ay. She ought to have married him away back
when he first went to work to make a fortune for her. Why didn't she
take the money it cost to go to Europe and spend it on him? She had
let a whole year go wasted, when she had such an opportunity as this!
Here was a house waiting for her; here was Don waiting for her; and
she had gone to Europe!

To put one's self in another's place--in a place of so delicate a
nature as this--is a dangerous business, but Miss Winthrop did not do
it deliberately. Lying there in the dark, her imagination swept her
on. The thought that remained uppermost in her mind was the chance
this other girl had missed. She would never have it again. In the fall
Don would receive his raise and be sent out to sell, and after that
his career was assured. It remained only for him to hold steady--an
easy matter after the first year--and his income was bound to increase
by thousand-dollar jumps until he won his ten thousand and more. And
with that there was not very much left, as far as she could see, for a
woman to do. The big fight would be all over. A woman could no longer
claim a partnership; she would simply be bought.

If last fall she had had the chance of that other, she would have had
him out selling a month ago. Give her a year or two, and she would
have him in that firm or some other. She could do it. She felt the
power that minute.

This raised a new question. What was she to do from now on? Until now
she had had the excuse of ignorance; but there was still another month
before Don's fiancee would be back. And this month would count a
whole lot to him. It was the deciding month. Farnsworth had been
watching him closely, and had about made up his mind; but he was still
on the alert for any break. He had seen men go so far and then break.
So had she. It was common enough. She herself had every confidence in
Don, but she was doubtful about how long it was wise to leave even him
alone. Men could not stand being alone as well as women. They had not
the same experience. It took a special kind of nerve to be alone and
remain straight.

Well, supposing he did break, what was that to her, now that she knew
about this other? Here was a perfectly fair and just question. The man
had made his selection and given over his future into the care of the
woman of his choice, and she alone was responsible. There could be no
dispute about this. It was a fair question; and yet, as soon as she
framed it, she recogni