“As I have said, I am to be chief of the legal department on this division, and as such it will be necessary for me to defend my client both in court and out of court,” he said finally.  “Since I am fairly committed, I shall try to stay on the job.”

“Of course you will.  You’ve got to be honest with yourself—­and with McVickar.  I don’t mind telling you, son, that I’m flat-footed on the other side this time, and I had hoped you were going to be.  But if you’re not, why, that’s the end of it.  We won’t quarrel about it.”

Now this was not at all the paternal attitude as the young man had been prefiguring it.  He had looked for opposition; finding it, he would have found it possible to say some of the things which were crying to be said and which still remained unsaid.  But there was absolutely no loophole through which he could force the attack.  If his late decision had been of no more importance than the breaking of a dinner engagement, his father could scarcely have dismissed it with less apparent concern.  Balked and practically talked to a standstill in the business matter, Blount switched to other things.

“I missed you to-night at dinner,” he said, beginning on the new tack.  “Two of my Cambridge friends are here, and I wanted you to meet them.”

The Honorable David looked up quickly.

“The fossil-digging professor and his daughter?” he queried shrewdly.

“Yes; how did you know?  They came in on the Overland, and I find that the professor has made the long journey on the strength of what I once told him about the megatheriums and things.  I guess it’s up to me to make good in some way.”

“Don’t you worry a minute about that, Evan, boy,” was the instant rejoinder.  “Honoria’s coming in from Wartrace to-morrow, and if you’ll put us next, we’ll take care of your friends—­mighty good care of ’em.”  Then, almost wistfully Blount thought:  “You won’t mind letting Honoria do that much for you, will you, son?”

“I’d be a cad if I did.  And you’ve taken a load off of my shoulders, I can assure you.  If you can persuade Mrs. Blount into it, I’ll arrange for a little dinner of five to-morrow evening in the cafe where we can all get together.  You’ll like the professor, I know; and I hope you’re going to like Patricia.  She’s New England, and at first you may think she’s a bit chilly.  But really she isn’t anything of the kind.”

The Honorable Senator got up and strolled to the window.

“You’d better go to bed, son,” he advised.  “It’s getting to be mighty late, and you’ll want to be surging around some with these friends of yours to-morrow.  And, before I forget it, the big car is in Heffelfinger’s garage.  Order it out after breakfast and show the Cambridge folks a good time.”

It was late the following evening, several hours after the informal little dinner for five in the Inter-Mountain cafe, when the senator had himself lifted from the lobby to the private-suite floor and made his way to the door of his own apartments.  As was her custom when they were together, his wife was waiting up for him.