"Always glad to serve you—professionally," murmured the Doctor with an undeniably definite accent on the word 'professionally'.
"Oh, cut it out!" quoted Stanton emphatically. "What in creation are you so stuffy about?"
"Well, really," growled the Doctor, "considering the deception you practised on me—"
"Considering nothing!" shouted Stanton. "On my word of honor, I tell you I never consciously, in all my life before, ever—ever—set eyes upon that wonderful little girl, until that evening! I never knew that she even existed! I never knew! I tell you I never knew—anything!"
As limply as any stout man could sink into a chair, the Doctor sank into the seat nearest him.
"Tell me instantly all about it," he gasped.
"There are only two things to tell," said Stanton quite blithely. "And the first thing is what I've already stated, on my honor, that the evening we speak of was actually and positively the first time I ever saw the girl; and the second thing is, that equally upon my honor, I do not intend to let it remain—the last time!"
"But Cornelia?" cried the Doctor. "What about Cornelia?"
Almost half the sparkle faded from Stanton's eyes.
"Cornelia and I have annulled our engagement," he said very quietly. Then with more vehemence, "Oh, you old dry-bones, don't you worry about Cornelia! I'll look out for Cornelia. Cornelia isn't going to get hurt. I tell you I've figured and reasoned it all out very, very carefully; and I can see now, quite plainly, that Cornelia never really loved me at all—else she wouldn't have dropped me so accidentally through her fingers. Why, there never was even the ghost of a clutch in Cornelia's fingers."