mbs, in front of
the cashier's desk. One of the shopmen, startled by the noise, turned,
and then, with a look of horror on his face, ran to the door. He
bumped into Jonah, who was coming from the ladies' department.

"Wot the devil's this?" cried Jonah.

The man turned and pointed to the huddled heap at the foot of the
stairs.

"It's yer missis. She fell from the top. 'Er face is looking the
wrong way."

Jonah ran forward and shouted for a doctor. Then he knelt down and
tried to lift Ada into a sitting posture, but her head sagged on one
side. And Jonah realized suddenly, with a curious feeling of
detachment, that he was free. When the doctor arrived, he told them
that death had been instantaneous, as she had broken her neck in the
fall.

The next day the "Silver Shoe" was closed on account of the funeral.
The Grimes family sent a wreath, but Jonah looked in vain for Clara
among the mourners. He was disappointed but relieved, fearing that the
exultation in his heart would betray him in the presence of strangers.
He dwelt with rapture on the moment in which he would meet her face to
face, free to love and be loved, willing to lose some precious hours
for the sake of rehearsing schemes for the future in his mind. He
listened without emotion to the conventional regrets of the mourners,
agreeing mechanically with their empty remarks on his great loss, a
mocking devil in his brain.

The day after the funeral the Silver Shoe returned to business, and
Jonah spent the morning in the shop, too nervous to sit idle. He had
spent a sleepless night debating whether he should go to Clara or wait
till she came to him of her own accord. The shop was alive with
customers, drawn by the red-letter sale, but there was no sign of the
one woman above all he desired to see. Suddenly he decided, with a
certainty that astonished him, that she would come in the afternoon.
After dinner he stayed in the sitting-room, fidgeting with impatience.
He looked for something to do, and remembered that he had still to
clear up the mystery of Ada's drunken bout. All the shop-hands had
denied lending her money, and the mystery was increased by his finding
no bottle in the usual hiding places. Ray, when questioned about
brandy, had stared at him with bewildered eyes. And to calm his nerves
he made another search of the rooms.

He turned out the drawers and cupboards, meeting everywhere evidence of
Ada's slovenly habits. And at the si