impressed me in those early days as an irresponsible young fellow who would never make good. Especially after that Duval fiasco in Paris. Then you came home and 'phoned me you were married and I thought, 'The poor young fool.'
"But I was the one who was fooled. You got a fresh grip and you've simply amazed me the way you've developed. And now this Chartres contract—it's the biggest thing that has come to Drake and Porter since the war and you've put it over all alone. You're going to be wealthy now, comparatively speaking for a young man of your age, and I know it won't spoil you. And I don't mind telling you that at the next Board of Directors' meeting, which is next Monday, I am going to recommend that you be taken into the firm, and they usually take my word in such things."
He looked at the young man keenly and Dudley wondered what marvelous announcement was coming next. But Sanford Drake took a new, more personal tack. "I don't suppose what I'm going to say now is any of my business. I hate meddlers, as you know. But I'm your only living relative after all, Dudley, and perhaps I'm not such an unromantic old fossil as you think. All this success you've won in business isn't going to do you any good unless you're happy at home. And I've been
