[Illustration: Lord James dropped without a groan. "You coward!--youmurderer!" she gasped. Chapter XXX]

OUT OF THE PRIMITIVE

BY ROBERT AMES BENNET

Author of "Into the Primitive, " etc. 

WITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLORSBY ALLEN T. TRUE

1911

TO MY FRIENDJAMES COLLIER

CHAPTER I

THE CASTAWAYS

The second night north of the Zambezi, as well as the first, thelittle tramp rescue steamer had run out many miles into the offing andlaid-to during the hours of darkness. The vicinity of the coral reefsthat fringe the southeast coast of Africa is decidedly undesirable onmoonless nights. 

When the Right Honorable the Earl of Avondale came out of his close, hot stateroom into the refreshing coolness that preceded the dawn, theposition of the Southern Cross, scintillating in the blue-black sky toport, told him that the steamer was headed in for the coast. The blacksurface of the quiet sea crinkled with lines of phosphorescent lightunder the ruffling of the faint breeze, which crept offshore heavywith the stench of rotting vegetation. It was evident that the shipwas already close in again to the Mozambique swamps. 

Lord James sniffed the rank odor, and hastened to make his way forwardto the bridge. As he neared the foot of the ladder, his resilient stepand the snowy whiteness of his linen suit attracted the attention ofthe watcher above on the bridge. 

"Good-morning, m' lord, " the officer called down in a bluff butrespectful tone. "You're on deck early. "

"Hullo, Meggs! That you?" replied his lordship, mounting the stepswith youthful agility. "It seems you're still earlier. "

"Knowing your lordship's anxiety, I decided to run in, so that wecould renew the search with the first glimmer of daylight, " explainedthe skipper. "We're now barely under headway. According to the smell, we're as near those reefs as I care to venture in the dark. "

"Right-o! We'll lose no time, " approved the young earl. "D'you stillthink to-day is apt to tell the tale, one way or the other?"

"Aye, your lordship. I may be mistaken; but, as I told you, reckoningtogether all the probabilities, we should to-day cover the spot wherethe _Impala_ must have been driven on the coral--that is, unless shefoundered in deep water. "

"But, man, you said that was not probable. "

"A new boat should be able to stand the racking of half a dozencyclones, m' lord, without straining a bottom plate. No; it's far moreprobable she shook off her screw, or something went wrong with thesteering gear or in the engine room. I've recharted her probablecourse and that of the cyclone. It was as well for us to begin oursearch at the Zambezi, as I told your lordship. But if to-day we failto find where she piled her bones on the coral, it's odds we'll notto-morrow. On beyond, at Port Mozambique, we got only the north rim ofthe storm. I put in there for shelter when the barometer dropped. "

"That was on your run south. Glad I had the luck to chance on a manwho knows the coast as you do, " remarked Lord James. "Look at thosesteamers Mr. Leslie chartered by cable--a good week the start of us, and still beating the coverts down there along Sofala! Wasting time!If only I'd not gone off on that shunt to India--And they six weeks inthese damnable swamps--if they won ashore at all! You still believethey had a chance of that?"

"Aye. As I explained to your lordship, if the _Impala_ hadn't lost allher boats before she struck, there's a fair probability that the waterinside the reefs--"

"Yes, yes, to be sure! If there was the slightest chance for any oneaboard--Lady Bayrose, Miss Leslie and their maids, the only womenpassengers, and a British ship! Everything must have been done to savethem. While Tom--he'd be sure to make the shore, if that was withinthe bounds of possibility. Yet even if they were cast up alive--sixweeks on the vilest stretch of coast between Zanzibar and the Zambezi!They may be dying of the fever now--this very hour! Deuce take it, man! d'you wonder I'm impatient?"

"Aye, m'lord! But here's the dawn, and McPhee is keeping up a fullhead of steam. We'll soon be doing seven knots. "

As he spoke, the skipper turned to step into the pilot house. LordJames faced about to the eastern sky, where the gray dawn wasbeginning to lessen the star-gemmed blackness above the wateryhorizon. Swiftly the faint glow brightened and became tinged withpink. The day was approaching with the suddenness of the tropicalsunrise. In quick succession, the pink shaded to rose, the rose tocrimson and scarlet splendor; and then the sun came leaping above thehorizon, to flood sea and sky with its dazzling effulgence. 

Captain Meggs had entered the pilot house in the blackness of night. He came out in the full glare of day. Lord James had turned his backto the sun. He was staring at the bank of white mist that, less thantwo miles to westward, shrouded the swampy coast. Meggs had broughtout two pairs of binoculars, one of which he handed to his charterer. 

"Your lordship sees, " he remarked. "We're none too far out from thereefs. "

"Beastly mist!" complained Lord James, his handsome high-bred facecreased with impatience and anxiety. "D'you fancy we're anywhere nearthe islet from which we put off last evening?"

"I've tried to hold our position, m'lord. But these Mozambique Channelcurrents are so strong, and shift so with the tides, we may have beeneither set back or ahead. "

Already the bank of morning mist was beginning to break up and meltaway under the fervent rays of the sun. The young earl raised hisglasses and gazed southwards along the face of the dissolving curtain. Through and between the ghostly wreaths and wisps of vapor he couldsee the winged habitants of the swamps--flamingoes, cranes, pelicans, ibises, storks, geese, all the countless tropical waterfowl--swimmingand wading about the reedy lagoons or circling up to fly to otherfeeding grounds. Opposite the steamer the glasses showed withstartling distinctness a number of hideous crocodiles crawling out ona slimy mudbank to bask in the sunshine. But nowhere could thesearcher discern a trace of man or of man's habitation. 

"Gad! not a sign! Rotten luck!" he muttered. 

He turned and swept the four-mile curve of coast around to the north-northeast. Suddenly he stiffened and held the glasses fixed. 

"Look!" he cried. "Off there to the northwards--cliffs!"

"Cliffs? Aye, a headland, " confirmed the skipper. 

"Put about for it immediately, " directed Lord James. "If they werecast up here, they'd not have lingered in these vile bogs--would havemade for the high ground. "

Meggs nodded, and called the order to the steersman. The ship's bowsswung around, and the little steamer was soon scuttling upcoasttowards the headland, along the outer line of reefs, at a speed ofseven knots. 

From the first, Lord James held his glasses fixed on the barren guano-whitened ledges of the headland. But though he could discern withquickly increasing distinctness the seabirds that soared about thecliff crest and nested in its crevices, he perceived no sign of anysignal such as castaways might be expected to place on so prominent aheight. 

When, after a full half-hour's run, the steamer skirted along the edgeof the reefs, close in under the seaward face of the headland, thesearcher at last lowered his binoculars, bitterly disappointed. 

"Not a trace--not a trace!" he complained. "If they've been here, they've either gone inland or--we're too late! Six weeks--starvation--fever!"

Meggs shook his head reassuringly. "The top of the headland may beinaccessible, m'lord. We may find that they--Heh! what's that?"

He leaned forward to peer through his glasses at a second headlandthat was swinging into view around the corner of the cliffs. 

"_Smoke!_" he cried. "_Smoke!--and a flag!_"

"Gad!" murmured Lord James, hastily bringing his own glasses to bear. 

The second headland was about five miles away. The thin column ofsmoke that was ascending from its crest near the outer end, couldplainly be seen with the naked eye. But a sunlit cloud beyondnecessitated the full magnifying power of the binoculars to disclosethe white signal flag that flapped lazily on a slender staff near thebeacon. 

Lord James drew in a deep breath, and his gray eyes glowed with hope. Here was evidence that not all aboard the wrecked or foundered_Impala_ had been lost. 

"Meggs, " he cried, "you're the one and only skipper! It must be theirsignal--it _is_ their signal! But which of them?--who went under andwho escaped!--Miss Genevieve? Tom?"

"This Mr. Blake?" ventured Meggs. "I take it, he's some relation toyour lordship. "

"No; chum--American engineer. Gad! if he went down! But it'simpossible--Most resourceful man I ever knew. He must have won ashorewith the others. And the women--a British captain! It must be we'llfind crew and all safe!"

"Not on this coast, " replied Meggs. "They'd have lost most their boatsbefore the _Impala_ struck. "

"In that event--Deuce take it! will we never get there? If I had mymotor-boat now! By Jove, this stretch here between the headlands isnot swamp. It's dry plain--and black. Been burnt over. There's aplace--tree-trunks still smouldering. The grass has been fired withinthe last day or two. "

"No one in sight as yet, on the cliffs, " said the skipper, who hadcontinued to scrutinize the northern headland. "No watch above; nosign of any one or any camp below. Must all be around on the far side. We'll clear the point, and run in through the first break in thereefs. "

"If they fail to show up on this side, " qualified Lord James, slowlysweeping the cliffs from foot to crest and inland along the dry fire-blackened plain. 

About half a mile from the beach the wall of rock was cleft by awooded ravine that ran up through the cliff ridge. At its foot was agrove of trees whose bright green foliage seemed to indicate anabundance of water. Above, a gigantic baobab tree towered out of thecleft and upreared its enormous cabbage-shaped crown high over thecrest of the ridge. 

In the midst of the general barrenness and aridity, the verdant oasisof the ravine appeared to be the most certain place to look for thecastaways. Lord James fancied that he could discern a slight haze ofsmoke rising out of the cleft beneath the baobab. But if there was acamp in the cleft bottom, it was hidden from view by the trees andcliff walls. The only certain sign of man within sight was the signalflag and the smoke of the smouldering fire in the midst of the seabirdcolony near the outer end of the cliff crest. 

The steamer was gliding along, with slackened headway, close in underthe headland, when a breath of air opened out the folds of thetattered white flag. Meggs had been watching it through hisbinoculars. He lowered the glasses, and remarked knowingly: "Thoughtso. That's no ship's canvas. It's linen or duck--A woman's skirtripped open. "

"What! Then at least one of the women got ashore!"

"Aye. But d' you make out how that cloth is lashed to the bamboo? Itwas knotted on by a landsman. We'll find neither officers nor crewamong the survivors. "

The steamer was now opposite the face of the headland, Meggs spranginto the pilot house. Within the next few moments the speed of thevessel fell off to less than a knot. Slowly the old steamer swung herbows around towards the shore and began feeling her way into a narrowgap through the half hidden barrier of the reefs, which here weremerged into a single line. 

For the time being all the attention of Meggs was concentrated uponthe safe conning of his ship through the dangerous passage. It wasotherwise with Lord James. The last two shiplengths before the turnhad opened up the view around the north corner of the headland. Fromthe flank of the cliff ridge a wedge of brush-dotted plain extended aquarter-mile or so to a dense high jungle bordering a small river. Thefirst glance had shown his lordship that it was of no use to lookbeyond the river. The coast trended away northwards in another vaststretch of fetid swamps and slimy lagoons. 

With almost feverish eagerness, he turned to scan the little plain. First to catch his eye were a dozen or more graceful animals dashingaway from the shore in panic-stricken flight. He turned his glassesupon them and saw that they were antelope. This was not encouraging. That the timid animals had been feeding in the vicinity of a humanhabitation a full hour after dawn was not probable. Nor did a carefulsearch of the plain through the glasses disclose any sign of a hut ortent or the smoke of a camp-fire. 

An order from Meggs preparatory for letting go anchor roused LordJames from his momentary pause. He faced the skipper, who was leaningfrom a window of the pilot house. 

"Sound your siren, man!" he exclaimed. "There's no camp in sight. Yetthey must be within hearing. "

Meggs nodded, called an order for the lowering of a boat, and drewback into the pilot house. As he reappeared in the doorway, to stepout on the bridge, the tramp's siren shrilled a blast loud enough tocarry for miles. It echoed and re-echoed along the cliff walls, andwas flung back upon the little steamer in a deafening blare. 

Lord James turned to sweep the border of the river jungle with hisglasses. A herd of fat ungainly hippopotami, on the bar out beyond themangroves of the river mouth, fixed his gaze. But a moment afterwardsone of the sailors in the bows pointed upwards and yelled excitedly:"Hi! hi!--there aloft! Lookut th' bloomin' mad 'un!"

At last--one of the castaways! High above, on the very brink of theprecipice, near the outer end of the headland, a man stood waving downto the ship in wild excitement. 

Lord James hastily focussed his glasses upon the beckoner. Seenthrough their powerful lenses, he seemed to leap to within a few feet--so near that Lord James could see the heaving of his broad chestunder the tattered flannel shirt as he flung his arms about his headand bellowed down at the steamer in half frantic joy. 

