Paula was getting rather weary of the subject. Impatiently she replied:

"But I don't want to learn to love him. Forgive me, Mrs. Parkes, if I ask you not to refer to the subject again."

"The poor boy is eating his heart out," said Mrs. Parkes, wiping away a solitary tear.

Just as she spoke the door opened and the object of the conversation put his head in.

"Say, _mater_," he grinned, "do you know Mr. Chase has been waiting downstairs half an hour?"

"Oh, my gracious!" cried the old lady, all fl.u.s.tered. "I quite forgot--so he has! He wants to see you. He came while the doctor was here. I told him to wait, and I'd--I--clean forgot--oh, dear! I'll tell him to come up. Excuse me, dear, I'm all upside down to-day."

With more excuses the landlady bounced out of the room, leaving the two together. Harry had been listening at the keyhole, and now he eyed Paula sheepishly. There was an awkward silence. Finally he took courage, and said:

"Miss Paula--I want you to forgive my mother's meddling with our affairs. I promised you I would never speak of marriage again, and I won't. But I can't get mother to--stop spreading the news. She has told Mr. Ricaby, she has told Dr. Zacharie, and now she has just told Mr.

Chase that--that the matter between us is settled."

Paula gasped with mingled surprise and indignation.

"Mr. Chase! Oh! And Dr. Zacharie! Oh!"

"Don't be too hard on her, Miss Marsh," he said apologetically, "it's the vanity of the mother, she thinks her son is good enough for any one, just because he's her son. But he isn't--I know it, and--when he's a confirmed bachelor of eighty she'll know it, too."

"I hope she's alive then," smiled Paula, who had recovered her good nature.

Just then the door opened, and Tod entered. He first looked at Paula, and, with a grimace, extended his hand to Harry Parkes.

"First of all--congratulations!" he said.

Offering his hand to Paula, he said:

"Congratulations!"

The young girl showed impatience.

"Please, Mr. Chase--don't jest!" she cried.

"What!" exclaimed Tod, a pleased expression on his face, "nothing in it?"

"Nothing at all!" replied Paula laconically.

Tod looked immensely relieved. Then, turning the subject, he said in a low tone:

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Paula, but it's bound to be in all the papers to-night."

"Bad news!" exclaimed Paula apprehensively.

"What is it? Tell me; I'm used to that."

Harry moved towards the door.

"If you'll pardon me I'll go."

He went out, closing the door behind him. Approaching Paula, Tod said earnestly:

"I should have come here before, only I could not get away. I'm keeping tabs on Cooley. I wanted to warn Ricaby. Ricaby is all right, but he doesn't seem to know how to handle the case. He gets the worst of it every time."

"What is the news?" demanded Paula uneasily.

"Well, they've arrested Ricaby!"

"Arrested him! What for?"

"For debt. It appears that he has borrowed money on some securities left in his charge by a client, or something of that sort. He was taken from his office this morning to the City Hall Court. He's trying to get bail."

"Mr. Ricaby in prison!" cried Paula. "The only friend I have in the world!"

"Not the only friend," replied the young man promptly. "Count me, too, Miss Paula. I'm with you in the fight you're putting up against that school of sharks, and you couldn't drive me away from you with a Gatling. This is a new move in their game, but we'll block it. I'm going on Ricaby's bail bond myself."

"Can you?" asked Paula eagerly.

"Can I?" laughed Tod. "It's the easiest thing I do. Mother's got some real estate, and she'll sign anything for me. You know it's a joke on Jimmy to make his wife put up bail for the man he's had arrested. As for Cooley, it will be a scream when he finds it out."

"Oh, but the disgrace of it!" cried Paula, in dismay. "The humiliation--he's so sensitive. Poor Mr. Ricaby!"

"That's all right, Miss Marsh," said Tod consolingly. "It's a put-up job of the Big Chief--that's one of his methods. We'll get Ricaby out before to-night. I thought you'd like to come with me to jail--he's down in the Tombs."

"The Tombs!" she exclaimed.

"Of course," he went on, "that's no place for a lady, but when I'm with you, you might be in the St. Regis for the courteous treatment you'll get. Say, can you see Cooley's face when he finds out who went on Ricaby's bond! Do you know what worried them so? They heard that Ricaby is trying to raise money to retain ex-Senator Wratchett. That fellow Cooley's a wonder! He hears about things before they happen."

"Then it's for me--for my sake," faltered Paula, "that Mr. Ricaby is in prison. I believe he has beggared himself for me--to fight this case.

He never tells me how much I owe him. It's all my fault. Let's go to him at once. Oh, Mr. Chase, I'm so grateful to you!"

Going into her room, she reappeared immediately with her hat and coat and began hurriedly to put them on.

"Then call me Tod, won't you?" grinned her companion. "All my men friends call me Tod. The only name I won't stand for is Todhunter. Your Uncle Jimmy insulted me with that epithet once, and I went up so high in the air that he never did it again. I'm the one man your uncle respects.

I make so much noise he has to bribe me to keep quiet. That's Bascom Cooley's argument--the more noise you make the more attention you get, and the more you fool people. Cooley says----"

"Don't be like Mr. Cooley," she protested.

"He's mighty successful, all the same. Do you know, Miss Marsh, he and two or three others run this city?"

"More's the pity," she replied dryly.

Enthusiastically he went on:

"Bascom Cooley is the great American legal genius--he never loses a case. If I thought it would please you I'd cut out the bra.s.s band effects and put some soft pedal polish on my manners. You wouldn't believe it, would you? I almost graduated, that is, I nearly took a degree. I can slow down to society speed if I want to."