whom he
did not approve. One of them--quite the worst one to his mind--was
now waiting in the study. The butler had crossed himself after having
escorted him in. If ever the devil assumed human shape, he would say
that this was no other than his satanic majesty himself.

"A gentleman to see you, sir, in the study."

"The devil you say," snapped Danbury.

"I did not say it, sir."

"I wanted to take this gentleman in there. However, we will go to the
den."

Danbury led the way through a series of rooms to a smaller room which
opened upon the green lawn. It was furnished in mahogany with plenty
of large, leather-bottomed chairs and a huge sofa. The walls were
decorated with designs of yachts and pictures of dogs. This room
evidently was shut off from the main study by the folding doors which
were partly concealed by a large tapestry. Danbury poured out a stiff
drink of brandy and insisted upon Wilson's swallowing it, which he did
after considerable choking.

"Now," said Danbury, "you lie down while John is getting some clothes
together, and I'll just slip into the next room and see what my queer
friend wants."

Wilson stretched himself out and gave himself up to the warm influx of
life which came with the stimulation from the drink. Pound after pound
seemed to be lifting from his weary legs and cloud after cloud from
his dulled brain. He would soon be able to go back now. He felt a new
need for the sight of her, for the touch of her warm fingers, for the
smile of good fellowship from her dark eyes. In these last few hours
he felt that he had grown wonderfully in his intimacy with her and
this found expression in his need of her. Lying there, he felt a
craving that bit like thirst or hunger. It was something new to him
thus to yearn for another. The sentiment dormant within him had always
found its satisfaction in the impersonal in his vague and distant
dreams. Now it was as though all those fancies of the past had
suddenly been gathered together and embodied in this new-found
comrade.

The voices in the next room which had been subdued now rose to a point
where some phrases were audible. The younger man seemed to be getting
excited, for he kept exclaiming,

"Good. That's bully!"

Their words were lost once more, but Wilson soon heard the sentence,

"I'm with you--with you to the end. But what are _you_ going to get
out of this?"

Then for the first time he heard the voice of the other. There was
some qual