The looker wasted no second glance on the rude trousers of spottedhyena skin or the big lean body of the castaway. Neither the wildwhirling of the sun-blackened arms nor the bristly stubble of a sixweeks' growth of beard could prevent him from instantly recognizingthe face of his friend. 

"Tom!--Tom!" he hailed. "Hullo! hullo, old man! Come down!"

Even as he cried out he realized that he could neither be heard norrecognized at so great a distance. Though the binoculars enabled himto see his friend with such wonderful distinctness, the deep shoutsthat the other was uttering were hardly audible above the clatteraboard the steamer. But now the ship's siren began to answer the hailsof the castaway with a succession of joyous shrieks. 

In the same moment Lord James perceived that a second castaway--awoman--was running forward along the crest of the headland. Fearlesslyshe came darting down the broken ledges, to stand on the cliff edgeclose beside the man. Lord James stared wonderingly at her daintygirlish form, clad in a barbaric costume of leopard skin. Her barearms, slender from privation and burned brown by the sun, wereupraised in graceful greeting above the sensitive high-bred face andits crown of soft brown hair. 

"Genevieve!" murmured the earl. "What luck! Gad! what luck! Even ifHawkins went to the bottom and took the jewels with him! She's safe--both of 'em safe! Hey! what's that? Signalling towards the far side--There he bolts, and she after him! Couldn't run that way if they hadthe fever!"

He whirled about and sprang to descend the ladder, but paused todirect the skipper. "I'll command the boat. Men are not to land. D'youtake me? There's at least one of the ladies here. Have a sling ready, and tell the stewardess her services will soon be required. "

Before Meggs could reply, he was down the ladder and darting across tothe side. But there he turned and ran aft to the cabin. Thestewardess, a buxom Englishwoman, stood at the head of thecompanionway, gazing towards the cliff top. At his order, she followedhim below. After several minutes he reappeared with a lady's dust-coatfolded over his arm. The boat was already lowered and manned. He swunghimself outboard and went down the tackle hand under hand. 

As he dropped lightly into the sternsheets beside the cockswain hesigned the men to thrust off. The boat shot out across the stillwater, and headed shorewards on a slant for the south corner of theheadland. Urged on by their impatient passenger, the rowers bent totheir oars with a will, despite the broiling heat of the sun in thedead calm air under the lee of the cliffs. 

They were well in to the shore before the cockswain discovered asubmerged ledge that ran out athwart their course almost to the coralreefs. This compelled them to put about and follow the ledge untilthey could round its outer end. As the boat at last cleared theobstruction and headed in again for the shore, the south flank of thecliffs came into view. 

A short distance inland, the two castaways that had appeared on thecliff top were running towards the beach, the girl clinging to thehand of the man. 

"Give way! give way, men!" urged Lord James. "At least let's not keepthem waiting!"

CHAPTER II

TWO--AND ONE

Spurred to their utmost, the oarsmen drove the boat shorewards soswiftly that it was less than thirty yards out when the castaways cameflying out the rocky slope of the cliff foot and scrambled down to thewater's edge. 

Lord James sprang up and waved his yachting cap. 

"Miss Leslie!--Tom, old man!" he joyously hailed them. "You're safe!--both safe!"

"Good Lord! That you, Jimmy?" shouted back the man, "Well, of all the--Hey! down brakes! 'Ware rocks!"

At the warning, the boat's crew backed water and came on inshore withmore caution. Without stopping to ask her permission, the man caughtup the panting, excited girl in his arms, and waded out to meet theboat. 

"That's near enough. Swing round, " he ordered. 

The boat came about and backed in a length, to where he stood thigh-deep in the still water, with the blushing girl upraised on his broadshoulder. Lord James again lifted his cap. His bow could not have beenmore formal and respectful had the meeting occurred in the queen'sdrawing-room. 

"Miss Leslie! This is a very great pleasure, 'pon my word! But you'veoverheated yourself. You should not have run, " he remonstrated. AsBlake lifted her in over the stern, he deftly unfolded the silkdustcoat and held it open for her. " Permit me--No need of such haste, y'know. I assure you, we're not so strict as to our hour of sailing. "

"I--I--Of course we--" stammered the girl. 

"To be sure! Ah, no hat! I should have foreseen. Very stupid of me notto've brought a hat or parasol. But I dare say you'll make out till weget back aboard ship. "

His conventional manner and quiet conversational tone alike tended toease her of her embarrassment. By the time she had slipped on the coatand seated herself, the crimson blushes that had flooded her tannedcheeks were fast subsiding, and she was able to respond with a fairdegree of composure: "That was extremely thoughtful of you, LordAvondale!"

"Not at all, not at all, " he disclaimed. "Cocks'n, if you'll be sokind as to go forward, I'll take the tiller. Tom, old man! don't standthere all day. You'll get your feet damp. Climb in!"

"No; pull out, " replied Blake, his eyes hardening with sudden resolve. "I forgot something. Got to go back to the cleft. You take Jen--MissLeslie aboard at once. "

"Oh, no, Tom!" hastily protested the girl. "We'll wait here for you. "

"Here?" he demanded. "And without your hat?"

Miss Leslie put her scarred and begrimed little hands to herdishevelled hair. 

Blake went on in an authoritative tone: "It won't do for you to get asunstroke now--after all these weeks. Jimmy, take her straight aboard. I've got to go back, I tell you. We didn't stop for anything. There'sa jarful of mud and so forth that we sure can't leave to the hyenas. "He met the girl's appealing glance with firm decision. "You must getaboard, out of this sun, fast as they can take you. "

"Yes, of course, if you think it best--Tom, " she acquiesced. 

Her ready docility would of itself have been sufficient to surpriseLord James. But, in addition, there was a soft note in her voice and aglow in her beautiful hazel eyes that caused him to glance quicklyfrom her to his friend. Blake was already turning about to wadeashore. From what little could be seen of his bristly face, itsexpression was stern, almost morose. The powerful jaw was clenched. 

Though puzzled and a trifle discomposed, Lord James quietly seatedhimself beside the girl, and signing the men to give way, took thetiller. 

"My dear Miss Leslie, " he murmured, "if you but knew my delight overhaving found both you and Tom safe and well!"

"Then you really know him?" she replied. "Yes, to be sure; he calledyou by your first name. Wait! I remember now. One day soon after wewere cast ashore--the second day, when we were thinking how to getfire, to drive away the leopard--"

"Leopard? I say! So that's where you got this odd gown?"

"No--the mother leopard and the cubs. I was going to say, Tom remarkedthat James Scarbridge had been his chum. "

"Had been? He meant _is!_"

"Then it's true! Oh, isn't it strange and--and splendid? You know, Idid not connect the remark with you, Lord James. He had told me to tryto think how we were to find food for the next meal. His reference toyou was made quite casually in his talk with Winthrope. "

"Winthrope!" exclaimed Lord James. "Then he, too, reached shore? Yetif so--"

The girl put her hand before her eyes, as if to shut out some terriblesight. Her voice sank to a whisper: "He--he was killed in the secondcyclone--a few days ago. "

"Ah!" muttered the young earl. After a pause, he asked in a tone ofprofound sympathy, "And the others--Lady Bayrose?"

"Don't ask! don't ask!" she cried, shuddering and trembling. 

But quickly she regained her composure and looked up at him with acalm unwavering gaze that told him how much she had undergone and thestrength of character she had gained during the fearful weeks that shehad been marooned on this savage and desolate coast. 

"How foolish of me to give way!" she reproached herself. "It is whatyou might have expected of me before--before I had been through allthis, with his example to uplift me out of my helplessness andinefficiency. Believe me, Lord Avondale, I am a very different youngwoman from the shallow, frivolous girl you knew during those days onthe Mediterranean. "

"Shallow! frivolous!" he protested. "Anything but that, MissGenevieve! You must have known how vastly different were my--er--impressions. If Lady Bayrose hadn't so suddenly shunted you off atAden to the Cape boat--Took me quite by surprise, I assure you. Hadyou kept on to India, I had hoped to--er--"

She gave him a glance that checked his fast-mounting ardor. 

"I--I beg pardon!" he apologized. "This of course is hardly the time--About the others, if I may ask--that is, if it's not too painful foryou. I infer that Lady Bayrose--that she did not--reach the shore. "

The girl's thorn-scarred, sun-blistered hands clasped together almostconvulsively. But she met his look of concern with unflinchingbraveness. 

"Poor dear Lady Bayrose!" she murmured. "They had put her and themaids into one of the boats--there at the first, when the ship crashedon the reef. They ran back to fetch me, but before they could rush meacross, a wave more terrible than all the others swept the ship. Ittore loose the boat and whirled them away, over and over!"

"Gad!" he exclaimed. 

"It also carried away the captain and most of the crew. Between thebreakers, Winthrope and Tom and I were flung into the one remainingboat. Winthrope cut the rope before the sailors could follow, andthen--then the steamer slipped back off the reef and went down. "

"I say! Only the three of you left! The boat brought you safe ashore?"

"No, we were overturned in the breakers, but were washed up--flung up--how, I cannot tell. The wind was frightful. It must have blown usout of the surf and along with the water that was being driven up andover into the lagoon. The first I knew, I was behind a little knoll withWinthrope. Tom was near--in a pool. He--he crawled out. It was nearlydark. We were all so beaten and exhausted that we slept until morning. When we awoke, there was no sign of--of any one else, or of the boat--nothing; only the top of the highest mast sticking up above the water, out beside the reef. Tom swam out to it; but he couldn't get anything--even he couldn't. "

"Swam out, you say? These waters swarm with sharks. They're keen tonip a swimmer!"

The girl's eyes flashed. "Do you believe he'd fear them?--that he'dfear anything?"

"Not he! I fancy I ought to know, if any one. Knocked about with him, half 'round the world. I dare say he's told you. "

"Would it be like him to claim the credit of your friendship? No!Before, on the steamer, we had mistaken him to be--to be what heappears to strangers--rough, almost uncouth. Yet even that frightfulmorning--it was among the swamps, ten miles or more up the coast. Hecarried us safe out of them, me nearly all the way--out of the bog andwater, safe to the palms; and he as much tortured with thirst as werewe!"

"Fancy! No joke about that--thirst!"

"Yet it was only the beginning of what he did for us. Starvation andwild beasts and snakes and the fever--he saved us from all. Yet he hadnothing to begin with--no tools or weapons, only his burning glass. Can you wonder that I--that I--"

She stopped and looked down, the color mounting swiftly under the darkcoat of tan that covered the exquisite complexion he remembered sopleasantly. 

"My word!" he remonstrated, amazed and disquieted. "Surely not that!It's--it's impossible! It can't be possible!"

"Do you think so?" she whispered. "If you but knew the half--thetenth--of what he has done!"

The rusty side of the tramp loomed up above them. The boat crew flungup their oars, and Lord James steered in alongside, under the slingthat was being lowered for the rescued lady. She pointed up at it, andmet the reproachful, half-dazed glance of her companion with a look ofcompassionate regret for his disappointment. Yet she made no effort toconceal the love for his friend and rival that shone with tenderradiance from her candid eyes. 

"You should know him--his true, his real self!" she said. "Hastenback. Do not delay to come aboard with me. Hasten ashore and to thecleft. See for yourself. "

She caught the descending sling with a dexterity that astonished him, and seated herself in it before he could rise to assist her. 

"Haul away, " she called in a clear voice that held no note oftimidity. Those above at the tackle hastened to obey. As she was swungupwards, she looked down at the earl and waved him to put off. 

"Hasten!" she urged. "Do not wait. I am all right now. Even if he isreturning, go to the cleft and see. "

He shook his head, and waited until she had been hauled up the ship'sside. But as her little moccasined feet cleared the bulwarks and Meggshimself leaned out to draw her inboard, he signed the oarsmen tothrust off again. 

Knowing the course, they made direct for the end of the sunken ledge. Blake had not returned, nor was he anywhere in sight. They skirted inalong the rocky slope of the cliff foot to where it curved away intothe sand beach of the plain. Lord James sprang ashore alone andhastened inland along the base of the cliffs. 

A brisk walk of ten minutes over the sandy plain brought him to thegrove at the foot of the cleft. In the midst of the trees was a pool, half choked with the dried mud and rubbish of a recent flood from theravine. The wash had obliterated all tracks below; but there weretraces of a trail leading up the ravine over a four-foot ledge. Hetook the rock at a bound, and hastened on upwards between the loftywalled sides of the cleft. 

At the first turn he was brought to an abrupt halt. From side to side, between two outjutting corners of rock, the ravine had been barricadedwith a twelve-foot _boma_ of thorn scrub. It was a fence high enoughand strong enough to stop even a hungry lion. In the centre was a lowopening, partly masked by the dry spiky fronds of a small date palm. 

