e of $260,000 on your
coming of age last January."

"Yes, yes; I know that, but--"

"And securities of the par value of $250,000 on the occasion of your
sister's marriage."

"He did that?" exclaimed Patsie, her heart in her throat; "he really did
that?" Her eyes filled with tears and she turned away hastily with an
emotion quite inexplicable to the older man. Bojo himself was much moved
at the thought of how the father in the face of a supreme conflict had
been willing to risk his reserves to provide for the future of his
daughters.

Patsie came back, her emotion in a measure controlled. She placed her
hand upon the shoulder of Mr. Swift, who continued to gaze at her
without comprehension.

"I know you don't understand; you will later. Mr. Swift, I want you to
sell every one of my securities, now, immediately. I want everything in
cash."

Mr. Swift looked at her as though he had seen a ghost and then rapidly
at Bojo. In his mind perhaps was working some fantastic idea of an
elopement. Perhaps Patsie guessed something of this, for she blushed
slightly and said:

"My father needs it. I want to give it to him."

Her words cleared the atmosphere, though they left Mr. Swift obstinately
determined.

"But, Patsie," he said, as a father might to a child, "this is a
bombshell. I can't allow you on my own responsibility to do a thing like
this on impulse. You should not ask me. How do you know your father is
in need? He has not sent you here?"

"No, no; never. Don't you know him better than that? If he knew he never
would permit it. That's the difficulty, don't you see? He must never
know of it and you must arrange some way so he will never guess it is
coming from me."

Mr. Swift stared at her utterly amazed. At length he turned and,
addressing Bojo, said:

"You are in the confidence of Miss Drake? If so, perhaps you can help me
out. Does she know what she is doing, and is it possible that she has
any valid reason for believing that her father can possibly be in need
of such heroic assistance as this?"

His face expressed so much amazement mingled with consternation at the
thought that Daniel Drake could possibly be in difficulties that Bojo
for the first time perceived what he should have foreseen, the direct
danger to the financier from the suspicion of his true situation which
must come from the revelation of Patsie's intentions.

"Mr. Swift," he said, in great perturbation, "I do not know whether we
have