eed to take the last of my gas bonds off my hands; that will get me
away from here."

"How many have you left?" asked Langham curiously.

"Ten," said North.

Langham whistled.

"Do you mean to tell me you are down to that? Why, you told me once you
held a hundred!"

"So I did once, but it costs money to be the kind of fool I've been!
said North.

"Well, I suppose you are doing the sensible thing in getting out of
this. Have you any notion where you are going or what you'll do?"

North shook his head.

"Oh, you'll get into something!" the lawyer encouraged. "When shall you
see McBride?"

"This afternoon. Why?"

"I was going to say that I was just there with Atkinson. He and McBride
have been in a timber speculation, and Atkinson handed over three
thousand dollars in cash to the old man. I suppose he has banked it in
some heap of scrap-iron on the premises!" said Langham laughing.

"I think I shall go there now," resolved North. While he was speaking he
had moved to the door leading into the hail, and had opened it.

"Hold on, John!" said Langham, detaining him. "Evelyn is home. She came
quite unexpectedly to-day; you won't leave town without getting up to
the house to see her?"

"I think I shall," replied North hastily. "I much prefer not to say
good-by."

"Oh, nonsense!" cried Langham.

"No, Marsh, I don't intend to say good-by to any one!" North quietly
turned back into the room.

"I had intended having you up to the house to-night for a blow-out,"
urged Langham, but North shook his head. "You and Gilmore, Jack; and by
the way, this puts me in a nice hole! I have already asked Gilmore, and
he's coming. Now, how the devil am to get out of it? I can't spring him
alone on the family circle, and I don't want to hurt his feelings!"

"Call it off, Marsh; say I couldn't come; that's a good enough excuse to
give Gilmore. Why, that fellow's a common card-sharp, you can't ask
Evelyn to meet him!"

A slight noise in the hall caused both men to glance toward the door,
where they saw just beyond the threshold the swarthy-faced Gilmore.

There was a brief embarrassed silence, and then North nodded to the
new-comer, but the salutation was not returned.

"Well, good-by, Marsh!" he said, and turned to the door. As he brushed
past the gambler their eyes met for an instant, and in that instant
Gilmore's face turned livid with rage.

"I'll fix you for that, so help me God, I will!" he said, but North made
no a