"Gad!" murmured the Englishman. "Some of Tom's engineering! And shesaid he started without weapons or tools--on this coast! . . . Yet forhim to have won her--No, no, it's impossible! impossible! American ornot, she's a lady--thoroughbred! He's a true stone, but in the rough--uncut, unpolished! A girl of her breeding--He's worth it, 'pon myword, he is; though I never would have fancied that she, of all girls--She's so different. No! it's impossible! it can't be! Must be purefancy on her part--gratitude. It can't be anything more!"

A heavy step sounded on the far side of the barrier, and a deep voicecalled out to him: "Hello, there! That you, Jimmy? Thought it abouttime you were due. What you doing?--telling yourself how to climbover? Abase yeh noble knee to the dust and crawl through, me lud. "

Without pausing to reply, Lord James stooped and crept through thenarrow passage under the thorny wall. As he straightened up on theinner side, Blake caught and gripped his hand in a big calloused palm. 

"Jimmy!" he exclaimed, his pale blue eyes glistening with the softlight of deep friendship. "Jimmy boy! to think you beat 'em to it! Ifigured ten to one odds that it was a tramp chartered by Papa Leslie--And then to see you pop up in the sternsheets, spic and span as alaundry ad! When you sang out--Lord!"

"Ring off, bo! Those're my fingers you're mashing!" objected thevictim. 

As Blake released him, he stepped aside and ran his eye up and downthe sinewy rag-and-skin-clad form of the engineer. He noddedapprovingly. 

"Lean, hard as nails, no sign of fever--and after six weeks on thisbeastly coast! How'd you do it, old man? You're fit--deuced fit!"

"Fit to give pointers to the Wild Man from Borneo, " chuckled Blake. Hedrew out a silver cigarette case and snapped open the lid. "See thoselittle beauties?--No! hands off! Good Lord! those're my arrow tips, soaking in snake poison! A scratch would do for you as sure as a drinkof cyanide. Brought down an eland with one of those little points--antelope big as a steer. "

"Poison! fancy now!" exclaimed Lord James. 

"Yes; from a puff adder that almost got Miss Jenny--fellow big as myleg. Struck at her as she bent to pick an amaryllis. If it had so muchas grazed her hand or arm--God!"

He looked away, his teeth clenched together and the sweat starting outon his broad forehead. What he thought of Genevieve Leslie was plainlyevident in his convulsed face and dilated eyes. If he could be sooverwrought by the mere remembrance of a danger that she had escaped, he must love her, not as most men love, but with all the depth andstrength of his powerful nature. Lord James's lips pressed togetherand his gray eyes clouded with pain. 

"Close shave, heh?" he muttered. 

"Yes, " replied Blake. He drew in a deep breath, and added, "Not thefirst, though, nor the last. But a miss is as good as a mile, hey, Jimmy boy?"

"Gad, old man, that sounds natural! Can't say you look it, though--notaltogether. Must get you aboard and into another style of fineraiment. Fur trousers not good form in this climate, y'know. Youpicked up that shirt at a remnant counter, I take it. Come aboard. Must mow that alfalfa patch before any one suspects you're trying toraise a beard. "

The friendly banter seemed to have the contrary effect from thatintended. Blake's face darkened. 

"Good Lord, no!" he rumbled. "Go aboard with her? What d'you take mefor?"

"Give you my word, I don't take you at all, " replied the puzzledEnglishman. 

"What! Hasn't she told you? But of course she wouldn't--unless she sawyou alone, " muttered Blake. "Come on up the canon. I've thought it allout--just what must be done. But it'll take some time to explain. Wait! Did you come alone?--any one follow you?"

"No. Told 'em to stay near the boat. "

"Just the same, I'll make sure, " said Blake. He dived into thebarricade passage, and quickly reappeared, dragging at the butt of thedate palm. "There, me lud; the door is shut. Nobody is going to walkin on our private conference now. Come on. "

CHAPTER III

LORD AND MAN

Blake turned about and swung away up the ravine. Lord James followedin the half-obliterated path, which led along the edge of a tinyspring rill. The cleft was here closed in on each side with sheerwalls of rock from twenty to thirty feet high. At the point where thissmall box canon intersected the middle of the cliff ridge, thegigantic baobab that Lord James had seen from the steamer, toweredskyward, its huge trunk filling a good third of the width of thegorge. Across from it and nearer at hand was a thicket of bamboos, around which the spring rill trickled from a natural basin in therock. 

But the visitor gave scant heed to the natural features of the place. His glance passed from a great antelope hide, drying on a frame, tothe bamboo racks on which sun-seared strips of flesh were curing overa smudge fire. Looking to his left, he saw a hut hardly larger than adog kennel but ingeniously thatched with bamboo leaves. Then hisglance was caught and held by a curious contrivance of interwoventhorn branches and creepers, fitted into a high narrow opening in thetrunk of the baobab. 

"What's that?--hollow tree?" he asked. 

"Yes, " answered Blake, without turning. "Sixteen-foot room inside. That's where the she-leopard and the cubs were smothered. Fired thegully to drive out the family. All stayed at home and got smothered'cept old Mr. Leopard. He ran the gantlet. Lord, how he squalled, poorbrute! But they'd have eaten us if we hadn't eaten them. He landed inthe pool, too scorched to see. Settled him with my club. "

"Clubbed him?--a leopard! I say now! A bit different, that, to snipeshooting. "

"Well, yes, a trifle different, Jeems--a trifle, " conceded Blake. 

"My word! What haven't you been through!" burst out the Englishman. "And to think she, too, went through it all--six weeks of it!"

"That's it!" enthused Blake. "She's the truest, grittiest little girlthe sun ever had the good luck to shine on! If she thinks now I can'trealize--that I'm not going to do the square thing by her! I've beenthinking it all over, Jimmy. I've got it all mapped out what I'm goingto do. Wait, though!"

He sprang ahead and pulled at the thorny contrivance that stopped theopening in the baobab trunk. It was balanced midway up, on a crossbar. Almost at a touch, the lower part swung up and outward and the upperhalf down and inward. He stepped in under it, hesitated a moment, andwent on into the hollow, with an exclamation of relief: "No, 't isn'ther room any more, thank God!"

Lord James stared. Well as he knew the sterling qualities of hisfriend, he had never suspected him of such delicacy. He gazedcuriously around at the unshapely but flawless sand-glazed earthenwareset on a bamboo rack beside the open stone fireplace, at the rough-woven but strong baskets piled together near the foot of the baobab, at the pouch of antelope skin, the grass sombreros, the bamboo spitsand forks and spoons--all the many useful utensils that told of theingenuity and resourcefulness of his friend. 

But, most of all, he was interested in the weighty hardwood clubleaning against the tree trunk and the great bamboo bow hanging abovein a skin sheath beside a quiver full of long feather-tipped arrows. He was balancing the club when Blake came out of the tree-cave, carrying a young cocoanut in one hand, and in the other a small potseemingly full of dried mud. Lord James replaced the club, and wavedhis hand around at the camp. 

"'Pon my word, Tom, " he commented, "you've out-Crusoed old Robinson!"

"Sure!" agreed Blake. "He had a whole shipful of stuff as a starter, while we didn't have anything except my magnifying glass and Win'spenknife and keys. "

He pulled out a curious sheath-knife made of a narrow ribbon of steelset in a bone back. "How's that for a blade? Big flat British keys--good steel. I welded 'em together, end to end. "

"Gad! the pater's private keys!" gasped Lord James. "You don't tell methe rascal was imbecile enough to keep those keys in his pocket?--certain means of identification if he'd been searched!"

"What!" shouted Blake. "Then the duke he cleaned out was your dad. _Whew!_"

He whirled the mud-stoppered jug overhead and dashed it down at hisfeet. From amidst the shattered fragments he caught up a dirty cloththat was quilted across in small squares. He held it out to LordJames. 

"There you are, Jimmy--my compliments and more or less of your familyheirlooms. "

"My word!" murmured the earl, catching eagerly at the cloth. "You gotthe loot from him? That's like you, Tom!"

"Look out!" cautioned Blake. "I opened one square to see what it washe had hidden. You'll find he hadn't been too daffy to melt thesettings--keys or no keys. Say, but it's luck to learn they're yours!Hope they're all there. "

"All the good ones will be. He couldn't have sold or pawned any of thebest stones after we cabled. Gad! won't the pater be tickled! Ah!"

From the open square of which Blake had spoken, his lordship drew outa resplendent ruby. "Centre stone of Lady Anne's brooch!"

He ran his immaculate finger-tips over the many squares in the cloth. "A stone in every one--must be all of the really valuable loot! Thesettings were out of date--small value. How'd you get it from him, Tom?"

Blake hesitated, and answered in a low tone: "He got hurt the night ofthe second cyclone. But he wasn't responsible--poor devil! He musthave been dotty all along. It didn't show much before--but I feltuneasy. That's why I built that thorn door--so she could bar herselfin. "

Lord James stared in horrified surprise. "You really do not mean--?"

"Yes--and it almost happened! God!" Again Blake clenched his teeth andthe cold sweat burst out on his forehead. 

"My word! That's worse than the snake!" murmured Lord James. 

"She--she'd left the door up--heat was stifling, " explained Blake. "Ihad gone off north, exploring. The beast was crawling in--But I've gotto remember he wasn't responsible--a paranoiac!"

"Ah, yes. And then?" questioned the Englishman, tugging nervously atthe tip of his little blond mustache. 

"Then--then--" muttered Blake. "He got what was coming to him. Cyclonestruck like a tornado. Door whirled down and knocked him out of theopening--smashed him!"

"The end he had earned!"

"Yes--even if he wasn't responsible, he had become just that--a beast. She had saved his life, too--night I ran down to the beach aftereating a poison fish. Barricade hadn't been finished. He was down withthe fever. They were attacked--jackals, hyenas. She got him safeinside the tree, with the yelling curs jumping at her. "

"My word! she did that?--she? Of all the young ladies I've ever known, she was the very last I should have expected--"

"What! you've met her before?" demanded Blake. 

"Then she hasn't told you?" replied his friend. "Lady Bayrose was oneof my old friends, y'know. Met 'em aboard ship--sailed on the samesteamer, after my run home. "

"You did?" muttered Blake, in blank astonishment. "You know her?"

"You must have heard me sing out to her from the boat. Yes, I--er--hadthe voyage with her through the Mediterranean and down the Red Sea. But Lady Bayrose got tiffed at me, and at Aden shifted to a Cape boat. I had to go on to India alone. "

"India?" queried Blake. 

"Trailing Hawkins. He first went to India. But he doubled back and'round to Cape Colony. "

"So that's why you didn't get here sooner, " said Blake. 

"Yes. Didn't notice that the _Impala_ was posted. Didn't know eitheryou or Miss Leslie was aboard her until after I learned you'd thrownup the management of that Rand mine. Traced you to Cape Town. Odd thatyou and she and Hawkins should all have booked on the same steamer!"

"Think so?" said Blake. "I don't. Winthrope--Hawkins, that is--wassmooth enough to know he'd not be suspected if travelling as a memberof Lady Bayrose's party. He had already wormed himself into her favor. As for me--well, they had come to look at the mine, and I had shownJenny through the workings. Does that make it clear why I threw up thejob and followed them to Cape Town?"

"She had not given you any reason to--surely, not any encouragement?No, I can't believe it!"

"Course not, you British doughhead! It was all the other way 'round. Think I didn't realize? She, a lady, and me--what I am! But I couldn'thelp it--I just couldn't help myself, Jimmy. Knew her father, too--allabout his millions and how he made them! He did me--twice. You'd thinkthe very name would have turned me. Yet the minute I set eyes on her--say!"

"You're certainly hard hit!" murmured the young earl. He flushed, bithis lip, hesitated, and burst out with impulsive generosity: "Gad, oldman! If it's true--if she really--er--has come to love you, I own thatyou've won her fair and square--all this, y'know. " He waved his handaround in a sweeping gesture. "Saved her from all this. Yes--if it'sreally true!"

Blake looked away, and spoke in a hushed voice: "It's--it's true, Jimmy! Only a little while ago, there on the cliff edge when we sawyour steamer, she--she told me. It started yesterday after I bluffedoff the lion. You see, she--"

"Lion?" ejaculated Lord James. 

"Yes. " Blake flung up his head in an impatient gesture. "The beasttried to stalk us. Jumped back into the grass when I circled out athim. I got the grass fired before he screwed up courage to tackle me. --Don't cut in!--It was then that Jenny--she--she tried to saysomething. But I streaked for home. This morning, though, when I sawwe were safe, I was weak enough to let her--speak out. "

Lord James hesitated just perceptibly, and then caught his friend'sbig, ill-used hand in a cordial clasp. "So--you're engaged!Congratulations!"

