n
him. He forgot in a moment the anxieties and worries of the day, and
greeted her gayly.

"You got my telegram?"

"You extravagant person!" she answered. "Yes, I have been ready for
quite a long time."

He laughed.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't even pay for the telegram. As I had
to stay late, I took the liberty of sending it through the firm's
accounts. You see, I have become quite an important person in Tooley
Street all of a sudden. I'll tell you about it presently. Now hold
on tightly to your stick. I'm much too impatient to go down the
steps one by one. I'm going to carry you all the way."

"But where to?" she asked.

"Leave it to me," he laughed. "There are all sorts of surprises for
you. The lady with the wand has been busy."

He carried her downstairs, where, to her surprise, she found a
taxicab waiting.

"But, Arnold," she exclaimed, "how could you think of such
extravagance! You know I can walk quite easily a little distance, if
I take your arm."

"I'll tell you all about it at dinner-time," he replied.

"Dinner-time?" she cried. "Dinner at this hour?"

"Why not? It's quite the fashionable hour, I can assure you, and,
to tell you the truth, I am half starved."

She resigned herself with a sigh of content. After all, it was so
delightful to drift like this with some one infinitely stronger to
take the responsibility for everything. They drove to a large and
popular restaurant close at hand, where Arnold ordered the dinner,
with frequent corrections from Ruth, who sat with a menu-card in her
hand. A band was playing the music of the moment. It was all very
commonplace, but to Ruth it was like a living chapter out of her
book of dreams. Even there, though, the shadow pursued. She could
bear the silence no longer. She dropped her voice a little. The
place was crowded and there were people at the next table.

"Before I touch anything, Arnold, tell me this. Is there any news of
Isaac?"

"None at all," he replied. "It all seemed very alarming to us, but
it seems to be fizzling out. There is only quite a small paragraph
in the evening paper. You can read it, if you like."

He drew the _Evening News_ from his pocket and passed it to her. The
paragraph to which he pointed was headed--

ESCAPE OF AN ANARCHIST FROM ADAM STREET.

Up to the time of going to press, the man Isaac Lalonde,
whom the police failed to arrest last night on a charge
not at present precisel