Page:The Yellow Book - 06.djvu/167

 "And pray, what did he say about my affairs? "

"Oh, excellent report, never been selling better, largely owing to that new poster he says; it just wanted that to freshen up the sale a bit. Bless me, what have I said now, Cynthia?"

"Oh, nothing. I am sick of that new poster. Margaret was full of it yesterday. Everybody is full of it. Why did they want a new poster to freshen up the sale just now? I don t want the horrible money."

She wondered why he looked so pleased.

"Don't you really, Cynthia? Would you give it up willingly if—if you, well, if the terms of the will had to be fulfilled? "

She turned and looked at him with a hunted look in her eyes.

"How did you know? What makes you ask me that r" she burst out.

"Of course I knew, my dear," he answered with his genial smile; "why, I made Jim add that codicil myself."

"You? You made him? Willis, I don't understand. Why did you? "

"For the same reason that I have come here this morning, Cynthia. Is it so difficult to understand, then? "

There was a slight tremble in the bluff tones, but she did not notice it. She was so absorbed in her own engrossing affairs this morning that her faculties had grown incapable of receiving any impression from outside. She continued to look at him questioningly.

"What reason?" she asked.

"Because I knew what you didn't know then, poor child—that Jim was dying. And I meant to come back for you after seven years and take you for my own—if you would come. We were such good friends, Cynthia, and—I thought perhaps you would come