"If only it was just that!" cried Blake. He flushed red under histhick coat of tan. "I--I suppose I've got to tell you, Jimmy--I must. I need your help to carry out my plan. "

"Your plan?" repeated the Englishman wonderingly. 

"To save her from--from committing herself. It isn't fair to her tolet her do it now. She ought to wait till she gets back home, amongher own people. You see she wants to--She--she says that ship captainscan--" He caught his breath, and bent nearer, but with his face halfaverted. His voice sank to an almost inaudible murmur--"that shipcaptains can marry people. "

"Ah!" gasped Lord James. But he recovered on the instant. "Gad! that_is_ a surprise, old man. Always the lady's privilege, though, toname the day, y'know. I shipped a stewardess to wait on the women--hadhoped they would all have been saved. She'll do for lady's maid. Alsobrought along some women's togs, in case of emergencies. As foryourself, between mine and Megg's and his own wardrobes, my man canrig you up a presentable outfit. Clever chap, that Wilton. "

"You've gone back to a valet again!" reproached Blake, momentarilydiverted. Then his fists clenched and his brows met in a frown ofself-disgust. "Lord! for me to forget for a second! Look here, Jimmy, you're clean off. You don't savvy a little bit. Don't you see thepoint? I can't let her commit herself now--here! You know I can't. Itwouldn't be fair to her, and you know it. "

Lord James met his look with a clear and unfaltering gaze, andanswered steadily: "That all depends on one thing, Tom. If she reallyloves you--"

"D'you think she's the kind to do it, if she didn't?" demanded Blake. "No, that's not the point, at all. I've tried to be square, so far. She saw what I'm like when I cut loose--there on the ship. I was two-thirds drunk when the cyclone flung us ashore. No excuse--except thatall of them had turned me down from the first--there at Cape Town. Yes, she knows just what I'm like when the craving is on me. Yesterday, down there at the south headland, before the lion camearound, I gave her some idea of what I've done--all that. "

"You've lived a cleaner life than most who're considered eligible!"exclaimed Lord James. "I know that with respect to women, you're thecleanest--"

"Eligible!" broke in Blake. "No man is that, far as she's concerned, unless it's you, Jimmy. "

"Chuck it! You're always knocking yourself. But about this plan that'sbothering you? Out with it. "

"That's talking! All right, here it is, straight--I want you to getback aboard and steam away, fast as you can hike. You can run intoPort Mozambique, if you're going north, and arrange for a boat to callby for me. "

"You're daft!" cried Lord James. "Daft! Mad as a hatter! Can you fancyfor a moment I'd go off and leave you here?"

"Guess you can't help yourself, Jimmy. The most you can do is force meto take to the jungle. You can't get me aboard. I tell you, I'vefigured it all out. I won't go aboard and let her do--what she'splanning to do. You ought to know. Jimmy, that when I say a thing, Imean it. She's not going to set eyes on me again until after she'sback in America. Is that plain?"

"Tom--old man! that's like you!" cried the Englishman, and again hegripped the other's rough hand. "I see now what you're driving at. It's a thing few men would have the bigness to do. You're giving up acertainty, because your love for her is great enough, unselfish enoughto consider only her good. D'you fancy I could do such a thing? You'rerisking everything. Shows you're fit, even for her!"

"It's little enough--for her!" put in Blake. 

"That's like you to say it, " rejoined his friend. "See here, old man. You've made a clean breast of it all. I should be no less candid. Youknow now that I met her before--was all those weeks with her aboardship. Need I tell you that I, too, love her?"

"You?" growled Blake. "But of course! I don't blame you. You couldn'thelp it. "

"It's been an odd shuffling of the cards, " remarked his friend. "Whatif--Aren't you afraid there may be a new deal, Tom? If you don't comeaboard, she and I will be together at least as far as Zanzibar, andprobably all the way to Aden, before I can find some one else to takeher on to England. "

"What of that?" rejoined Blake. "Think I don't know you're square, after the months we roughed-it together?"

"Then--But I can't leave you here in this hell-hole! You've no rightto ask me to do that, Tom. If I could bring my guns ashore and staywith you--But she'll never be more in need of some one, if you insistupon your plan. I say! I have it--We'll slip you aboard after dark. You can lie in covert till we reach Port Mozambique. I trust I'mclever enough to keep her diverted that long. Can put it that you'reoutfitting--all that, y' know. "

"Say, that's not so bad, " admitted Blake, half persuaded. "I couldslip ashore, soon as we ran into harbor, leaving her a note to tellher why. "

"Right-o, Tammas! But wait. I'll go you one better. You can write yournote and give it out that you've shifted to another ship. But you'llstay aboard with us, under cover. Of all the steamers that touch atAden, one will soon come along with parties whom either she or I know. Then off she goes to the tight little island, and we follow after inour little tramp or on another liner. Hey, Tammas?"

"Well, I don't know, " hesitated Blake. "It sounds all right. "

"It _is_ all right, " insisted the younger man. "You'll be aboardthe same steamer with her as far as Aden, to keep an eye on me, y'know. "

"On you?"

"You'd better. My word, Tom! don't you realize? If you--er--put itoff, I'm bound to try for myself. Can't help it!"

"Think you've got a show, do you?" rallied Blake. 

"I fancied I had as much chance as any one, before all this occurred. I at least should have been in the running, had it not been for thewreck--and you. "

Blake stood for several moments, with his head down-bent and eyesfixed upon the ground. When he looked up and spoke, his face was graveand his voice deep and low. 

"It's all of a piece, Jimmy. I don't blame you. Fact is, it's all thebetter. I've had all the advantage here. She and I've been living inthe Cave Age, and I've proved myself an A-1 cave-man, if I do say itmyself. It may be hard for her to get the right perspective of things, even after she's back in her own environment. Understand?"

"I take it, you mean she has seen the display of your strongest andbest qualities, in circumstances that did not call for such non-essentials as mere polish--drawing room culture. "

"You mean, for all that counts most with ninety-nine per cent of yourclass and hers, " rejoined Blake. "And there's the craving, too. I'llhave to fight that out before I'll be fit to let her do anything. Think I don't know the difference between us? No! I'm going to go thelimit, Jimmy. I can't do less, and be square to her. So I give youfull leave. You're free to play your hand for all there is in it. I'llstay here--"

"No--no! I'll not hear of it, Tom!"

"Yes, you will. I'll stay here, and you'll see her clear through toAmerica--to Chicago--right to her papa's house and in through thedoor. Understand? I don't make a single condition. You're to try yourbest to win; and if you do, why--don't you see?--it'll show that thiswhich she thinks is the real thing is all a mistake. "

"My word, old man! you'd not give her up without a fight? Thatwouldn't be like you!"

"It all depends. I won't if it's true she loves me--God! no! I'd gothrough hell-fire for her!"

"If I know you, Tom, you'll suffer that and more, should the eventprove she is mistaken as to the nature of her present feeling. "

"What of it?" muttered Blake, with a look that told the other theuselessness of persuasion. "Think I'd let her marry me, long asthere's a shadow of a chance of her being mistaken?"

"Very well, then, " replied his friend. "You've said your say. Now I'llsay mine. I can ease the tedium of Miss Leslie's trip up the coast;and I stand ready to do so--on two conditions. In the first place;you're to come aboard and stay aboard. After I find a chaperon for herat Aden, you're to go on home with me, to visit at Ruthby. "

"Excuse _me!_" said Blake. "I can see myself parading around yourancestral stone-heap with your ducal dad!"

"You not only can, but will, " rejoined the earl. "Come now. You'll beallowed to write that note at Port Mozambique, and keep in covert tillMiss Leslie is safe off the ship. But you'll do the rest--you'll notstay here. Another thing--you have my word for it now--I shallendeavor no more than yourself to win her, until after she hasreturned to her home in the States. "

"Lord, Jimmy! that's square--to me, I mean. But how about her?"

"No fear, " reassured the Englishman. "She's received everywhere. She'sbeen presented--at Court, y'know. If she stays over on this side abit, there'll be dozens of 'em dancing attendance on her. Come, now;it's all settled. "

"Well, I don't know, " hesitated Blake. 

"I tell you, you'll sail with us, else I shall leave her at PortMozambique and come back for you. "

"Um-m--if you take it that hard! But are you sure you can keep hersatisfied till we put in there?"

"Trust me for that. If she becomes apprehensive, I'll put it thatyou'd rather be married in port, by the American consul. "

"That's no lie. Say, what's the use of waiting till dark? You saidthere's a stewardess aboard. Jenny will sure be below with her until--until she's ready for the ceremony. "

"Quite true, yes. Then it's all settled. At Port Mozambique, yournote; you bunk forward, under cover, till Aden; then home with me fora visit; neither of us see her beyond Aden until we follow her to theStates. "

"Since you insist--yes, it's a go, Jimmy!" agreed Blake. He turned tohasten away along the gorge, past the baobab. "I'll be back soon. Gotto pull down that flag. "

Lord James followed, and saw him ascend to the cliff crest on theright, up a withered, leafless tree. The trunk had been burned throughat the base in such manner that the top had fallen over against theedge of the rocky wall. A pile of stones offered an easy means ofreaching the lower branches. The earl climbed up into the top, andwatched his friend run forward over the broken ledges of the ridge. 

The bamboo flagstaff was wrenched from its supports and lowered amidsta wild commotion of the nesting sea birds. Blake came back at a jog-trot, regardless of the fierce heat of the sun. In his arms weregathered the tattered folds of the signal flag. 

"That's one thing I'm going to take away, " he said, in response to theother's look of inquiry. "She sewed that leopard-skin dress all byherself, with a thorn for needle, so we could have her skirt for theflag. "

"Fancy!" murmured the Englishman. "With a thorn, you say!"

Blake nodded, and followed him down the tree-ladder and back along thecleft to the baobab. There he paused to take down his archery outfit. 

"Guess I'll keep these, too, as souvenirs, " he remarked. He pointed tothe blackened strips of flesh on the curing racks. "May I ask LordAvondale to stay to dinner?"

"Very kind, I'm sure. But I've a previous engagement, " declined hislordship. 

"Now, now, Jeems. Needn't turn up your aristocratic nose at first-class jerked antelope. Ought to 've been with us the first three days. Great _menu_--raw fish, cocoanuts, more cocoanuts, and then, just whenwe were whetting our teeth for a nice fat snake or an _entree_ ofcaterpillars, I landed that old papa leopard. Managed to haggle someof the india rubber off his bones. Tough!--but it was filling. All thesame, we didn't wear out any more teeth on him after we got up thecleft and found the cubs. They were tender as spring lambs. "

"And Miss Genevieve went through all that!"

"Yes. Told you she's the grittiest little girl ever--and a lady! MyGod, when I think of it all! . . . Well, she's come through it alive. What's more, she's not going to suffer any bad consequences from it, not if I can help it! Come on. Got your heirloom rag?"

"Safe--inside pocket. "

"All right, then. Come on. You don't think I'm aching to hang 'roundthis cursed hole, do you?--now that she's gone!"

He flung his bow and quiver over his shoulder, thrust the signal flaginto the skin pouch, and turned to go. 

Lord James stepped before him, with hand outstretched. 

"One moment, Tom! Here's for home and America--a fair field, and bestman wins!"

"It's a go!" cried Blake, gripping the proffered hand. "May she getthe one that'll make her happiest!"

CHAPTER IV

THE EARL AND THE OTHERS

Miss Dolores Gantry shook the snow from her furs, and with thegraceful assurance of a yacht running aslant a craft-swarming harbor, cut into the crowd that surged through the Union Station. She broughtup in an empty corner of the iron fence, close beside the exit gatethrough which passengers were hurrying from the last train that hadarrived. Her velvety black eyes flashed an eager glance at the out-pouring stream, perceived a Mackinaw jacket, and turned to make swiftcomparison of the depot clock and the tiny bracelet watch on herslender wrist. 

As she again looked up she met the ardent gaze and ingratiating smileof an elegant young man who was sauntering up the train-platform tothe exit gate, fastidiously apart from his fellow passengers. Heraised his hat, and at the girl's curt nod of recognition, hastenedthrough the gate for a more intimate greeting. 

"My dear Dodie!" he exclaimed, reaching for her hand. "This is a mostdelightful surprise. "

"My dear Laffie!" she mocked, deftly slipping both slender hands intoher muff. "I quite agree as to it's being a surprise. "

"Then you didn't come down to meet me?"

