might, Archie thought, have subdued him to this unfamiliar
humor with its attendant long periods of sober reflection. The meeting
with Ruth had worked this change, he believed, no longer marveling at
the fate that had linked their lives and their loves together. But the
hints the Governor let fall of an approaching climacteric, a crisis of
significance in his affairs, filled Archie with apprehension.

"Don't be foolish!" exclaimed the Governor, when Archie broached the
matter. "Haven't I told you time and again that we shall stand together
to the end of the trail!"

This was in a town where they paused for a quick overhauling of the car.
At their table in a cafeteria he rioted in figures and expressed
satisfaction with the results.

"If only the stars continue kind!" he said.

Nothing was to be gained by pressing inquiries upon a gentleman who
ordered his affairs by the zodiac. At Buffalo the Governor made earnest
efforts to rent a yacht, without confiding to Archie just what use he
expected to make of it. No yachts being in the market, the Governor set
about hiring a tug, and did in fact lease one for a month from a
dredging company, paying cash and the wages of the crew in advance, and
reserving an option to buy. The _Arthur B. Grover_ was to be sent to
Cleveland and held there for orders. He might want to negotiate the
lakes as far as Duluth, he told the president of the company, who was
surprised and chagrined when the singular Mr. Saulsbury readily accepted
a figure that was intended to be prohibitive. The Governor was proud of
the tug and expatiated upon its good points, which included sleeping
quarters for the men and a nook where the captain could tuck himself
away. He deplored his previous inattention to tugs; he believed more fun
could be got from a tug like the _Arthur B. Grover_ than from the best
steam yacht afloat.

"We must be ready for anything," he remarked to Archie. "The signs point
to a disturbance of great waters, and there's nothing like being
prepared."

At Cleveland Archie's last doubt as to his mentor's connection with the
underworld of which he talked so entertainingly was removed. Reaching
the city at midnight the car was left at a garage downtown, their trunks
expressed to Chicago, and they arrived by a devious course at an
ill-smelling boarding house. Here, the Governor informed him, only the
aristocracy of the preying professions were received.

The arrival of another guest, a tall