ng, rereading Nort's letter, she said aloud:

"What does he mean by saying Fergus is right? What has Fergus to do with
it? Where _is_ Fergus?"

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXV

THE FLYING-MACHINE

If it had not been for a surprising and amusing event which somewhat
relieved the depression in the office of the _Star_ of Hempfield, the
following weeks would certainly have been among the most dismal of my
life.

All the elasticity and interest and illusion seemed to have departed
from us when Nort disappeared. Every one, except the old Captain, who
was like a raging lion, was constrained and mysterious. It would have
been amusing if it had not been so serious. Each of us was nursing a
mystery, each was speculating, suspicious.

The only one of us who seemed to get any satisfaction out of the
situation was Ed Smith. I think he was unaffectedly glad that Nort was
gone. It left the field clear for him, and on the Saturday night after
Nort left, Ed put on his hat just as Anthy was leaving the office and
quite casually walked home with her. He ran on exactly as he had always
done--chat about the business, and town gossip, which always gravitated
toward the personal and intimate, and, finally, if there was half an
opportunity, descended to the little soft jokes and purrings of
sentimentality. He followed Anthy up the steps of her home, and stood,
hat in hand, still talking, and half expecting to be invited in to
supper. He did observe that she was silent--but then she was never very
talkative. He saw nothing in her face, nothing in her eye, that he had
not seen before.

But to Anthy, Ed Smith appeared in a wholly new light. Through all the
experiences and turmoil in the office of the _Star_ Ed had not changed
in the least, and never would change. He was the sort of person, and the
world is full of them, who is made all of a piece and once for all, who
is not changed by contact with life, and who, if he possesses any marks
of personality at all, takes on in time a somewhat comical aspect. One
comes to grin when he sees him wandering among immortal events with such
perfect aplomb, such unchangeable satisfaction. As Anthy looked now at
Ed Smith, it seemed to her that she had travelled an immeasurable
distance since she had left college, since she took hold of the _Star_,
since she first knew Ed Smith and had even been mildly interested in
having him call upon her. She saw everything about her life, the career
of the