He renewed his determination to keep what guard he could over his young

wife, and wondered if his brother Harold, who also had elected to enter

the old firm, could not be induced to come out and take over a certain

share of the responsibility. The young man had paid him a visit a year

ago and been enraptured with life in California.

True, he was accustomed to make quick decisions without consulting any

one, and he should find a partner irksome, but he was beginning to

realize acutely that business, even to an American brain, packed with its

traditions and energies, was not even the half of life, should be a means

not an end; he set his teeth as he walked rapidly along Montgomery Street

and vowed that he would keep his domestic happiness if he had to retire

on what was available of his own fortune. He even wondered if it would

not be wise to buy a fruit ranch, where he and Helene could share equally

in the management, and begin at once to raise a family. They both loved

outdoor life, and this life of complete frivolity, in which she seemed to

be hopelessly enmeshed, might before long corrode her nature and blast

the mental aspirations that still survived in that untended soil. When

this great merging deal was over he should be free to decide.




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