"Well?"
She rose, listened a moment and glanced carefully about the room. Afterward he remembered this glance.
"You must give me your word of honor not to mention—not to breathe one word I say to you," she said in a lower voice.
"That is hardly necessary," he said quickly, on his dignity.
"No, no. This is not my secret. Your word of honor. I must have your word of honor."
"Very well," he said, carried away by his curiosity.
"Before the end of the year, in a few months even, Dad may lose every cent he has!"
"He told you?" he said incredulously. "Or is this some trick of your mother's?"
"No, no, it is no trick. Dad told us himself."
"Us? Whom?"