"You?" she asked, with an irony too fine drawn for his conceit. "Cometo meet you?"

"Yes. Didn't you get my note saying that all work on my bridge wasstopped by the cold and that I would run down to see you?"

"To see me--plus the world, the flesh, and the devil!"

"Now, Dodie!" he protested, with a smirk on his handsome, richlycolored face. 

The girl's eyes hardened into black diamonds as she met his assuredgaze. "Mr. Brice-Ashton, you will hereafter kindly address me as 'MissGantry. ' You must be aware that I am now _out_. "

"Oh, I've no objections, just so _we're_ not out, " he punned. 

She gave him her shoulder, and peered eagerly through the pickets ofthe iron fence at a train that was backing into the station. Ashtonshrugged, lighted a gilt-tipped cigarette, and asked: "Permit me toinquire, Miss Gon-tray, if I'm not the happy man for whom you wait, who is?"

She replied without turning: "How can I tell until I see him? I thinkit will be the hero. If not, it will be the earl. "

"Hero?--earl?" repeated Ashton. 

"Yes, whichever one Vievie leaves for me. "

"What! Genevieve? Miss Leslie? She's not--Is she really coming home sosoon?--when she had such a chance for a gay season in London?"

"Don't give yourself away. The London season is in summer. "

"You don't say! Well, in England, then. Why didn't you write me?"

"I'm not running a correspondence-school or news agency, Mr. Brice-Ashton. "

"Oh, cut it, Dodie! Post me up, that's a good girl! What I've heardhas been so muddled. This hero business, for a starter--what about it?I thought it was an English duke that chartered the steamer to rescueGenevieve. "

"No, only the son of a duke, --James Scarbridge, the Right Honorablethe Earl of Avondale. "

"My ante!"

"It's in the jack-pot, and as good as lost. What chance have you nowto win Genevieve, --with a real earl and a real hero in the field?"

"Earl _and_ hero? I thought he was the hero. "

"That's one of the jokes on mamma. Earl Jimmy had nothing to do withthe rescue ships that Uncle Herbert cabled to search the Mozambiquecoast. No; Jeems chartered a tramp steamer on his own account, to lookfor friend Tommy. He found the heroic Thomas and, incidentally, thefair Genevieve--who wasn't so _very_ fair after weeks of broilingin that East African sun. "

"It's wonderful--wonderful! To think that she alone of all aboard hersteamer should have survived shipwreck on that savage coast!"

"She didn't survive alone--she couldn't have. That's where Tommy camein. There was another man, but he didn't count for much, I guess. Vievie merely wrote that he died during the second cyclone. "

"What an experience!--and for a girl like Genevieve!"

"She, of all girls!" chimed in Dolores enviously. "You remember shenever went in for sports of any kind, not even riding. And for her tobe flung out that way into the tropical jungles, among lions andcrocodiles and snakes and things! Why can't I ever have romanticadventures?"

"You wouldn't give the man a chance to prove himself a hero, " objectedAshton. "You'd shoot the lions yourself. "

"I _am_ good at archery. A bow and arrows, you know, were all that Mr. Blake had. "

"Blake?" repeated Ashton in rather a peculiar tone. 

"Yes, Tommy the hero, otherwise Mr. Thomas Blake. "

"Blake--Thomas Blake?" echoed Ashton. 

"I--rather odd--I once--seems to me I once knew a man of that name. You don't happen to know if he's a--that is, what his occupation is, do you?"

Ashton was not the kind of man from whom is expected hesitancy ofspeech. The girl spared him a swift glance from the out-flockingstream of passengers. His fixed gaze and slack lower jaw betrayed evenmore uneasiness than had his voice. 

"Don't be afraid, " she mocked. "He's not a minister; so he couldn'tmarry her without help, and he's not done it since the rescue. "

"Not done it?" repeated Ashton vaguely. 

"No. According to mamma's letter, Earl Jimmy outgeneraled the low-browed hero. At Aden he put Vievie on a P. And O. Steamer, in thecharge of Lady Chetwynd. He and the hero followed in the tramp steamerto England, where he kept friend Thomas at his daddy's ducal castleuntil Vievie made mamma start home with her. You know mamma streakedit for London, at Uncle Herbert's expense, the moment Vievie cabledfrom Port Mozambique that she was safe. Uncle Herbert would have sentme, too, but mamma wouldn't have it. Just like her! It was her firstchance to do England and crowd in on Vievie's noble friends. She saidI might spoil the good impression she hoped to make, because I'm toomuch of a tomboy. "

"But if it's your mother and Genevieve you're waiting for--Iunderstood you to say the earl and that man Blake. "

"Oh, they followed on the next steamer. Mamma wired that they are allcoming on together from New York. " "Where's Mr. Leslie? Did he go tomeet them?"

"He? You should know how busy Uncle Herbert always is. I called by hisoffice for him. He sent out word to go on. He would follow. "

"What! after all Genevieve went through, all those hardships anddangers? You'd think that even he--"

"Look I oh, look I there she is now!" cried the girl, pressing closeagainst the fence and waving her handkerchief between the pickets. 

"Where? Yes, I see! beside your mother!" exclaimed Ashton, and helifted his hat on his cane. 

The signals won them recognition from the approaching ladies, theyounger of whom responded with a quietly upraised hand. Beside herwalked a rosy-cheeked blonde young Englishman, while in front a bigsquare-built man thrust the crowd forward ahead of them. They werefollowed by two maids, a valet, and two porters, with hand luggage. 

As the party emerged from the gateway the younger lady leaned forwardand spoke in a clear soft voice: "Turn to the left, Tom. "

The big man in the lead swerved out of the crowd and across the cornerpast Miss Gantry, who was advancing with outstretched arms, her eyessparkling with joyous excitement. 

"Vievie!" she half shrieked. 

Blake glanced over his shoulder and stopped short at sight of thegirls locked in each other's arms. After a moment's fervent embrace, Dolores thrust her cousin out at arm's-length and surveyed her fromtop to toe with radiant eyes. 

"Vievie! Vievie! I really can't believe it! To think you're homeagain--when we never expected to see you--and you've got almost allthe tan off already!"

Genevieve looked up into the vivacious face of the younger girl withan affectionate smile on her delicately curved lips and tears of joyin her hazel eyes. 

"It _is_ good to be home again, dear!" she murmured. She drew Doloresabout to face the big man, who stood looking on with rather a surlyexpression, in his pale blue eyes. "Tom, " she said, "this is mycousin, Miss Gantry. Dolores, Mr. Blake. "

"The hee-row!" sighed Dolores, clasping a hand dramatically on herheart. 

Blake's strong face lighted with a humorous smile. "Guess I've got toown up to it, Miss Dolores. Anything Jenny--Miss Leslie--says goes. "

As he spoke he raised his English steamer cap slightly and extended asquare powerful hand. Dolores entrusted her slender fingers to thecalloused palm, which closed upon them with utmost gentleness. 

"Really, Mr. Blake!" she exclaimed, " I mean it. You _are_ a hero. "

Blake's smile broadened, and as he released her hand, he glanced ather mother, who had drawn a little apart with the Englishman. "Don'tlet me shut out your mamma and Jimmy. "

"Oh, mamma believes that any display of family affection is immodest, "she replied. "But duty, you know--duty!"

She whirled about and impressed a loud salute upon the drooping jowlof the stately Mrs. Gantry. 

"Dolores!" admonished the dame. "When _will_ you remember you're nolonger a hoyden? Such impetuosity--and before his lordship!"

"Goodness! Is he really?" panted her daughter, surveying theEnglishman with candid curiosity. 

"Is he really!" Mrs. Gantry was profoundly shocked. "If you weren'tout, I'd see that you had at least two more years in a finishingschool. "

"Horrors! that certainly would finish me. But you forget yourself, mamma. You keep his earlship waiting for his introduction. "

The Englishman shot a humorous glance at Blake, and drew out hismonocle. He screwed it into his eye and stared blandly at theirrepressible Miss Gantry, while her mother, with some effort, regained a degree of composure. She bowed in a most formal manner. 

"The Right Honorable the Earl of Avondale: I present my daughter. "

The earl dropped his monocle, raised his cap, and bowed withunaffected grace. Dolores nodded and caught his hand in her vigorousclasp. 

"Glad to meet you, " she said. "It's rare we meet a real live earl inChicago. Most of 'em are caught in New York, soon as they land. "

"It's good of you to say it, Miss Gantry, " he replied, tugging at thetip of his little mustache. "I've been over before, you know. Came indisguise. This time I was able to march through New York with colorsflying, thanks to your mother and Miss Leslie. "

Dolores sent her glance flashing after his, and saw Genevieveresponding coldly to the effusive greeting of Ashton. The young manwas edging towards the earl. But Genevieve turned to introduce himfirst to her companion. 

"Mr. Blake, Mr. Brice-Ashton. "

"I'm sure I'm--pleased to meet you, Mr. Blake, " murmured Ashton, hisvoice breaking slightly as Blake grasped his gloved hand in the barecalloused palm. 

"Any friend of Miss Jenny's!" responded Blake with hearty cordiality. But as he released the other's hand, he muttered half to himself, "Ashton?--Ashton? Haven't I met you before, somewhere?"

As Ashton hesitated over his reply, Genevieve spoke for him: "No doubtit's the familiarity of the name, Tom. Mr. Brice-Ashton's father isMr. George Ashton, the financier. "

"What! him?" exclaimed Blake. "But no. It's his face. I remember now. Met him in your father's office. "

"In father's office?"

"When I was acting as secretary for your father, Miss Genevieve, "Ashton hastened to explain. "You remember, I was in your father'soffice for a year. That was before I succeeded with my--plans for theMichamac cantilever bridge and went to take charge of the constructionas resident engineer. "

"Your plans?" muttered Blake incredulously. 

"To be sure. I remember now, " said Genevieve absently, and she turnedto look about, with a perplexed uptilting of her arched brows. "But, Dolores, where is papa?"

"Coming--coming, Viviekins, " reassured her cousin, breaking short ananimated conversation with the earl. "Don't worry, dear. He'll bealong in a few minutes. "

Genevieve stepped forward beside Blake to peer at the crowd. Dolorestook pity on Ashton, who had edged around, eager for an introductionto the titled stranger. 

"Oh, your earlship, " she remarked, "this, by the way, is Mr. LaffieBrice-Ashton. I'd like to present him to you, but I'm afraid yourRight Honorableness wouldn't take him even as a gift if you knew himas well as I do. "

"Oh, now, Do--Miss Gon-tray!" protested Ashton. 

The Englishman bowed formally and adjusted his monocle, oblivious ofthe hand that Ashton had stripped of its glove. 

"Your--your grace--I should say, your lordship, " stammered Ashton, hastily dropping his hand, "I'm extremely delighted--honored, I mean--at the unexpected pleasure of meeting your lordship. "

"Ah, really?" murmured his lordship. 

"Mr. Brice-Ashton's father is one of our most eminent financiers, "interposed Mrs. Gantry. 

"Ah, really? What luck!" politely exclaimed the Englishman. He steppedpast the son of the eminent financier, to address Genevieve in animpulsive, boyish tone, "I say, Miss Leslie, hop up on a suitcasebetween Tom and me. You'll see over their heads. "

"Hold on, " said Blake, who was staring towards the outer door. "He'scoming now. "

"Where? Are you sure, Tom?" asked Genevieve, here eyes radiant. 

"Sure, I'm sure, " said Blake. "Met your father _once_. That was enoughfor me. "

"Tom! You'll not-?"

"Enough for me to remember him, " he explained with grim humor. "Don'tworry. I don't want a row any more than you do. "

"Or than he will! He'll not forget that had it not been for you--"

"And Jimmy!"

"Chuck it, old man, " put in Lord James. "Miss Leslie knows as well asyou do that one or more of the steamers chartered by her father mustcertainly have sighted your signal flag within a fortnight. I merelyhad the luck to be first. "

"A lot of things can happen inside two weeks, down on the Mozambiquecoast. Eh, Miss Jenny?" said Blake. 

For the moment, forgetful even of her father, Genevieve clasped hergloved hands and gazed upwards over the heads of the rushing multitudeat a vision of swampy lagoons, of palm clumps and tangled jungles, oftowering cliffs, and hot sand beaches, all aglare with the fiercedownbeat of the tropical sun. 

CHAPTER V

A REFRACTORY HERO

A short, stout, gray-haired man burst out of the crowd, jerked off hishat to Mrs. Gantry, and hastened forward, his gray-brown eyes fixedhungrily upon Genevieve. A moment later he had her in his arms. Shereturned his embrace with fervor yet with a well-bred quietness thatdrew a nod of approval from Mrs. Gantry. 

