Just now, in the matter of Margaret Severence, this universal overlordship filled him with rage, the more furious that he realized he could no more shake Josh's conviction than he could make the Washington monument topple over into the Potomac by saying, "Be thou removed." He might explain all the obvious reasons why Margaret would never deign to condescend to him; Josh would dismiss them with a laugh at Arkwright's folly.
He hid his rage as best he could, and said with some semblance of genial sarcasm: "So all you've got to do is to ask her and she's yours ?" Craig gave him a long, sharp, searching look.

"Old man," he said earnestly, "do you want her ?" "_I_!" exclaimed Arkwright angrily, but with shifting eyes and with upper lip twitching guiltily.

Then, satirically: "Oh, no; I'd not dare aspire to any woman YOU had condescended to smile upon." "If you do I'll get her for you," pursued Craig, his hand seeking Arkwright's arm to grip it.
Arkwright drew away, laughed outright.

"You ARE a joke!" he cried, wholly cured of his temper by the preposterous offer.

It would be absurd enough for any one to imagine he would need help in courting any woman he might fancy--he, one of the most eligible of American bachelors.