e damned
if gold bands went with the colour of his skin. Rayner hasn't been
civil to anyone since;" and Sir Bridgman laughed loudly.

"I think my sympathies are with Rayner," smiled Sir Lyster, as Sir
Bridgman moved towards the door. "Frankly, I don't like John Dene."

"Don't like him! Why?"

"Well," Sir Lyster hesitated for the fraction of a second, "he will
persist in treating us as equals."

"Now I call that damned nice of him;" and Sir Bridgman left the First
Lord gazing at the panels of the door that closed behind him.

Whilst Sir Lyster and Sir Bridgman were discussing his unconventional
methods with admirals, John Dene had returned to his office and was
working at high pressure. Sometimes Dorothy wondered if his energy
were like the widow's cruse. Finishing touches had to be put to
everything. Instructions had to be sent to Blake as to where to pick
up Grant and Commander Ryles, and a hundred and one things
"rounded-off," as John Dene phrased it.

During his absence, Dorothy was to be at the office each day until
lunch time to attend to any matters that might crop up. If John Dene
required anything, it was arranged that he would wireless for it, and
Dorothy was to see that his instructions were carried out to the letter.

The quality about John Dene that had most impressed Dorothy was his
power of concentration. He would become so absorbed in his work that
nothing else seemed to have the power of penetrating to his brain. A
question addressed to him that was unrelated to what was in hand he
would ignore, appearing not to have heard it; on the other hand a
remark germane to the trend of his thoughts would produce an instant
reply. It appeared as if his mind were so attuned as to throw off all
extraneous matter.

His quickness of decision and amazing vitality Dorothy found
bewildering, accustomed as she was to the more methodical procedure of
a Government department. "When you know all you're likely to know
about a thing, then make up your mind," he had said on one occasion.
He had "no use for" a man who would wait until to-morrow afternoon to
see how things looked then. "I sleep on a bed, not on an idea," was
another of his remarks that she remembered, and once when commenting
upon the cautiousness of Sir Lyster Grayne he had said, "The man who
takes risks makes dollars."

Gradually Dorothy had fallen under the spell of John Dene's masterful
personality. She found herself becoming critical