"What do you mean?" she said. "Don't be absurd, Jasper. My mind is made up."
"I mean," he said quietly, "that I have Mr. Minute's power of attorney to act for him, and Mr. Minute happens to be your legal guardian. You are, in point of fact, my dear May, more or less of a ward, and you cannot marry before you are twenty-one without your guardian's consent."
"I shall be twenty-one next week," she said defiantly.
"Then," smiled the other, "wait till next week before you marry. There is no very pressing hurry."
"You forced this situation upon me," said the girl hotly, "and I think it is very horrid of you. I am going to marry Frank to-day."
"Under those circumstances, I must come down and forbid the marriage; and when our parson asks if there is any just cause I shall step forward to the rails, gayly flourishing the power of attorney, and not even the most hardened parson could continue in the face of that legal instrument. It is a mandamus, a caveat, and all sorts of horrific things."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"Because I have no desire that you shall marry a man who is certainly a forger, and possibly a murderer," said Jasper Cole calmly.
"I won't listen to you!" she cried, and stepped into the waiting taxicab.
Without a word, Jasper followed her.