd think I had a right."

The girl relented a little. "You know as well as I do that Mr. Covington
comes here simply to help me in my business education."

"Business fiddlesticks!" he interrupted, crossly. "You're not engaged to
him yet, are you?"

There was so pathetic a tone of entreaty in Allen's voice that Alice
could not deny herself the pleasure of being mischievous.

"Not to him alone," she answered, demurely.

"What do you mean?" Allen demanded, now thoroughly alarmed.

"Don't you think it is better for a girl to make a number of men
comparatively happy by being engaged to them than one man supremely
mis