His mother gave him a kindly affectionate smile as he entered the dining-room, and stopped his apology half way.
"Never mind, my son, it is no matter, except that your meal will not, I fear, be quite so good and enjoyable, which is a pity, as your appetite is so poor of late."
There was some anxiety in her look and tone, also in the glance his father gave him as he seated himself at the table.
"I fear you are working too hard, Rupert," he said; "confining yourself too closely to business."
"Just what Charlie has been telling me," the young man responded with a half sigh; "but how is it to be helped?"
"By putting health before business," his mother said, with decision. "My dear boy, if you lose your health, what will become of your business?"
"True, mother," he sighed; "but I have not quite given up the hope that I may regain the one without relinquishing the other."
"A pound of prevention is worth an ounce of cure," remarked Aunt Wealthy absently, rather as if thinking aloud than addressing the company.
"What does Charlie advise?" asked Mrs. Keith.