his employer's manner.

"And now," he asked timidly, "you think I'm worth fifteen?"

Stafford broke out into boisterous laughter.

"No, I don't, Jimmie! Oh, no, I don't! I raise you the other fifty
because--well--there's a reason!" Coaxingly, he went on: "Jimmie, as a
favor--as a favor--promise me you'll never get to be worth
twenty-five! The manager of your department gets only two hundred and
fifty and I couldn't pay you as much as I pay him, could I?"

"I hoped to be manager of the department some day," spoke up the
clerk, regaining some of his self-assurance.

"What's that?"

"I say I hoped to be manager of the department some day--"

Stafford shook his head. With mock solemnity he said:

"Jimmie, for all our sakes, let's hope that your hope doesn't come
out."

The young man was about to make a retort in kind, but at that instant
his employer's attention was diverted to something more important.
Virginia and Fanny had re-entered the boudoir from the bed chamber,
and were standing conversing at the far end of the room.

On seeing his wife, the railroad man seemed to forget aught else. His
eyes appeared to be fascinated by her; he closely watched her every
movement. Never, it seemed to him, had Virginia looked so attractive.
Was it her pale face, with the large appealing black eyes and small
curved lips that thrilled him, or was it her negligee gown, the
clinging folds of which imparted suggestive voluptuous lines to her
slender figure, which set his sensualism aflame?

Virginia was painfully conscious of his steady stare and she trembled.
Well she knew what it meant. If only she could keep her sister with
her! But it was late; the Gillies would soon retire. Embarrassed by
his persistent gaze, she went to the opposite side of the room on
pretext of getting a photograph from a desk. Before she could reach
it, her husband had intercepted her. Hoarsely he exclaimed:

"My, but you do look sweet to-night!"

He attempted to lay a hand on her arm and seemed about to bend over
and kiss her, but she quickly evaded him. In a vexed tone, she
exclaimed in a low voice:

"Please, Robert, behave yourself. Don't you see that there are others
present?"

Thus unceremoniously repulsed, Stafford appealed to his sister-in-law,
who had retreated to a corner on the other side of the room. In a
maudlin, jocular way he asked:

"You wouldn't mind, would you? You wouldn't mind if a husband kissed
his own wife."

"No, of c