ledge.

A national election at which the previously dominant party was defeated,
was a sad blow to Senator Rexhill, who not only suffered in prestige but
in pocket. There was no question, even in the minds of his friends, that
he frequently used his political influence to back up the many business
enterprises in which he held an interest, and in which the greater part
of his quickly-made fortune was invested. With the loss of his political
pull, disaster came to one after another of those enterprises, and his
successive losses were soon heavy enough to drive him almost to
desperation.

His previous successes, however, had all been due to the audacity of his
plans, for his boldness and courage were unquestionable. For a time he
felt confident of winning again, and accordingly, maintained his lavish
expenditures and luxurious style of living, with no word of caution to
his wife and daughter, and he continued to seek for the long chances in
business that offered the largest risks and the greatest gains.

All the redeeming qualities of his nature (and he had more than his
enemies gave him credit for), were shown in his family life, and it was
not surprising that Helen and her mother were both undisturbed by the
gathering storm, but continued to live as he encouraged them to, having
perfect confidence in his ability to overcome any and all the
difficulties he might encounter.

Mrs. Rexhill continued to dream of social distinction. Failing to see
that she had lost much of her own prestige by the Senator's political
reverses, she continued to entertain so extravagantly in her palatial
home, that she was still tolerated and she took infinite satisfaction in
the position she thought she occupied.

She considered Chicago the greatest city in the world, and she dreamed
of Helen as its queen. To her mind, the easiest way to accomplish that
ambition was to persuade Helen to marry Maxwell Frayne. He had
persistently courted the girl ever since he first met her, and he was
heir to the great Frayne fortune.

The idea was not entirely revolting to Helen, though she had a small
opinion of the elegant young trifler who pursued her so persistently,
for she, too, had social aspirations, though being more clear-sighted
than her mother, she dreamed of wider circles than those of Chicago. Her
husband, whoever he was to be, should take her to Paris, or at least to
New York.

Her infatuation for Gordon Wade, however, was as strong as eve