"Is Bobs going good to-day?" was his interested question.
"Bobs never misses," was the reply. "He danced along in wonderful form, but I could not enter into his gaiety. I bounced around upon his back a most unresponsive dreamer."
He lifted his eyebrows.
"Surely you are not yet worrying over our conversation?"
The kindliness of his tone drew the simple admission:
"Yes, Daddy."
"Have you decided to fall in with your good prospects?"
She studied his eyes with a keenness that alarmed him. He read her answer in the wearied face and, speaking quickly, forestalled her reply.
"I will say no more about Ned Pullar," said he. "I am willing to leave it all with you. I am confident you will see after a while that it is best to forget him. Lest you should act rashly I want you to know that not only your own happiness but my future career rests wholly with you. I am now a partner in the new firm of brokers, Sykes, McClure and Sykes. Nothing but a foolish spurning of your wonderful opportunity with Chesley Sykes can hold back the most astonishing possibilities for us all."
The girl's head drooped. She realized that snares were being skilfully and cruelly laid. To her father she had become a mere chattel.