HELEN  MORTON 39

"So,  dear  Helen,  the  tea-grounds  say  I  am  to  get  a
lot  of  money  soon,  that  it  will  not  be  a  gift,  nor  from
investment?  Well,  the  mysterious  prophecy  is  right,
the  charming  prophetess  has  truly  read  the  sign.''  As
he  spoke,  SterUng  seemed  gay  with  expectant  delight.
"  To-morrow  evening,"  he  continued, "  and  at  this  hour,
I  shall  be  worth  a  hundred  million  dollars  more  than  I
am  now.  Whether  I  earn  it  or  just  *take  it'  as  the
tea-grounds  say  depends  on  one's  point  of  view.  I
shall  obtain  it  legally,  which  is  all  that  is  considered  in
these  strenuous  commercial  times."

"  Oh,  Morley,  if  you  ever  did  jest  with  me  I  would
believe  you  were  doing  so  now !  But  you  are  always  so
serious,  you  never  seek  to  mislead  me  even  for  the
moment.  A  hundred  million  dollars  in  one  day  ?  It  is
simply  unthinkable!  I  do  not  know  of  so  much  money
in  one  place,  except  in  the  United  States  Treasury.
Why,  Morley,  it  can  not  be  that  you  are  going  to "

She  hesitated  with  the  sudden  and  unwelcome  thought,
but  he  quickly  interpreted  the  unspoken  part  of  her
sentence.
"No,  dearest,"  with  a  quiet  smile,  "I  am  not  going
to  rob  the  United  States  Treasury.  True,  the  Federal
Treasury  alone  has  so  much  real  money  on  hand.
