“Thank you. We don’t require assistance.”
“Perhaps you don’t,” said Penny, “but your father needs friends. He admitted to me that if it weren’t for you he would be tempted to end everything.”
The words stunned Pauletta. “Father never said that!” she exclaimed.
“He did.”
“I can’t believe it. Why, Father’s the most cheerful person in the world!”
“In your presence, possibly. The loss of the Morning Press must have been a heavy blow to him.”
“Father wasn’t forced to give up the paper,” Pauletta protested. “He did it because he was tired of working so hard.”
“Was that what he told you?”
“Why, yes. I know of no other reason.”
“The general belief seems to be that your father speculated on the stock market, losing large sums of money.”