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 was paying him, and he was put in the position of receiving payment, but no penny of it went to his empty pockets. You might as well smile at being broke, absolutely, and marrying under the conditions.

Of course, he could not marry without obtaining funds somehow. So, while he discussed southern golf courses, he inventoried his assets with regard to new necessities. What, in cash, did marriage cost?

Metten mentioned a wish for a place pleasant for his wife; and Jay wondered how much Metten estimated as the cost of taking his wife to the South after Christmas. How much must he have to take Lida Haige away with him? Not Lida Haige, then; Lida Rountree. She would require much more than Mrs. Metten.

From fifty dollars, which Jay had borrowed from Ben in New York, he had sixteen left. Not even the fare back east. In his checking account at Cambridge, he had, at best, ten or twelve dollars; at worst, and more probably, an overdraft. Every month a forgotten check or two surprised him. Bills at Cambridge and in Boston would total a couple of thousand more, maybe. They had not bothered him before; he had planned to pay most of them when he would leave next June. But he was leaving now. In fact, he realized with something of a start, he already had left. He would never go back to his rooms on Mount Auburn Street.

"Tryston?" said Metten. "Do you know Tryston?"

"No," said Jay. What was Metten talking about?

"Certainly you know Tryston," Lowry rebuked him. "You won a cup there."