A glad smile passed over the boy's face; he stretched out his hand

towards the neglected cup, and quaffed coffee and hope in one reviving

draught. "But no one seems to want poetry nowadays!"

"True! I think you may have to wait until you have made a name in the

other direction. Why not try fiction? Your prose is excellent, almost

as good as your verse."

"Can't think of a plot!"

"Bah! you are behind the times, my dear! You don't need a plot. Begin

in the middle, meander back to the beginning, and end in the thick of

the strife. Then every one wonders and raves, and the public--`mostly

fools!'--think it must be clever, because they don't understand what

it's about."

"Like the lady and the tiger,--which came out first?"

"Ah! if you could think of anything as baffling as that, your future

would be made. Write a novel, Ron, and take me for the heroine. You

might have a poet, too, and introduce some of your own love-songs. I'd

coach you in the feminine parts, and you could give me a royalty on the

sales."

But Ronald shook his head.

"I might try short stories, perhaps--I've thought of that--but not a

novel. It's too big a venture; and we can't spare the time. There are

only four months left, and unless I make some money soon, father will

insist upon that hateful partnership."

The girl left her seat and strolled over to the window. She was

strikingly like her brother in appearance, but a saucy imp of humour

lurked in the corners of her curving lips, and danced in her big brown

eyes.

Margot Vane at twenty-two made a delightful picture of youth and

happiness, and radiant, unbroken health. Her slight figure was upright

as a dart; her cheeks were smooth and fresh as a petal of a rose; her

hair was thick and luxuriant, and she bore herself with the jaunty,

self-confident gait of one whose lines have been cast in pleasant

places, and who is well satisfied of her own ability to keep them

pleasant to the end.

"Anything may happen in four months--and everything!" she cried

cheerily. "I don't say that you will have made your name by September,

but if you have drawn a reasonable amount of blood-money, father will

have to be satisfied. It is in the bond! Work away, and don't worry.

You are improving all the time, and spring is coming, when even ordinary

people like myself feel inspired. We will stick to the ordinary methods

yet awhile, but if matters get desperate, we will resort to strategy.

I've several lovely plans simmering in my brain!"




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