ct him. Timothy consented with alacrity, seeming to feel the burden
of his semi-attached state.

That evening at six-thirty, when Nolan came up for dinner, Eveley met him
on the roof garden over the sun parlor.

"Nolan, something has happened. They went at two o'clock, and they aren't
home yet. What do you suppose is the matter? Maybe they had an accident.
Maybe she got mad and wouldn't ride home with him. He wouldn't put her
out, would he? Shall we notify the police?"

"I should say not. Don't worry. Let's have our dinner. They can eat the
leavings when they come. He has probably learned, as other and wiser men
have learned, that a pretty and pleasant girl is not half bad company.
I'll bet he is having the time of his life. My, it is nice to have you
alone again. She is very sweet, and it's been lots of fun, but after all
I am used to you, and this is nicer."

Nolan's prediction proved far from wrong. At ten-thirty, a messenger boy
shouted up from below, and Nolan ran down. When he came back he carried a
small yellow slip addressed to Eveley, which he promptly opened. And as
she peered over his shoulder, they read it aloud, together, in solemn
chorus.

"Three cheers and a tiger. She has accepted me, and we were married
at Oceanside this afternoon. On our way to Yosemite for honeymoon.
I am the happiest man on earth. Tell Nolan to go to the dickens.
Love from Sally and Timothy Baldwin."

Nolan lit a cigar and blew reflective rings into the air. "When a man is
bitten with the germ of duty," he began somberly.

For a moment Eveley was crushed. Then she rallied. "Just as I told you,
Nolan. As long as it was a painful duty, marriage between them was
impossible, and would have wrecked both their lives. But our campaign
brought about the proper adjustment and tuned them to love again. So it
was not duty, but love, and marriage is a joy. Now I hope you are
convinced that I am right, and won't argue with me any more. And if I
ever had any doubts about that one exception I make in regard to duty,
they are all gone now. I am dead sure of my one exception."

But when Nolan pressed her for an explanation, she begged him to smoke
again, and let her think.

CHAPTER XII

THE REVOLT OF THE SEVENTH STEP

The sharp tap on Eveley's window was followed by an impatient brushing
aside of the curtains, and Miriam Landis swung gracefully over the sill
in a cloud of chiffon and silk.

"Lem is waiting in the car,"