lieve in Pendleton's eyes, and still more
difficult not to believe in his smile, which made her smile back. And
yet, if she had learned anything, those were the very things in a man
she had learned to question.

Not that she was naturally cynical, but her downtown experience had
left her very skeptical about her ability to judge men from such
details. Blake, for instance, could smile as innocently as a child and
meet any woman's eyes without flinching. But there was this difference
between Blake and Pendleton: the latter was new to New York. He was
fresh to the city, as four years ago she had been. In those days she
had dreamed of such a man as Pendleton--a dream that she was sure she
had long since forgotten. Four years was a long while. It gave her
rather a motherly feeling as she thought of Pendleton from that
distance. And she rather enjoyed that. It left her freer to continue
thinking of him. This she did until she was almost carried beyond her
street.

After that she almost forgot to stop at the delicatessen store for her
rolls and butter and cold meat. She hurried with them to her
room--hurried because she was anxious to reach the place where she was
more at liberty than anywhere else on earth. She tossed aside her hat
and coat and sat by the radiator to warm her hands.

She wondered if Pendleton would go the same way Blake had gone. It was
so very easy to go the one way or the other. Farnsworth himself never
helped. His theory was to allow new men to work out their own
salvation, and to fire them if they did not. He had done that with
young Brown, who came in last year; and it had seemed to her then a
pity--though she had never liked Brown. This was undoubtedly what he
would do with Pendleton.

But supposing--well, why shouldn't she take an interest in Pendleton
to the extent of preventing such a finish if she could? There need be
nothing personal in such an interest; she could work it out as an
experiment.

Miss Winthrop, now thoroughly warm, began to prepare her supper. She
spread a white cloth upon her table, which was just large enough to
seat one. She placed upon this one plate, one cup and saucer, one
knife and fork and spoon. It was a very simple matter to prepare
supper for one. She sliced her small portion of cold meat and placed
this on the table. She removed her rolls from a paper bag and placed
them beside the cold meat. By this time the hot water was ready, and
she took a pinch of tea, put it