"So! you're home--at last--my dear!" commented Mr. Leslie, patting hisdaughter's back with a sallow, vein-corded hand. 

"At last, papa! I should have hurried to you at once, in spite of yourcables, if you hadn't said you were starting for Arizona. "

"Couldn't tell how long I'd be on that trip. Wanted you to enjoy themonth in England, since Lady Chetwynd had asked you. But come now. Imust see you started home. Cut short one Board meeting. Must be atanother within half an hour. "

He stepped apart from her and jerked out his watch. 

"Yes, papa, only--" She paused and looked at him earnestly. "Did younot receive my telegram, that we had met Mr. Blake and Lord James inNew York, and that they were to come on with us?"

"Hey?" snapped Mr. Leslie, his eyes glinting keen and cold below theirshaggy brows. First to be transfixed by their glance was young Ashton, who stood toying with the fringe of Dolores' muff. "What's this, sir?What you doing here?"

Ashton gave back a trifle before the older man's irascibility, butanswered with easy assurance: "I thought it would do no harm to rundown for a few days. All work at Michamac is stopped--frozen uptight. "

"It's not the way your father got his start in life--frivolity! Stickto your work all the time--stick!" rejoined Mr. Leslie. He turned andmet the monocled stare of the earl. "H'm. This, I suppose, is thegentleman who--"

"My dear Herbert, permit me, " interposed Mrs. Gantry. "Ah--the RightHonorable the Earl of Avondale: I have the honor to present--"

"Glad to meet you, sir!" broke in Mr. Leslie, clutching theEnglishman's hand in a nervous grip. "Glad of the chance to thank youin person!"

"But, I say, I'm not the right man, y' know, " protested Lord James. "The small part I had in it is not worth mentioning. " He laid a handon Blake's broad shoulder. "It's my friend Thomas Blake you shouldthank. "

Mr. Leslie stepped back and eyed Blake's impassive face with markedcoldness. "Your friend Blake?" he repeated. 

"Old friend--camp-mate, chum--all over Western America and SouthAfrica. It's he who's entitled to the credit for the rescue of MissLeslie. "

"We'll talk about your part later. You'll, of course, call on us, "said Mr. Leslie. He fixed his narrowing eyes on Blake. "H'm. So you'reTom Blake--the same one. "

"That's no lie, " replied Blake dryly. 

"You heard me say I'm busy. Have no time to-day. I'll give you anappointment for to-morrow, at my office, ten A. M. Sharp. "

"Thanks. But you're a bit too previous, " said Blake. "I haven't askedfor any appointment with you that I know of. "

"But, Tom!" exclaimed Genevieve, astonished at the hostility in histone, "of course you'll go. Papa wishes to thank you for--for allyou've done. To-day, you see, he's so very busy. "

Blake's hard eyes softened before her appealing glance, only to stareback sullenly at her father. 

"I'm not asking any thanks from him, Miss Jenny, " he replied. 

The girl caught the arm of her father, who stood glowering irritablyat Blake. "Papa, I--I don't understand why you and Tom--Couldn't you--won't you please be a little more cordial? Wait! I have it!" Sheflashed an eager glance at Blake. "Tom, you'll dine with us thisevening. "

He looked at Lord James, and replied steadily: "Sorry, Miss Jenny. Youknow I'd like to come. But I've got a previous engagement. "

"If I ask you to break it, Tom?"

"Can't do it. I've given my word--worse luck!"

"But I do so wish you and papa to come to an understanding. "

"Gaess I understand him already; so it's no use to--There now, don'tworry. Long as you want me to, I'll accept his polite invitation forto-morrow. "

"Ten A. M. Sharp!" rasped Mr. Leslie. He drew Genevieve about, andrushed her off, with a curt call to Mrs. Gantry: "Come, Amice. Doloresbrought the coupe. I'll put you in. The maids and baggage can followin my car. Hurry up. "

Genevieve was whirled away into the thick of the crowd, with scarcelytime for a parting glance at Blake and Lord James. Mrs. Gantrylingered an instant to address the young Englishman:

"Pray do not forget, earl, you are to dine with me. "

As Lord James bowed in polite agreement, Ashton, who had beenscribbling on one of his cards, held it out. "Pardon me, yourlordship. Here's a list of my favorite clubs. Look me up. I'll steeryou to all the gay spots in little old Chi. "

"Mr. Brice-Ashton is one of our hustling young grain speculators, "explained Dolores. "Before he went to Michamac he almost cornered themarket in wild oats. "

"Now, Miss Dodie!" smirked Ashton. "Wait! I'll do your elbowing. "

But the girl was already plunging into the crowd, in the wake of hermother, the maids, and the porters. Ashton hastened after, in a vainattempt to overtake her. Crowds part easier before a pretty, smiling, fashionably dressed girl than before a foppish young man who affectsthe French mode. 

The card with the list of clubs fell from the hand that Lord Jamesraised to screw in his monocle. 

"Stow it, Jimmy, " growled Blake. "I feel just prime for smashing thatfool window. "

Lord James slipped the monocle into his pocket, and twisted at the endof his short mustache. 

"Don't blame you, old man, " he remarked. "Her guv'nor _was_ a bitcrusty. Quite a clever girl that--the cousin--eh?"

"Miss Dolores? She sure is a hummer. Doesn't take after her mother; soshe's all right, " assented Blake. He added eagerly, "Say, Jimmy, she'sjust the one for you. You're so blondy blonde you need a real brunetteto set off your charms. "

"Sorry, Tom. Saw too much of some one else coming up to Aden--andbefore. Shouldn't have to remind you of that. "

"Damn the luck!" swore Blake. "Well, we've come to the show-down. She's home now; agreement's off. "

"To-morrow, " corrected his friend. 

"Lord! If only you weren't you! I'd knock you clean out of therunning!"

"Rotten luck!" murmured Lord James sympathetically. "Had it been anyother girl, now! But having met her before you did--Deuce take it, oldman, how could I help it?"

"'T ain't your fault, Jimmy. You know I don't blame you. I don'tforget you began to play fair just as soon as you got next to howmatters stood between. --how they stood with me. "

"Couldn't play the cad, you know. I say, though, it's time we talkedit all over again. Give me your trunk check. I'll have my man sendyour luggage to my hotel. You're to keep on bunking with me. "

"No, " replied Blake. "It was all right, long as we were travelling. Now I've got to hunt a hallroom and begin scratching gravel. "

"But at least until you find a position. "

"No. I'm sure of something first pop, if old Grif is in town. Youremember, I once told you all about him--M. F. Griffith, my oldengineer--man who boosted me from a bum to a transitman. Whitest manthat ever was! Last I heard, he'd located here in Chicago as aconsulting engineer. He'll give me work, or find it for me; andMollie--that's Mrs. Grif--she'll board me, if she has to set up a bedin her parlor to do it. "

"Oh, if you're set on chucking me, " murmured Lord James. "But I'llstay by you till you've looked around. If you don't find your friend, you're to come with me. "

"Must think I need a chaperon, " rallied Blake in a fond growl. "Well, signal your Man Friday, and we'll run a line to the nearestdirectory. "

Lord James signed to his valet, who stood near, discreetly observant. On the instant the man stepped forward with his master's hand luggage, and reached down to grasp Blake's suitcase, which had been left by oneof the porters. But Blake was too quick for him. Catching up thesuitcase himself, he swung away through the crowd and up the broadstairway, to the Bureau of Information. 

Two minutes later he was copying an address from the city businessdirectory. 

"Got his office O. K. , " he informed his friend. "Over on DearbornStreet. Next thing's to see if he's in town. Shunt your collar-buttoner, and come on. We can walk over inside ten minutes. "

Lord James instructed his valet to take a taxicab to the hotel. Hehimself proceeded to button up his overcoat from top to bottom andturn up the collar. 

"Your balmy native clime!" he gibed, staring ruefully through thedepot windows at the whirling snowstorm without. "If I freeze myGrecian nose, you'll have to buy me a wax one. "

Blake chuckled. "Remember that night up in the Kootenay when theblizzard struck us and we lost the road?"

"Pleasant time to recall it!" rejoined Lord James, with a shiver. "Butcome on. I'm keen to meet your Mr. Griffith. "

CHAPTER VI

THREE OF A KIND

They reached the great office building on Dearborn Street, red-facedand tingling from the whirling drive of the powdery snow. It was sodry with frost that scarcely a flake clung to their coats when theypushed in through the storm doors. The elevator shot them up to thetop floor of the building before they could catch their breath in theclose, steam-heated atmosphere. 

"_Whew!_" said Blake, stepping out and dropping his suitcase, to shedhis English raincoat. "Talk about Mozambique! Guess you know nowyou're in Hammurica, me lud. All the way from the Pole to Panama inone swing of the street door. "

"What was your friend's number?" asked Lord James, eying the doorsacross the corridor. 

"Seventeen-fifteen. Must be down this way, " answered Blake. 

Catching up his suitcase, he led around to the rear corner of thebuilding. At the end of the side hall they came to a door marked "No. 1715. " On the frosted glass below the number there was painted inplain black letters a modest sign:

M. F. GRIFFITH, C. E. CONSULTING ENGINEER

Blake led the way in and across to the plain table-desk where a youngclerk was checking up a surveyor's field book. 

"Hello, " said Blake. "Mr. Griffith in?"

"Why, yes, he's in. But I think he's busy, " replied the clerk, starting to rise. "I'll see. What business?"

"Don't bother, sonny, " said Blake. "We'll just step in and sit down. "

The clerk stared, but resumed his seat, while Blake crossed to thedoor marked "Private, " and motioned Lord James to follow him in. Whenthey entered, a lank, gray-haired man sat facing them at a table-deskas plain as the clerk's. It was covered with drawings, over which theveteran engineer was poring with such intentness that he failed toperceive his callers. 

"Hello! What's up now?" asked Blake in a casual tone. "Going to bridgeBehring Straits?"

"Hey?" demanded the worker, glancing up with an abstracted look. 

His dark eyes narrowed as he took in the trim figure of the earl andBlake's English cap and tweeds. But at sight of Blake's face he shovedback his chair and came hurrying around the end of the desk, his thindry face lighted by a rare smile of friendship. He warily caught thetip of Blake's thick fingers in his bony clasp. 

"Well! I'll be--switched!" he croaked. "What you doing here, Tommy?Thought we'd got rid of you for good. "

"Guess you'll have to lump it, " rejoined Blake. "I'm here with bothfeet, and I want a job--P-D-Q. First, though, I want you to shakehands with my friend, Jimmy Scarbridge--Hold on! Wait a second. "

He drew himself up pompously, and bowed to Lord James in burlesquemimicry of Mrs. Gantry. "Aw, beg pawdon, m'lud. Er--the--aw--RightHon'able the--aw--Earl of Avondale: I present--aw--Mistah Griffith. "

"Chuck it! The original's enough and to spare, " cut in his lordship. He turned to Griffith with unaffected cordiality. "Glad to meet one ofTom's other friends, Mr. Griffith. "

"The only other, " added Blake. 

"Then I'm still gladder!" said Lord James, gripping the bony hand ofGriffith. "Don't let Tom chaff you. My name's just Scarbridge--JamesScarbridge. "

"Owh, me lud! Himpossible!" gasped Blake, "And your papa a juke!"

At sight of Griffith's upcurving eyebrows, Lord James smiledresignedly and explained: "Quite true--as to His Grace, y'know. But Iassure you that even in England I am legally only a commoner. It'sonly by courtesy--custom, you know--that I'm given my father's secondtitle. "

"That's all right, Mr. Scarbridge, " assured Griffith, in turn. "Gladto meet you. Have a seat. "

While the callers drew up chairs for themselves, he returned to hisseat and hauled out a box of good cigars. Blake helped himself andpassed the box to Lord James. Griffith took out an old pipe andproceeded to load it with rank Durham. 

"Well?" he croaked, as he handed over a match-box. "What's the goodword, Tommy?"

"Haven't you heard?" replied Blake. "I'm a hero, the real livearticle, --T. Blake, C. E. H. E. , R. O. --Oh!"

"No joshing, you Injin, " admonished Griffith, pausing with a lightedmatch above the bowl of his pipe. 

Lord James gazed reproachfully at the grinning Blake. "He tries tobelittle it, Mr. Griffith, but it's quite true. Haven't you seen aboutit in the press?"

"Too busy over this Arizona dam, " said Griffith, jerking his pipetowards the drawings on his desk. 

