n to consider how
far Kenyon had come for a youth in his twenties. And Brotherton realized
that he might have had a child as old as Kenyon. Then Mr. Brotherton put
his hands over his face and tried to stop the flying years.

A shadow fell, and Brotherton greeted Captain Morton, in a sunburst of
mauve tailoring. The Captain pointed proudly to a necktie pin
representing a horse jumping through a horseshoe, and cried: "What you
think of it? Real diamond horseshoe nails--what say?"

"Now, Captain, sit down here," said Mr. Brotherton. "You'll do,
Captain--you'll do." But the subject nearest the big man's heart would
not leave it. "Cap," he said, "what about children--do they pay?"

"That's just it," put in the Captain. "That's just what I said to Emmy
this morning. I was out to see her after you left and stayed until Laura
Van Dorn came and chased me off. Emmy's mighty happy, George--mighty,
mighty happy--eh? Her mother always was that way. I was the one that was
scared." George nodded assent. "But to-day--well, we just sat there and
cried--she's so happy about it--eh? Wimmin, George, ain't scared a bit.
I know 'em. I've been in their kitchins for thirty years, George, and
let me tell you somepin funny," continued the Captain. "Old Ahab Wright
has taken to smoking in public to get the liberal vote! Let me tell you
somepin else. They've decided to put the skids under Grant Adams and his
gang down in the Valley, and the other day they ran into a snag. You
know Calvin & Calvin are representing the owners since Tom's got this
life job, though he's got all his money invested down there and still
advises 'em. Well, anyway, they decided to put a barbed-wire trocha
around all the mines and the factories. Well, four carloads of wire and
posts shows up down in the Valley this week, and, 'y gory, man,--they
can't get a carpenter in town or down there to touch it. Grant's got 'em
sewed up. But Tom says he'll fix 'em one of these days, if they get
before him in his court--what say?"

"I suppose he will, Captain," replied Mr. Brotherton, and took up his
theme. "But getting back to the subject of children--I've been talking
all morning about 'em to all kinds of folks, and I've decided the
country's for 'em. Children, Cap," Mr. Brotherton rose, put on his coat
and took the Captain's arm, "children, Captain," he repeated, as they
reached the sidewalk and were starting for the street car, "children, I
figure it out--children are the see-me