His fortune left him at the death of his father was safely invested, and he had no close friends in the city and no relatives, except a cousin, John Cavendish, for whom he held no love, and little regard.
He had almost determined upon going to Bear Creek to meet Westcott and was calling for his check when his attention was arrested by a noisy party of four that boisterously took seats at a near-by table.
Cavendish recognised the two women as members of the chorus of the prevailing Revue, one of them Celeste La Rue, an aggressive blonde with thin lips and a metallic voice, whose name was synonymous with midnight escapades and flowing wine.

His contemptuous smile at the sight of them deepened into a disgusted sneer when he saw that one of the men was John Cavendish, his cousin.
The two men's eyes met, and the younger, a slight, mild-eyed youth with a listless chin, excused himself and presented himself at the elder's table.
"Won't you join us ?" he said nervously.
Frederick Cavendish's trim, bearded jaw tightened and he shook his head.

"They are not my people," he said shortly, then retreating, begged, "John, when are you going to cut that sort out ?" "You make me weary!" the boy snapped.

"It's easy enough for you to talk when you've got all the money--that gives you an excuse to read me moral homilies every time I ask you for a dollar, but Miss La Rue is as good as any of your friends any day." The other controlled himself.

"What is it you want ?" he demanded directly: "Money?
If so, how much ?" "A hundred will do," the younger man said eagerly.