rious
as it was, proved not unpleasant to him. Much to his own surprise, he
began to find himself really fond of this young girl, who kept him
constantly on the _qui vive_ to follow her from the absurdity of girlish
conceits to the opposite extreme of mature discussion of subjects
ordinarily far beyond the grasp of her years. It whetted his interest
and possessed a decided fascination for him, he admitted to himself more
than once as he left the house to return to his own apartment, wearing a
satisfied smile of patronizing indulgence. Had it not been for the
business necessities, and the importance of actually becoming her
husband before anything occurred to disturb his relations with Gorham,
he would have preferred to have things run on indefinitely as they were.

During this time Allen found Covington's attitude toward him completely
changed. It would have hurt the older man's self-respect to admit that
the boy could in any way be looked upon as a rival; but young girls are
uncertain quantities, and it had been necessary for Alice to prove that
she was beyond this danger-point before Covington decided that Allen was
a promising youngster, after all, and, as Stephen Sanford's son,
entitled at least to being noticed.

Allen, during the same period, and perhaps because of the same
conditions, had grown to regard Covington with even more cordial
aversion. The only positive grievance he had against him was the
success he had gained with Alice; but, in an undefined way, he felt
instinctively that this man possessed every Machiavellian attribute in
the calendar of dishonor. With an effort to be just, Allen mentally made
a generous discount to offset any possible prejudice, but even then
Covington measured up shockingly bad. If Alice had insisted on a proof
of the statements he made against him to her, he would have found
himself lacking ammunition; when Gorham had asked him point-blank what
evidence he had to substantiate his accusations, he had been unable to
give any, and this, he realized, had hurt him in the eyes of his chief.

So now the boy proposed to collect evidence, with the self-acknowledged
purpose of helping Gorham and of saving Alice, entirely overlooking any
personal interest in the undertaking. Covington's first overtures came
just at this time and were coldly received; but as Allen considered the
matter, he concluded that he would learn to "purr" too, taking lessons
in this gentle art from the one man whom