"What dam?" demanded Blake, bending forward, keenly alert. 

"Zariba--big Arizona irrigation project. Simple as A, B, C, except thedam itself. That has stumped half a dozen of the best men. Promotersare giving me a try at it now. But I'm beginning to think I've bittenoff more 'n I can chew. "

"You?" said Blake incredulously. 

"Yes, me. When it comes to applying what's in the books, I'm not soworse. You know that, Tommy. But this proposition--Only available damsite is across a stretch of bottomless bog, yet it's got to hold asixty-five foot head of water. "

"Je-ru-salem!" whistled Blake. "Say, you've sure got to give me a shyat that, Grif. It can't be worked out--that's a cinch. Just the same, I'd like to fool with the proposition. "

Griffith squinted at the younger engineer through his pipe smoke, andgrunted: "Guess I'll _have_ to let you try, if you're set on it. "He nodded to Lord James. "You know how much use it is bucking againstTommy. The boys used to call him a mule. They were half wrong. Thathalf is bulldog. "

"Aw, come off!" put in Blake. "You know it's just because I hate toquit. "

"That's straight. You're no quitter. Shouldn't wonder if you held onto this dam problem till you swallowed it. "

"Stow the kidding, " said Blake, embarrassed. 

"I'm giving it to you straight. This dam has made a lot of good onesquit. I'm about ready to quit, myself. But I'll be--switched if Idon't think you'll make a go of it, Tommy. "

"In your eye!"

"No. " Griffith took out his pipe and fixed an earnest gaze on Blake. "I'm not one to slop over. You know that. I can put it all over you inmathematics--in everything that's in the books. So can a hundred ormore men in this country. Just the same, there's something--you've gotsomething in you that ain't in the books. "

"Whiskey?" suggested Blake, with bitter self-derision. 

"Tom!" protested Lord James. 

"What's the use of lying about it?" muttered Blake. 

"You've no whiskey in you now, " rejoined Griffith. "I'm talking aboutwhat you are now, --what you've got in your head. It's brains. "

"Pickled in alcohol!" added Blake, more bitterly than before. 

"That's a lie, and you know it, Tommy. You're not yet on the shelf--not by a long sight. "

Blake grinned sardonically at Lord James. "Hear that, Jimmy? Nevertake the guess of an engineer. They're no good at guessing. It's notin the business. "

"Chuck it. You know you've got something worth fighting for now. "

"Lots of chance I'll have to win out against you!" Blake's teethground together on his unlighted cigar. He jerked it from his mouthand flung it savagely into the wastebasket. But the violent movementdischarged the tension of his black humor. 

"Lord! what a grouch I am!" he mumbled. "Guess I'm in for a go at thesame old thing. "

Griffith and Lord James exchanged a quick glance, and the formerhastened to reply: "Don't you believe it, Tommy. Don't talk about_my_ guessing. You're steady as a rock, and you're going to keepsteady. You're on the Zariba Dam now, --understand?"

"It's a go!" cried Blake, his eyes glowing. "That fixes me. You knowmy old rule: Not a drop of anything when I'm on a job. Only one thingmore, and I'm ready to pitch in. I must get Mollie to put me up. "

Griffith looked down, his teeth clenching on the pipe stem. There wasa moment's pause. Then he replied in a tone more than ever dry andemotionless: "Guess my last letter didn't reach you. I lost her, ayear ago--typhoid. "

"God!" murmured Blake. He bent forward and gripped his friend'slistless hand. 

Griffith winced under the sympathetic clasp, turned his face away, coughed, and rasped out: "Work's the one thing in the world, Tommy. Always believed it. I've proved it this year. Work! Beats whiskey anyday for making you forget . .. I've got rooms here. You'll bunk withme. Pretty fair restaurant down around the corner. "

"It's a go, " said Blake. He nodded to Lord James. "That lets you out, Jimmy. "

"Out in the cold, " complained his lordship. 

"What! With Mamma Gantry waiting to present you to the upper crust?--Imean, present the crust to you. "

"Best part of the pie is under the crust. "

"Now, now, none of that, Jimmy boy. You're not the sort to take in thetown with a made-in-France thing like that young Ashton. "

"Ashton?" queried Griffith. "You don't mean Laffie Ashton?"

"He was down at the depot to give our party the glad hand. "

"Your party?" repeated Griffith. He saw Blake wink at Lord James, andthought he understood. "I see. He knows Mr. Scarbridge, eh? It's likehim, dropping his work and running down here, when he ought to stickby his bridge. "

"His bridge?" asked Blake. "Say, he did blow about having landed theMichamac Bridge. But of course that's all hot air. He didn't even takepart in the competition. Besides, you needn't tell me he's anythingmore than a joke as an engineer. "

"Isn't he, though? After you pulled out the last time--after thecompetition, --he put in plans and got the Michamac Bridge. "

"You're joking!" cried Blake. "He got it?--that _gent!_"

"You'll remember that all who took part in the competition failed onthe long central span, " said Griffith. 

"No!" contradicted Blake. "_I_ didn't. I tell you, it was just asI wrote you I'd do. I worked out a new truss modification. I'd havesworn my cantilever was the only one that could span Michamac Strait. "

"And then to have your plans lost!" put in Griffith with keen sympathybeneath his dry croak. "Hell! That bridge would have landed you at thetop of the ladder in one jump. "

"Losing those plans landed me on a brake-beam, after my worst spreeever, " muttered Blake. 

"Don't wonder, " said Griffith. "What gets me, though, is the way thisyoung Ashton, this lily-white lallapaloozer of a kid-glove C. E. , cameslipping in with his plans less than a month after the contest. Ilooked up the records. "

"What were you doing, digging into that proposition?" demanded Blake. 

"What d' you suppose? Ashton was slick enough to get an ironcladcontract as Resident Engineer. His bridge plans are a wonder, but he'sproved himself N. G. On construction work. Has to be told how to buildhis own bridge. I'm on as Consulting Engineer. "

"You?" growled Blake. "You, working again for H. V. Leslie!"

"Give the devil his due, Tommy. He's sharp as tacks, but if you've gothis name to a straightforward contract--"

"After he threw us down on the Q. T. Survey?"

Griffith coughed and hesitated. "Well--now--look here, Tommy, you'renot the kind to hold a grudge. Anyway, the bridge was turned over tothe Coville Construction Company. " He turned quickly to Lord James. "Say, what's that about his being in the papers? If it's anything tohis credit, put me next, won't you? I couldn't pry it out of him witha crow-bar. "

"So you're going to use a Jimmy instead, eh?" countered Blake. 

"Right-o, Tammas, " said Lord James. "We're going to open up theincident out of hand. "

"Lord!" groaned Blake. He rose, flushing with embarrassment, and swungacross, to stare at a blueprint in the far corner of the room. 

Lord James flicked the ash from his cigar with his little finger, andsmiled at Griffith. 

"Tom and I had been knocking around quite a bit, you know, " he began. "Fetched up in South Africa. American engineers in demand on the Rand. Tom was asked to manage a mine. "

"He could do it, " commented Griffith. "Was two years on a low-gradeproposition in Colorado--made it pay dividends. Didn't he suit theRand people?"

"Better than they suited him, I take it. I left for a run home. Weekbefore I arrived a servant looted the family jewels--heirlooms, allthat, you know--chap named Hawkins. Thought I'd play Sherlock Holmes. Learned that my man had booked passage for India. Traced him toCalcutta. Lost two months; found he'd doubled back and gone to theCape. Cape Town, found he'd booked passage for England under his lastalias--Winthrope. Steamer list also showed names of my friend LadyBayrose, Miss Leslie, and Tom. "

"Hey?" ejaculated Griffith, opening his narrowed eyes a line. 

"Same time, learned the steamer had been posted as lost, somewherebetween Port Natal and Zanzibar. "

"Crickey!" gasped Griffith. "Then it was Tom who pulled H. V. 'sdaughter--Miss Leslie--through that deal! Heard all about it from H. V. Himself, when he took me out to Arizona to look over this ZaribaDam proposition. But he didn't name the man. Well, I'll be--switched!Tommy sure did land in High Society that time!"

"They landed in the primitive, so to speak, --he and Miss Leslie andHawkins, --when the cyclone flung them ashore in the swamps. "

"Hawkins? Didn't you just say--"

"Rather a grim joke, was it not? Every soul aboard drowned exceptthose three--Tom and Miss Leslie and Hawkins, of all men!"

"Bet Tommy shook your family jewels out of his pockets mighty sudden. "

Lord James lost his smile. "He got them, later on, when the fellow--died. "

"Died? How?"

"Fever--another cyclone. "

"Eh? Well, God's country is good enough for me. Those tropical holessure are hell. Tommy once wrote me about one of the Central Americanports. You. Don't ever catch me south of the U. S. This East Africanproposition, now? Must have been a tough deal even for Tommy. "

"They were doing well enough when I found him, both he and MissLeslie, --skin clothes, poisoned arrows, house in a tree hollow--allthat, y'know. "

"Well, I'll be--! But that's Tommy, for sure. He's got the kind ofbrains that get there. If he can't buck through a proposition, he'lltriangulate around it. Go on. "

"There's not much to tell, I fancy, now that you know he was the man. You're aware that, had it not been for his resourcefulness andcourage, Miss Leslie would have perished in that savage land of wildbeasts and fever. Yet there _is_ something more than you could haveheard from her father, something I'm not free to tell about. WishI was, 'pon my word, I do! Finest thing he ever did, --something even_we_ would not have expected of him. "

"Dunno 'bout that, " qualified Griffith. "There's mighty little I don'texpect of him--if only he can cut out the lushing. "

Lord James twisted his mustache. "Ever think of him as wearing a dresssuit, Mr. Griffith?"

Griffith looked blank. "Tommy?--in a dress suit!"

"There's one in his box. When we landed in England I took him down toRuthby. Kept him there a month. You'd have been jolly well pleased tosee the way he and the guv'nor hit it off. "

"Governor?"

"Yes, my pater--father, y' know. "

"So he's a governor? Then Tommy was stringing me about the earl andduke business. "

"Oh, no, no, indeed, no. The pater is the Duke of Ruthby, seventh inthe line, and twenty-first Earl of Avondale; but he's a crack-up jollyold chap, I assure you. Not all our titled people are of the kind yousee most of over here in the States. "

"But--hold on--if your father is a real duke, then you're not Mr. --"

"Yes, I must insist upon that. Even in England I am only Mr. Scarbridge--legally, y' know. Hope you'll do me the favor ofremembering I prefer it that way. "

"I'd do a whole lot for any man _he_ calls his friend, " said Griffith, gazing across at Blake's broad back. Lord James glanced at his watch, and rose. "Sorry. Must go. "

"Well, if you must, " said Griffith. "You know the way here now. Dropin any time you feel like it. Rooms are always open. If I'm busy, I'vegot a pretty good technical library--if you're interested inengineering, --and some photographs of scenery and construction work. Took 'em myself. "

"Thanks. I'll come, " responded Lord James. He nodded cordially, andturned to call slangily to Blake: "S' long, bo. I'm on my way. "

Blake wheeled about from the wall. "What's this? Not going already?"

"Ah, to be sure. Pressing engagement. Must give Wilton time to attireme--those studied effects--last artistic touches, don't y' know, "chaffed the Englishman. 

But his banter won no responsive smile from his friend. Blake's facedarkened. 

"You're not going to see her to-day, " he muttered. 

"How could you think it, Tom?" reproached the younger man, flushinghotly. "I have it! We'll extend the agreement until noon to-morrow. You have that appointment with her father in the morning. "

"That's square! Just like you, Jimmy. Course I knew you'd play fair--It's only my grouch. I remember now. Madam G. Gave you a bid to dinewith her. "

Lord James drew out his monocle, replaced it, and smiled. "Er--quitetrue; but possibly the daughter may be a compensation. "

"Sure, " assented Blake, a trifle too eagerly, "You're bound to likeMiss Dolores. I sized her up for a mighty fine girl. Not at all likeher mamma--handsome, lively young lady--just your style, Jimmy. "

"Can't see it, old man. Sorry!" replied his lordship. "Good-day. Good-day, Mr. Griffith. "

CHAPTER VII

THE HERO EXPLAINS

For half a minute after his titled friend had bowed himself out, Blakestood glowering at the door. The sharp crackle of a blueprint underthe thrumming fingers of Griffith caused him to start from hisabstraction and cross to the desk, where he dropped heavily into hisformer seat. 

"Well?" demanded Griffith. "Out with it. "

"With what?"

