"Shall I prepare it for you now?"

"Never mind. I haven't time to wait, anyway. You see, I must be
downtown at nine. I'm in business, Nora."

"Yes, sir; but you should eat your breakfast, sir."

He shook his head. "I think I'll try going without breakfast this
week. Besides, I didn't send up any provisions."

Nora appeared uneasy. She did not wish to be bold, and yet she did not
wish her late master's son to go downtown hungry.

"An egg and a bit of toast, sir? I'm sure the cook could spare that."

"Out of her own breakfast?"

"I--I beg your pardon, sir," stammered Nora; "but it's all part of the
house, isn't it?"

"No," he answered firmly. "We must play the game fair, Nora."

"And dinner, sir?"

"Dinner? Let's not worry about that as early in the morning as this."

He started to leave, but at the door turned again.

"If you should want me during the day, you'll find me at my office
with Carter, Rand & Seagraves. Better write that down."

"I will, sir."

"Good-day, Nora."

Don took the Subway this morning, in company with several hundred
thousand others for whom this was as much a routine part of their
daily lives as the putting on of a hat. He had seen all these people
coming and going often enough before, but never before had he felt
himself as coming and going with them. Now he was one of them. He did
not resent it. In fact, he felt a certain excitement about it. But it
was new--almost foreign.

It was with some difficulty that he found his way from the station to
his office. This so delayed him that he was twenty minutes late. Miss
Winthrop, who was hard at work when he entered, paused a second to
glance at the watch pinned to her dress.

"I'm only twenty minutes late," he apologized to her.

"A good many things can happen around Wall Street in twenty minutes,"
she answered.

"I guess I'll have to leave the house a little earlier."

"I'd do something to get here on time," she advised. "Out late last
night?"

"Not very. I was in bed a little after one."

"I thought so."

"Why?"

"You look it."

She brought the conversation to an abrupt end by resuming her work.

He wanted to ask her in just what way he looked it. He felt a bit
hollow; but that was because he hadn't breakfasted. His eyes, too,
were still a little heavy; but that was the result, not of getting to
bed late, but of getting up too early.

She, on the other hand, appeared fresher than she had yesterday at
noon. Her ey