awkward. Under a show of
letter-writing, accordingly, he lingered in the hotel office till he
was certain that Joe Hilliard had joined his boon companions of the
billiard room, when he let himself quietly out of doors and made his
way to the quarry owner's home.

"I was afraid you might come, and then that you mightn't," the woman
whispered, in the obscurity of the hall. "Joe had a headache, and said
at first that he wouldn't go out to-night; but he went."

"Yes; I know. Servants out?"

"Oh, yes."

"And Milicent?" he pursued, scorning hypocrisy.

"I let her go away for the night. The poor child needed a change."

As they left the hall he discovered that she was in evening dress--the
black gown glittering with jet beads and bugles which she had
introduced at the first autumn meeting of the Culture Club. He held
her hand high, and turned her slowly round after the manner of the
dance.

"Did you do that for me?" he asked, his face lighting.

She nodded.

"I wore it the night of your nomination, and I put it on to-night to
bring you luck at the polls. Was it silly of me?"

"Not if somebody else doesn't see."

"Joe'll not see. I shall have gone to my room before he comes. I'll
not keep you long. It's enough that you've proved you cared to come.
It's a crumb of comfort in my wretchedness."

"You know I've been on the jump," he returned, adding dryly, "You don't
look as wretched as your note led me to expect."

"You can't know."

"Not till I'm told."

"The scene there's been, I mean."

"Scene? What scene?"

"With Joe--about you--New York--everything."

"There wasn't need for a word. Nobody's blabbed. I saw to that. I
went to Sprague in New York."

"I told Joe," she confessed. "You didn't come that morning--and I was
frightened. I thought if stories were to get to him, I'd best be the
one to tell them. So I left at once."

"If you had only waited."

"If you had only got word to me."

They fell into explanation of their several movements, from which
Shelby, white-faced, suddenly cut loose, saying:--

"What does he know? For God's sake, what does he know? What did you
tell?"

"Oh, that I met you, had dinner, went to the theatre--"

"Then why--"

"I'm coming to that. While we were away somebody--Mrs. Weatherwax, I
suppose--filled Joe full of malicious town gossip about our--our
friendship--and he was terrible. Oh, you can't know, you can't know!"

"But me--me!" cried Shelb