The young man answered promptly, with delight in his manner of
speech, and a sincerity that revealed the underlying merit of his
nature.

"And I'm glad to be home, Dad, to be"--there was again that
clearing of the throat, but he finished bravely--"with you."

The father avoided a threatening display of emotion by an abrupt
change of subject to the trite.

"Have a good time?" he inquired casually, while fumbling with
the papers on the desk.

Dick's face broke in a smile of reminiscent happiness.

"The time of my young life!" He paused, and the smile broadened.
There was a mighty enthusiasm in his voice as he continued: "I
tell you, Dad, it's a fact that I did almost break the bank at
Monte Carlo. I'd have done it sure, if only my money had held
out."

"It seems to me that I've heard something of the sort before,"
was Gilder's caustic comment. But his smile was still wholly
sympathetic. He took a curious vicarious delight in the
escapades of his son, probably because he himself had committed
no follies in his callow days. "Why didn't you cable me?" he
asked, puzzled at such restraint on the part of his son.

Dick answered with simple sincerity.