ge," Mr. Osgood replied with some hesitation; "but I may tell
you, Mr. Hancher, that Mr. O'Connor came to see me with a proposal that
we take the agency of the Salamander and turn over the Guardian's
business to them. I told him--were you going to say anything?"

"No. That's it, then. Go on--what did you tell him?"

"I told him no. I didn't care to consider the matter," said the older
man, simply.

"Mr. Osgood," said the other, "you've given me what I need to make what
I suspected stand on a solid bottom. I can see the motive now for
what's being done. It's the fact that O'Connor wants the Guardian's
business. Now, I want to tell you something--or rather ask you
something. Do you think your refusal to consider his proposition
closed up the whole business completely?"

"Well, no," Mr. Osgood replied; "I suppose not. In fact, when he left,
he rather intimated that I might look for further developments."

"That was temper," Hancher commented judicially. "Not good judgment,
at all. Ordinarily he'd never have said such a thing. But he meant
it, all right--you can believe that. If he can't get the Guardian
business one way, he'll try it another. And the second way he has
chosen is this--after the meeting of the Boston Board next Wednesday
you will be obliged to choose between resigning either the Guardian or
all your other companies."

"You mean that a separation rule will be put through?" Mr. Osgood
inquired quickly.

"Surest thing you know," the journalist declared. "That is, unless
somebody puts a little sand on the slide pretty all-fired soon. I say,
Mr. Osgood,--I'm a non-combatant, but I like to see fair play,--why
don't you write the Guardian people?--or wire them? I think this is
something your friend Wintermuth ought to know."

Mr. Osgood reached toward the button that summoned his stenographer,
and then drew back his hand.

"No," he said slowly. "What's the use? If it's decided, I can't stop
it. And I fancy the best of my fighting days are over. That's for the
younger men to do. I'll talk to Cole about it, and see what he thinks
we'd better do."

The journalist glanced at him somewhat skeptically.

"Well, you needn't fight, yourself--let the Guardian people attend to
that. And if you take my advice, you'll write Wintermuth. Good-by."

Mr. Osgood wrote, and on Monday morning his letter came to the hand of
Mr. Wintermuth, whose eye brightened at the sight of his friend's
signatur