“All right, son, all right. But it did seem to me that in the light of this letter from—er—your mother-in-law that's goin' to be, we ought to face the situation moderately square, anyhow. First comes marriage. Well, that's easy; any fool can get married, lots of 'em do. But then, as I said, comes supportin' yourself and wife—bills, bills, and more bills. You'll say that you and she will economize and fight it out together. Fine, first-rate, but later on there may be more of you, a child, children perhaps—”
“Grandfather!”
“It's possible, son. Such things do happen, and they cost money. More mouths to feed. Now I take it for granted that you aren't marryin' the Fosdick girl for her money—”
The interruption was prompt and made with fiery indignation.
“I never thought of her money,” declared Albert. “I don't even know that she has any. If she has, I don't want it. I wouldn't take it. She is all I want.”
Captain Zelotes' lip twitched.
“Judgin' from the tone of her ma's last letter to me,” he observed, “she is all you would be liable to get. It don't read as if many—er—weddin' presents from the bride's folks would come along with her. But, there, there, Al don't get mad. I know this is a long ways from bein' a joke to you and, in a way, it's no joke for me. Course I had realized that some day you'd be figgerin', maybe, on gettin' married, but I did hope the figgerin' wouldn't begin for some years yet. And when you did, I rather hoped—well, I—I hoped. . . . However, we won't stop to bother with that now. Let's stick to this letter of Mrs. Fosdick's here. I must answer that, I suppose, whether I want to or not, to-day. Well, Al, you tell me, I understand that there has been nothin' underhand in your acquaintance with her daughter. Other than keepin' the engagement a secret, that is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“And you mean to stick by your guns and. . . . Well, what is it? Come in!”
There had been a knock upon the office door. In answer to his employer's summons, Mr. Keeler appeared. He held a card in his hand.