"Why shouldn't I?" he laughed. "Don't you deserve it?"
Mr. Ricaby was impatient to hear what news the young man had brought.
"You came to see me?" he interrupted anxiously.
"Incidentally, yes," smiled Tod.
"How did you know I was here?" demanded the lawyer.
"Missed you at your office. Listen, we'll just talk business a few minutes, Miss Marsh, and then devote ourselves to the enjoyment of the place. Gee, what air! what ozone! what trees——" Suddenly stopping, he scratched his hand vigorously. "And what mosquitoes! Now, in the first place, Ricaby, I'm your witness—you can depend on me. I can prove that Jimmy needed money—and that he was compelled to resort to desperate means to raise it."
The lawyer looked at him keenly.
"Are you aware," he said, "that it will involve your mother?"
"Your mother!" cried Paula, astonished. "Oh, no! You—can't do that. Oh, Tod, your mother!"
"She's all right," cried the young man. "She has left Jimmy——"