to find oneself thirty-eight
years old, friendless and without funds in a city the size of
Dallas--well, that was more than an adventure, and it afforded a sort
of excitement that he believed he could very well do without. Dallas
was no open-handed frontier town; it was a small New York, where life
is settled, where men are suspicious, and where fortunes are slow in
the making. He wondered now if hard, fast living had robbed him of the
punch to make a new beginning; he wondered, too, if the vague plans at
the back of his mind had anything to them or if they were entirely
impracticable. Here was opportunity, definite, concrete, and spelled
with a capital O, here was a deliberate invitation to avail himself of
a short cut out of his embarrassment. A mere scratch of a pen and he
would have money enough to move on to some other Dallas, and there gain
the start he needed--enough, at least, so that he could tip his waiter
and pay cash for his Coronas. Business men are too gullible, any how;
it would be a good lesson to Roswell and Haviland. Why not--?

Calvin Gray started, he recoiled slightly, the abstracted stare was
wiped from his face, for an officer in uniform had brushed past him and
entered the bank. That damned khaki again! Those service stripes! They
were forever obtruding themselves, it seemed. Was there no place where
one could escape the hateful sight of them? His chain of thought had
been snapped, and he realized that there could be no short cut for him.
He had climbed through the ropes, taken his corner, and the gong had
rung; it was now a fight to a finish, with no quarter given. He squared
his shoulders and set out for the hotel, where he felt sure he would
find a reporter awaiting him.

CHAPTER II

The representative of the Dallas _Post_ had anticipated some difficulty
in interviewing the elusive Calvin Gray--whoever he might be--but luck
appeared to be with him, for shortly after his arrival at the hotel the
object of his quest appeared. Mr. Gray was annoyed at being discovered;
he was, in fact, loath to acknowledge his identity. Having just
returned from an important conference with some of the leading
financiers of the city, his mind was burdened with affairs of weight,
and then, too, the mayor was expecting him--luncheon probably--hence he
was in no mood to be interviewed. Usually Mr. Gray's secretary saw
interviewers. However, now that his identity was known, he had not the
heart to be discourteou