iven his verdict directly to the press; and thus it
was that the Vice-president, opening one morning the _Journal of
Commerce_ to the insurance page, found himself confronted by the
headline:--

"Guardian Quits the Conference."

Mr. O'Connor sank back into his chair with a sigh of relief, and
carefully read and reread the article from beginning to end. It was
very brief, stating simply that Mr. Wintermuth had sent to the
Conference the resignation of the Guardian, for "reasons which could be
better imagined than discussed," and proposed henceforward to conduct
the operations of the company without reference to any "unequally
restrictive restrictions."

It was with positive buoyancy that the Vice-president delivered the
paper into the hands of Jimmy, for its processional through the office.

CHAPTER XII

It was late afternoon in the drawing room of Miss Wardrop's house in
Washington Square. The short November dusk was fading into night, and
outside in the old Square, the street lights gleamed in the frosty air.
In the fireplace, before which two people were sitting, a wood fire
crackled, throwing fantastic shadows about the old room.

Dinner at Miss Wardrop's was at half after seven. Just why Mr. Smith
should have considered it necessary to drop in, on his way home from
the Guardian, could no doubt have been better explained had his face
not been shaded by his hand. The face in the room best worth seeing,
however, was not so shaded, and Smith manifested no displeasure at the
fact. He himself sat on the chimney seat, and he appeared to be less
talkative than usual. His reticence may or may not have been
understood by Miss Maitland, but if it were, she chose to pretend
otherwise.

"Why are you so very silent?" she finally asked. "Do you know, it
isn't at all flattering. One might think your thoughts were a thousand
miles away from here."

"Well, perhaps some of them are," Smith confessed. "And I must really
ask your pardon for thinking far away, when I am with you. And yet,"
he smiled slightly, "perhaps you also came in as an important factor in
the background of those far-off thoughts."

"If you are trying to stimulate my curiosity, you have been quite
successful," said Miss Maitland, and she waited expectantly.

"Do you remember Mr. O'Connor, the Vice-President of the Guardian?"
Smith asked abruptly.

"Yes. He was the one, wasn't he, who came into Mr. Wintermuth's office
for a minute?"