the little restaurant. And he was hungry
and had only thirteen cents.

Perhaps right there was where she had made her mistake. It appeared
that a woman could not be impersonally decent to a man without being
held personally responsible. If she did not telephone him to-night,
Pendleton would be disappointed, and, being disappointed, Heaven only
knew what he would do.

Under the circumstances, perhaps the wisest thing she could do was to
meet him this once and make him clearly understand that she was never
to meet him again. Pendleton was young, and he had not been long
enough in the office to learn the downtown conventions. It was her
fault that she had interested herself in him in the first place. It
was her fault that she had allowed him to lunch with her. It was her
fault that she had not been strictly businesslike with him in the
office. So she would have dinner with him, and that would end it.

She had some tea and crackers, and at half-past six put on her things
and took a short walk. At seven she went into a public pay station,
rang up the Harvard Club, and called for Mr. Pendleton. When she heard
his voice her cheeks turned scarlet.

"If you insist I'll come to-morrow night," she informed him. "But--"

"Say, that's fine!" he interrupted.

"But I want you to understand that I don't approve of it."

"Oh, that's all right," he assured her. "Where may I call for you?"

"I--I don't know."

"Where do you live?"

She gave her address.

"Then I'll call there."

"Very well," she answered.

"Now, I call that mighty good of you," he ran on. "And--"

"Good-night," she concluded sharply.

She hung up the receiver and went back to her room in anything but a
comfortable frame of mind.

CHAPTER XI

STEAK, WITH MUSHROOMS AND ADVICE

All of Miss Winthrop that occupied a desk in the office of Carter,
Rand & Seagraves on the next day was that for which Farnsworth was
paying a weekly wage of twelve dollars. From the moment she entered
that morning until she left that afternoon she made this perfectly
clear to every one, including Don. But he also was busy. He had
determined to make himself letter perfect on several bond issues. To
this end he worked as hard as ever he had the day before a final
examination. Besides this, Farnsworth found three or four errands for
him to do, which he accomplished with dispatch. All that week
Farnsworth had used him more and more--a distinctly encouraging sign.
Don kne