le at the sudden touch of a chill.

A bottle of brandy, surrounded by glasses, stood on the table where the
two least-considered of his lieutenants, the dummy Directors, had left
it. He poured a small quantity and sipped it. During the whole eventful
day it had not occurred to him before to drink; the taste of the neat
liquor seemed on the instant to calm and refresh his brain. With more
deliberation, he took a cigar from the broad, floridly-decorated
open box beside the bottle, lit it, and blew a long draught of smoke
thoughtfully through his nostrils. Then he put his hands in his pockets,
looked again into the fire, and sighed a wondering smile. God in heaven!
it was actually true!

This man of forty found himself fluttering with a novel exhilaration,
which yet was not novel. Upon reflection, he perceived that he felt as
if he were a boy again--a boy excited by pleasure. It surprised as much
as it delighted him to experience this frank and direct joy of a
child. He caught the inkling of an idea that perhaps his years were an
illusion. He had latterly been thinking of himself as middle-aged; the
grey hairs thickening at his temples had vaguely depressed him. Now all
at once he saw that he was not old at all. The buoyancy of veritable
youth bubbled in his veins. He began walking up and down the room,
regarding new halcyon visions with a sparkling eye. He was no longer
conscious of the hated foe beneath his feet; they trod instead elastic
upon the clouds.

The sound of someone moving about in the hallway outside, and of trying
a door near by, suddenly caught his attention. He stood still and
listened with alertness for a surprised instant, then shrugged his
shoulders and began moving again. It must be nearly seven o'clock;
although the allotment work had kept the clerks later than usual that
day, everybody connected with the offices had certainly gone home. He
realized that his nerves had played him a trick in giving that alarmed
momentary start--and smiled almost tenderly as he remembered how notable
and even glorious a warrant those nerves had for their unsettled state.
They would be all right after a night's real rest. He would know how to
sleep NOW, thank God!

But yes--there was somebody outside--and this time knocking with
assurance at the right door, the entrance to the outer office. After a
second's consideration, he went into this unlighted outer office, and
called out through the opaque glass an enquiry. Th