Once again, Dick laughed, with an infectious gaiety that brought
a smile of response to the secretary's lips.

"Sadie," he explained confidentially, "don't you dare ever to let
the old man know. He would be all swollen up. It's bad to let a
parent swell up. But the truth is, Sadie, I got kind of homesick
for Dad--yes, just that!" He spoke the words with a sort of
shamefaced wonder. It is not easy for an Anglo-Saxon to confess
the realities of affection in vital intimacies. He repeated the
phrase in a curiously appreciative hesitation, as one astounded
by his own emotion. "Yes, homesick for Dad!"

Then, to cover an excess of sincere feeling, he continued, with a
burst of laughter:

"Besides, Sadie, I was broke."

The secretary sniffed.

"The cable would have handled that end of it, I guess," she said,
succinctly.

There was no word of contradiction from Dick, who, from ample
experience, knew that any demand for funds would have received
answer from the father.

"But what is Dad doing in court?" he demanded.

Sarah explained the matter with her usual conciseness: