s goes through--and, by George," he went on,
speaking as much to himself as to her, new phases of the affair
presenting themselves to him at every moment, "by George, I don't have
to throw this wheat into the Pit and break down the price--and Gretry
has understandings with the railroads, through the elevator gang, so we
get big rebates. Why, this wheat is worth eighty-two cents to them--and
then there's this 'curtailment in Argentine shipments.' That's the
first word we've had about small crops there. Holy Moses, if the
Argentine crop is off, wheat will knock the roof clean off the Board of
Trade!" The maid reappeared in the doorway. "The buggy?" queried
Jadwin. "All right. I'm off, Laura, and--until it's over keep quiet
about all this, you know. Ask me to read you some more cables some day.
It brings good luck."

He gathered up his despatches and the mail and was gone. Laura, left
alone, sat looking out of the window a long moment. She heard the front
door close, and then the sound of the horses' hoofs on the asphalt by
the carriage porch. They died down, ceased, and all at once a great
silence seemed to settle over the house.

Laura sat thinking. At last she rose.

"It is the first time," she said to herself, "that Curtis ever forgot
to kiss me good-by."

The day, for all that the month was December, was fine. The sun shone;
under foot the ground was dry and hard. The snow which had fallen ten
days before was practically gone. In fine, it was a perfect day for
riding. Laura called her maid and got into her habit. The groom with
his own horse and "Crusader" were waiting for her when she descended.

That forenoon Laura rode further and longer than usual. Preoccupied at
first, her mind burdened with vague anxieties, she nevertheless could
not fail to be aroused and stimulated by the sparkle and effervescence
of the perfect morning, and the cold, pure glitter of Lake Michigan,
green with an intense mineral hue, dotted with whitecaps, and flashing
under the morning sky. Lincoln Park was deserted and still; a blue haze
shrouded the distant masses of leafless trees, where the gardeners were
burning the heaps of leaves. Under her the thoroughbred moved with an
ease and a freedom that were superb, throwing back one sharp ear at her
lightest word; his rippling mane caressed her hand and forearm, and as
she looked down upon his shoulder she could see the long, slender
muscles, working smoothly, beneath the satin sheen of th