usiasm the speaker rose and leaned over the
chair of his astonished wife. "You wake up in the morning and read a novel
instead of your appointment book for a while," he went on. "The Chicago
women's summer clothes are all made by this time, anyway. Play lady for
once and come back to me the color of mahogany. Go ahead!"

"Why, Harry, how can I? What would you do?"

"I'm hanged if I don't show you what I'd do, and do it well, too," he
returned.

"But I ought to go home first," faltered the bewildered woman.

"Not a bit of it. I'll tackle the firm and the apartment, all right; and to
be plain, we can't afford the needless car fare."

"But, father," Julia appealed to him, "is it right to make Harry get on
still longer without Jewel?"

"Perfectly right. Entirely so," rejoined the broker decidedly.

"Of course he doesn't realize how we feel about Jewel," thought Julia.

Here a large brown horse and brougham came around the driveway into sight.
Zeke's eyes turned curiously toward the guests, but he sat stiffly
immovable.

The broker rose. "I must go now or I shall miss my train. Think it over.
There's only one way to think about it. It is quite evidently the thing to
do. The break has been made, and now is the time for Julia to take her
vacation before going into harness again. Moreover, perhaps Harry will get
his raise and she won't have to go into harness. Good-morning. I shall try
to come out early. I hope you will make yourselves comfortable."

Mrs. Evringham looked at Zeke. He was the glass of fashion and the mould of
form, but there was no indication in his smooth-shaven, wooden countenance
of the comrade to whom Jewel had referred in her fragmentary letters.

"Well, Harry!" she exclaimed breathlessly, as the carriage rolled away. Her
expression elicited a hearty laugh from her husband. "I _never_ was so
surprised. How unselfish he is! Harry, is it possible that we don't know
your father at _all_? Think of his proposing to keep, still longer, a
disturbing element like our lively little girl!"

"Oh, I've never believed he bothered himself very much about Jewel,"
returned Harry lightly. "You make a mountain out of that. All a child needs
is a ten acre lot to let off steam in, and she's had it here. He knows
you'll keep her out from under foot. Let's accept this pleasure. He
probably takes a lot of stock in you after all I told him last night. It's
a relief to his pride and everything else that I'm not going to