l suspicion and
distrust. Mr. Fopling, by command of Bess and so far as he might control
himself, was paying no attention to Ajax. Ajax, for his part, was
surveying Mr. Fopling with a sour stare, as though he found much in that
young gentleman's appearance to criticise. At intervals, he made
growling comments upon Mr. Fopling.

"Unless you and Ajax can agree," observed Bess soberly, "one or the
other might better go into the library."

Mr. Fopling made no demur; he was glad to go. When he was out of the
room, Ajax came and rubbed about his mistress as though claiming credit
for ousting Mr. Fopling, of whom he was certain Bess thought as badly as
did he.

Bess was sitting where she commanded a prospect of the street. Who
should come swinging up the way but Richard? It was the habit of that
rising journalist to make one or two daily excursions past the Harley
house. Richard was none of your moon-mad ones who would strum a midnight
lute beneath a fair maid's window. Still, he liked to walk by the Harley
house; the temporary nearness of Dorothy did his soul good. Besides, he
now and then caught a glimpse of her through the window.

Richard was on the Marklin side of the street, and as he was for going
by--back to Bess and eyes on the Harley house--Bess rapped on the pane
and beckoned him.

Richard lifted his hat and obeyed directly. He had already met Bess
several times when Dorothy and he, with a purpose to spin out their
eleven-o'clock interview, had seized on Bess as a method. They could not
remain staring at one another in Senator Hanway's study; even that
preoccupied publicist would have been struck by the strangeness of such
a maneuver. The best, because the only, thing was to make a pretext of
Bess and transfer their love-glances to her premises. This was the
earliest time, however, that Richard had been asked to visit Bess alone,
and he confessed to a feeling of curiosity, as he climbed the steps,
concerning the purpose of the summons.

Bess some time before had had that threatened talk with Richard
concerning marriage and husbands.

"Wedlock," declared Bess, on that edifying occasion, while Richard
grinned and Dorothy rebuked him with a frown, "wedlock results always in
the owner and the owned--a slave and a despot. That is by the wife's
decree. The husband is slave and she despot, or he the despot and she
the slave, as best matches with her strength or weakness. Some women
desire slavery; they would be un