Jo put a hand over his mouth.
"Don't let's talk about me," she wheedled. "I want to talk about you."
Mr. Morley sighed heavily and turned his gaze once more toward the fire that burned in the grate.
There was a long silence broken only by the snapping of the blazing logs. Then Jo ventured softly:
"I wish you would tell me just what is wrong in your business, Dad. I don't think I quite understand."
"It's hard for older heads than yours to understand, Jo," returned her father. "How a trusted employee of a company can deliberately betray the secrets of that company and ruin his employer——"
"Oh, so it's a man who has made all the trouble!" Jo cried impulsively.
"A man who is either a maniac or one of the most contemptible scoundrels alive," her father returned bitterly. "The name of the scoundrel is Andrew Simmer, and he was my trusted clerk. You've seen him. You know what he looks like."
"What—what happened to him?" queried Jo, after another interval of unhappy silence.
"He decamped with some of the company's money and bonds," said Mr. Morley, speaking harshly despite his great fatigue. "And for the rest, he has left the company's affairs in such an involved condition that it looks as if utter ruin stretched before me."