And what I am here for is to ask you, as Mr.Erroll's friend, to use your influence on Mr.Erroll--every atom of your influence--to prevent him from ruining himself financially through his excesses.

I ask you, for his family's sake, to discountenance any more gambling; to hold him strictly to his duties in your office, to overlook no more shortcomings of his, but to demand from him what any trained business man demands of his associates as well as of his employees.

I ask this for the boy's sake." Neergard's close-set eyes focussed a trifle closer to Selwyn's, yet did not meet them.
"Mr.Selwyn," he said, "have you come here to criticise the conduct of my business ?" "Criticise! No, I have not.

I merely ask you--" "You are merely asking me," cut in Neergard, "to run my office, my clerks, and my associate in business after some theory of your own." Selwyn looked at the man and knew he had lost; yet he forced himself to go on: "The boy regards you as his friend.

Could you not, as his friend, discourage his increasing tendency toward dissipation--" "I am not aware that he is dissipated." "What!" "I say that I am not aware that Gerald requires any interference from me--or from you, either," said Neergard coolly.