uld have sufficed to
bend the men to his will. No, it had been the happy effect of his wife's
intimate association on terms of equality with the women that had been
the chief factor in creating a sentiment of sympathy for him to the
extent of cooeperation. Without her work in his behalf, the men would
certainly have struck. Now, since her mistake in judgment had been the
immediate cause of the strike, in justice she could hardly be held
guilty of more than an act of folly. Essentially, the final situation
was what it would have been without any intervention whatsoever on her
part. In going over the succession of events logically and calmly,
Hamilton came to the decision that he would absolve his wife from any
real guilt in the affair. He even felt a half-hearted kindliness toward
her for her blundering good-will. But he was none the less resolved that
he would tolerate no further injection of this charming feminine
personality into his business concerns. The wife must mind her own
business--the home--and that alone; she must have no part in his.... It
was in this mood that he returned to his house late in the evening, and
shut himself into the study. There, presently, Cicily came, seeking him.

The bride was very beautiful to-night, with a touch of sadness in her
expression that gave her a new spirituelle charm. She had chosen a black
gown as becoming the melancholy of the time, but its austere lines,
without any touch of adornment, only brought into full relief the
exquisite outlines of the slenderly rounded form, and served to
emphasize the creamy whiteness of a complexion that was flawless. There
was hardly a glimpse of rose in the ivory curve of the cheeks, but there
was no lessening of the bending scarlet in the lips and the amber eyes
were luminous even beyond their wont, as their gentle radiance shone
forth above the dark circles traced by a sleepless night.

Hamilton turned a little as the door opened. He regarded his wife
quizzically as she walked forward with a step of native grace, now grown
a trifle languid from the weight on her spirit. He did not speak,
however, until she had seated herself in the chair facing his. Then,
when at last she looked up, and her somber gaze encountered his, he
spoke lightly:

"Cicily, my dear, I think you are well rid of that coterie of cats."

"Why, how did you know?" Cicily questioned, in some astonishment as to
his knowledge of her break with the members of the Civitas Soc