construction of further subway connections.
Under these circumstances, we do not urge you to accept our offer--we
merely invite your consideration. Now, gentlemen"--Gorham placed a
peculiar emphasis on the word--"I believe our business is completed. The
time limit on our offer will expire at noon to-morrow."

Covington was an interested spectator throughout the conference, and
Gorham's supreme command of the situation won from him his silent but
profound admiration. He rejoiced that this force was directed against
others rather than himself, and he realized more than ever the
importance of taking no chances of coming into conflict with this man
who swept everything before him. He had enjoyed watching the faces of
Brady and Harris as the game progressed, but his enjoyment encouraged
him to remain too long after the departure of the others. Harris was
cowed and frightened and seemed almost ready to break into tears, but
Brady assumed an attitude which fitted him singularly well. It was not
dismay, it was not chagrin--he was angry to the point of bursting. To
Brady the one sin more flagrant than all others in the category of crime
was failure, and in order to relieve his own conscience from the
pollution of having failed he saw fit to attribute the entire
responsibility to Covington.

"You damned skunk!" he cried, "you've sold us out after promisin' not
to, that's what you've done! But I'll get back at you if it costs me ten
years in Sing Sing!"

Covington for a second time went directly from Brady's office to his
own, but the former complacency was replaced by a vague apprehension. A
threat from Brady was worthy of consideration. Among the personal mail
which he found upon his desk was a plain envelope, which, for some
unknown reason, attracted his attention enough to cause him to open it
before the one which lay on top. The signature interested him even more,
particularly at the present moment, with his thoughts filled with what
had recently passed. It is a precaution of the experienced mariner to
inspect his lifeboats with especial care as he passes by a dangerous
reef. The letter read:

"_The divorce papers prove to be shockingly irregular, and there are
developments in the early life. Please call at your convenience._"

Covington crushed the paper in his hand and turned toward his desk with
a changed expression. He smiled as he looked forward into space--the
first smile which had lighted up his face for several d