The light went out of her face. He wondered whimsically if he had locked

it in with the ruby, and once more he was conscious that something

intangible floated between them. But she looked at him squarely with her

shadowed eyes.

"Oh, one could spend any amount, of course, but I really have

quite enough."

"You shall have double your present allowance when these cursed times

improve. And I have always intended to settle a couple of hundred

thousand on you--a quarter of a million--as soon as I could realize

without loss on certain investments. But one day I want you to be quite

independent."

Her eyes had opened very wide. "A quarter of a million? And it would be

all my own? I could do anything with it I liked?"

"Well--I think I should put it in trust. I haven't much faith in the

resistance of your sex to tempting investments promising a high rate of

interest."

"I have heard you say that when rich men die the amount of worthless

stock found in their safe deposit boxes passes belief."

"Quite true. But that is hardly an argument in favor of trusting an even

more inexperienced sex with large sums of money."

She laughed, but less naturally than when he had been seized with an

unwonted spasm of jealousy. "You will always get the best of me in an

argument," she said with her exquisite politeness. "Really, I think I

love being wholly dependent upon you. Here comes your detective. What

a bore. But at least we lunch together if we do have company. And

thank you, thank you a thousand times for promising I shall wear the

ruby at last."

She slipped her hand into his for a second, then left the room, smiling

over her shoulder, as the locally celebrated "Jake" Spaulding entered.

Both Ruyler and his general manager had thought it best to have their

cashier watched. There were rumors of gambling and other road house

diversions, and they proposed to save their man to the firm, if possible;

if not, to discharge him before he followed the usual course and involved

Ruyler and Sons in the loss of thousands they could ill afford to spare.




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