“And so I want you to get thoroughly into the harness as soon as possible, that I may turn over the entire management you.  But I can’t do it, Harold, while the profits are diminishing.”

As the older man’s gaze fell again to statements before him the eyes of younger man narrowed just a trifle as they rested upon Mason Compton, and then as the older man looked up Bince’s expression changed.

“I’ll do my best, sir,” he said, smiling.  “Of course I realize, as you must, that I have tried to learn a great deal in a short time.  I think I have reached a point now where I pretty thoroughly grasp the possibilities and requirements of my work, and I am sure that from now on you will note a decided change for the better on the right side of the ledger.”

“I am sure of it, my boy,” said Compton heartily.  “Don’t think that I have been finding fault with anything you have done.  I just wanted to call your attention to these figures.  They mean something, and it’s up to you to find out just what they do mean.”

And then there came a light tap on the door, which opened immediately before any summons to enter had been given, and Elizabeth Compton entered, followed by another young woman.

“Hello, there!” exclaimed Compton.  “What gets us out so early?  And Harriet too!  There is only one thing that would bring you girls in here so early.”

“And what’s that?” asked Elizabeth.

“You are going shopping, and Elizabeth wants some money.”

They all laughed.  “You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes!” exclaimed Harriet Holden.

“How much?” asked Compton of his daughter, still smiling.

“How much have you?” asked Elizabeth.  “I am utterly broke.”

Compton turned to Bince.  “Get her what she needs, Harold,” he said.

The young man started to the door.

“Come with me, Elizabeth,” he said; “we will go out to the cashier’s cage and get you fixed up.”

They entered Bince’s office, which adjoined Compton’s.

“Wait here a minute, Elizabeth,” said Bince.  “How much do you want?  I’ll get it for you and bring it back.  I want to see you a moment alone before you go.”

She told him how much she wanted, and he was back shortly with the currency.

“Elizabeth,” he said, “I don’t know whether you have noticed it or not, because your father isn’t a man to carry his troubles home, but I believe that he is failing rapidly, largely from overwork.  He worries about conditions here which really do not exist.  I have been trying to take the load off his shoulders so that he could ease up a bit, but he has got into a rut from which he cannot be guided.

“He will simply have to be lifted completely out of it, or he will stay here and die in the harness.  Everything is running splendidly, and now that I have a good grasp of the business I can handle it.  Don’t you suppose you could persuade him to take a trip?  I know that he wants to travel.  He has told me so several times, and if he could get away from here this fall and stay away for a year, if possible, it would make a new man of him.  I am really very much worried about him, and while I hate to worry you I feel that you are the only person who can influence him and that something ought to be done and done at once.”