," replied Mr. Slocum. Then he
unfolded the newspaper lying beside him, and constructed a barrier
against further colloquy.

An hour afterwards, when Richard threw open the door of his
private workshop, Margaret was standing in the middle of the room
waiting for him. She turned with a little cry of pleasure, and
allowed Richard to take her in his arms, and kept to the spirit and
the letter of the promise she had made to herself. If there was an
unwonted gravity in Margaret's manner, young Shackford was not keen
enough to perceive it. All that morning, wherever he went, he carried
with him a sense of Margaret's face resting for a moment against his
shoulder, and the happiness of it rendered him wholly oblivious to
the constrained and chilly demeanor of her father when they met. The
interview was purposely cut short by Mr. Slocum, who avoided Richard
the rest of the day with a persistency that must have ended in
forcing itself upon his notice, had he not been so engrossed by the
work which had accumulated during his absence.

Mr. Slocum had let the correspondence go to the winds, and a
formidable collection of unanswered letters lay on Shackford's desk.
The forenoon was consumed in reducing the pile and settling the
questions that had risen in the shops, for Mr. Slocum had neglected
everything. Richard was speedily advised of Blake's dismissal from
the yard, but, not knowing what explanation had been offered, was
unable to satisfy Stevens' curiosity on the subject. "I must see
Slocum about that at once," reflected Richard; but the opportunity
did not occur, and he was too much pressed to make a special business
of it.

Mr. Slocum, meanwhile, was in a wretched state of suspense and
apprehension. Justice Beemis's clerk had served some sort of legal
paper--presumably a subpoena--on Richard, who had coolly read it in
the yard under the gaze of all, and given no sign of discomposure
beyond a momentary lifting of the eyebrows. Then he had carelessly
thrust the paper into one of his pockets and continued his directions
to the men. Clearly he had as yet no suspicion of the mine that was
ready to be sprung under his feet.

Shortly after this little incident, which Mr. Slocum had witnessed
from the window of the counting-room, Richard spoke a word or two to
Stevens, and quitted the yard. Mr. Slocum dropped into the carving
department.

"Where is Mr. Shackford, Stevens?"

"He has gone to Mitchell's Alley, sir. Said he'd be