"You called him your friend. He's a likely-looking youngster, even ifhe _is_ the son of a duke. Same time, there's something in the wind. Cough it up. Haven't happened to smash any heads or windows, have you, while you were--"

"No!" broke in Blake harshly. "It's worse than that, ten times worse!It's--it's Jenny--Miss Leslie!"

Griffith's thin lips puckered in a soundless whistle. "Well, I'llbe--! Don't tell me you've gone and--Why, you never cared a rap forgirls. "

"No, but this time, Grif--It began when I showed her through that Randmine. Jimmy has told you what followed. "

Griffith blinked, and discreetly said nothing as to what lie had heardfrom Miss Leslie's father. "H'm. I'd like to hear it all, straightfrom you. "

"Can't now. Too long a yarn. I want to tell you about the results. Couldn't do it to any one else, " explained Blake, blushing darklyunder his thick layer of tropical tan. He sought to beat around thebush. "Well, I proved myself fit to survive in that environment, toughas it was--sort of cave-man's hell. Queer thing, though, Jenny--MissLeslie--proved fit, too; that is, she did after right at the start. She's got a headpiece, and _grit!_"

"Takes after her dad, " suggested Griffith. 

"Him!"

"As to the brains and grit. "

"Not in anything else, though. They're no more alike than garlic androses. "

"Getting poetic, eh?" cackled Griffith. 

"Don't laugh, Grif. It's too serious a matter. I'd do anything in theworld for her. She's the truest, grittiest girl alive. She told mestraight out, there at the last, that she--she loved me. "

"Crickey!" ejaculated Griffith. "She told you that?--she?--Miss--"

"Hush! not so loud!" cautioned Blake. Again the color deepened in hisbronzed cheeks. His pale eyes shone very blue and soft. "It was whenwe heard the siren of Jimmy's steamer. She--You'll forget this, Grif?Never whisper a hint of it?"

"Sure! What you take me for?"

"Well, she wouldn't agree to wait. Wanted to be married as soon as wegot aboard ship. "

"She--!" Griffith lacked breath even for an expletive. 

"I agreed. Couldn't help it, with her looking at me that way. Then wewent down around through the cleft to the shore, where the boat waspulling in. Well, there was Jimmy in the sternsheets, in a whiteyachting suit--Me with my hyena pants, and Jenny in her leopard-skindress!"

"Say, you _were_ doing the Crusoe business!" cackled Griffith. 

"It shook me out of my dream all right, soon as I set eyes on Jimmy. Iwaded out with--Miss Leslie, and put her into the boat. Told him tohurry her aboard. I cut back to the cleft--the place where we'd beenstaying. "

"Off your head, eh?"

"No. Don't you see? I had to save Jenny. I had proved myself a prettygood cave-man, and she had been living so close to that sort of thingthat she had lost her perspective. Wasn't fair to her to let her tieherself up to me till she'd first had a chance to size me up with themen of her class. "

"You mean to say you passed up your chance?"

"I'd have been a blackguard to 've let her marry me then!" criedBlake, his eyes flashing angrily. He checked himself, and went on in amonotone: "I waited till Jimmy came back to fetch me. Course I had toexplain the situation. Asked him to pull out without me, and send downa boat from Port Mozambique. No go. Finally we fixed it up for me toslip aboard into the forecastle. "

"Well, I'll be--switched!" croaked Griffith. "You did that, to escapemarrying the daughter of a multi-millionaire!"

"It would have been the same if she'd been poor, Grif. She's a lady, through and through, and I--I love her! God! how I love her!"

"Guess that's no lie, " commented Griffith in his dryest tone. 

Blake relaxed the grip that seemed to be crushing the arms of hischair. 

"Well, I went aboard and kept under cover. Jimmy managed to keep herdiverted till we put into Port Mozambique. There I sent a note aft toher, letting on that I had already landed, and swearing that I wasgoing to steer clear of her until after she got back to her father. But I kept aboard, in the forecastle, as Jimmy had made me promise todo. At Aden, Jimmy put her on a P. And O. Liner in the care of afriend of his, Lady Chetwynd, who was on her way home to England fromIndia. "

"He went along, too; leaving you to shift for yourself, eh?"

"Don't you think it! He had been spending half the time forward withme in that stew-hole of a forecastle. Soon as she was safe, I hikedaft and bunked with him. No; Jimmy's as square as they make 'em. Toprove it--he had met Jenny before; greatly taken with her. There onthe steamer was the very chance he had been after. But he played fair;didn't try to win her. Told me all about it, right at the first, andwe came to an agreement. We were both to steer clear of her over onthat side. That's why we stuck close to Ruthby Castle till Jennysailed for home. No; Jimmy is white. He had invitations to more thanone house-party where she was visiting around with Lady Chetwynd andMadam Gantry. "

"So neither of you have seen her since there at Aden?"

"Yes, we have. Came on from New York with her and her aunt. They hadstopped over when they landed, and we blundered into them before wecould dodge. "

"And Miss Leslie? You look glum. Guess you got what was coming to you, eh?"

Blake's face clouded. "Haven't seen her apart from her aunt yet. Shehas been kind but--mighty reserved. I'd give a lot to know whether--"He paused, gripping his chair convulsively. "Just the same, I haven'tquit. The agreement with Jimmy is off to-morrow afternoon. She's hadplenty of time for comparisons. I'll make my try then. "

"Don't fash yourself, Tom. If she's the sort you say, and went as faras you say, she's not likely to throw you over now. "

"You don't savvy!" exclaimed Blake. "There on that infernal coast Iwas the real thing--and the only one, at that. Here I'm just T. Blake, ex-bum, periodic drunkard, all around--"

"Stow that drivel!" ordered Griffith. "What if you were a kid hobo?What are you now?--one of the best engineers in the country; onethat's going to make the top in short order. I tell you, you're goingto succeed. What's more, Mollie said--"

"Mollie!" repeated Blake softly. "Say, but wasn't she a booster! Hadeven you beat, hands down. Good Lord, to think that she, of all thelittle women--! Only thing, typhoid isn't so bad as some things. Theydon't suffer so much. "

"Yes, " assented Griffith. "That helps--some--when I get to thinking ofit. She went out quietly--wasn't thinking of herself. "

"She never did!" put in Blake, "Say, but can't a woman make a heap ofdifference--when she's the right sort!"

"There was a message for you. She said, almost the last thing: 'TellTom not to give up the fight. Tell him, ' she said, 'he'll win out, Iknow he'll win out in the end. '"

"God!" whispered Blake. "She said that?" He bent over and covered hiseyes with his hand. 

Griffith averted his head and peered at the blueprints on the nearestwall with unseeing eyes. A full minute passed. Keeping his face stillaverted, he began to tap out the ash and half-smoked tobacco from hispipe. 

"H'm--guess you'd better work in a room apart, " he remarked in amatter-of-fact tone. "Too much running in and out here. D' you want tostart right off?"

"No, " muttered Blake. He paused and then straightened to face hisfriend. His eyes were blood-shot but resolute, his face impassive. "No. I'll wait till after to-morrow. Big order on for to-morrowmorning. Appointment to meet H. V. "

"Hey?"

"He was down at the depot. You can imagine how effusive he wasn't overmy saving his daughter. Curse the luck! If only she had had any oneelse for a father!"

"Now, now, Tommy, don't fly off the handle. You know there are lots of'em worse than H. V. "

"None I'm in so hard with. First place, there's that Q. T. Survey. "

"That's all smoothed over. He came around all right. Just ask for yourpay-check. He'll shell out. "

"I'll ask for interest. Ought to have a hundred per cent. I needed themoney then mighty bad. "

"We all did. Let it slide. He's her father. You can't afford to buckhis game. "

"I'd do it quick enough if it wasn't for her, " rejoined Blake. "That'swhere he's got me. Lord! if only he and she weren't--!" Blake's teethclenched on the end of the sentence. 

"Now look here, Tommy, " protested Griffith. "This isn't like you tohold a grudge. It's true H. V. Did us dirt on the survey pay. But hegave in, soon as I got a chance to talk it over with him. "

"'Cause he had to have you on the Michamac Bridge, eh?" demandedBlake, his face darkening. 

"Stow it! That may be true, but--didn't I tell you he turned thebridge over to the Coville Company?"

"Afraid he'd be found out, eh?"

"Found out? What do you mean?"

"Mean!" repeated Blake, his voice hoarse with passion. He brought hisbig fist down upon the desk with the thud of a maul. "Mean? Listenhere! I didn't write it to you--I couldn't believe it then, even ofhim. But answer me this, if you can. I was fool enough not to send myplans for the bridge competition to him by registered mail; I was foolenough to hand them in to his secretary without asking a receipt. After the contest, I called for my plans. Clerk told me he couldn'tfind them; couldn't find any record that they'd been received. I tellyou my plans solved that central span problem. Who was it could use myplans?--who were they worth a mint of money to?"

Griffith stared at his friend, his forehead furrowed with an anxiousfrown. "See here, Tom--this tropical roughing--it must be mightyovertaxing on a man. You didn't happen to have a sunstroke or--"

Blake's scowl relaxed in an ironical grin. "All right, take it thatway, if you want to. He let on he thought I was trying to blackmailhim. "

"Crickey! You don't mean to say you--"

"Didn't get a chance to see him that time. Just sent in a polite noteasking for my plans. He sent out word by his private-detective office-boy that if I called again he'd have me run in. "

"And now you come back with this dotty pipe-dream that he knows whatbecame of your plans! Take my advice. Think it all you want, if thatdoes you any good; but keep your head closed--keep it closed! Firstthing he'd do would be to look up the phone number of the nearestasylum. "

"I'd like to see him do it, " replied Blake. He shook his headdubiously. "That's straight, Grif. I'd like to see him do it. I can'tforget he's her father. If only I could be sure he hadn't a finger inthe disappearance of those plans--Well, you can guess how I feel aboutit. "

"You're dotty to think it a minute. He's a money-grubber--as sharp assome others. But he wouldn't do a thing like that. Don't you believeit!"

"Wish I'd never thought of it--he's her father. But it's been growingon me. I handed them in to his secretary, that young dude, Ashton. "

"Ashton? There you've hit on a probability, " argued Griffith. "Of allthe heedless, inefficient papa's boys, he takes the cake! He wasn't H. V. 's secretary except in name. Wine, women, sports, and gambling--nothing else under his hat. Always had a mess on his desk. Ten to one, he got your package mixed in the litter, and shoved all together intohis wastebasket. "

"I'll put it up to him!" growled Blake. 

"What's the use? He couldn't remember a matter of business over night, to save him. "

"Lord! I sweat blood over those plans! It was hard enough to enter acompetition put up by H. V. , but it was the chance of a lifetime forme. Why, if only I'd known in time that they were lost, I'd have putin my scratch drawings and won on _them_. I tell you, Grif, thattruss was something new. "

"Oh, no, there's no inventiveness, no brains in your head, oh, no!"rallied Griffith. "Wait till you make good on this Zariba Dam. "

"You just bet I'll make a stagger at it!" cried Blake. His eyes shonebright with the joy of work, --and as suddenly clouded with renewedmoroseness. 

"I'll be working for you, though, " he qualified. "I don't take anyjobs from H. V. Leslie--not until that matter of the bridge plans iscleared up. "

CHAPTER VIII

FLINT AND STEEL

At three minutes to ten the following morning Blake entered thedoorway of the mammoth International Industrial Company Building. Atone minute to ten he was facing the outermost of the guards who fencedin the private office of H. V. Leslie, capitalist. 

"Your business, sir? Mr. Leslie is very busy, sir. "

"He told me to call this morning, " explained Blake. 

"Step in, sir, please. "

Blake entered, and found himself in a well-remembered waiting-room, incompany with a dozen or more visitors. He swung leisurely across tothe second uniformed doorkeeper. 

"Business?" demanded this attendant with a brusqueness due perhaps tohis closer proximity to the great man. 

Blake answered without the flicker of a smile: "I'm a civil engineer, if you want to know. "

"Your business here?"

"None that concerns you, " rejoined Blake. 

His eyes fixed upon the man with a cold steely glint that visiblydisconcerted him. But the fellow had been in training for years. Hereplied promptly, though in a more civil tone: "If you do not wish tostate your business to me, sir, you'll have to wait until--"

"No, I won't have to wait until, " put in Blake. "Your boss told me tocall at ten sharp. "

"In that case, of course--Your name, please. "

"Blake. "

The man slipped inside, closing the door behind him. He was goneperhaps a quarter of a minute. When he reappeared, he held the doorhalf open for Blake. 

"Step in, sir, " he said. "Mr. Leslie can spare you fifteen minutes. "

Blake looked the man up and down coolly. "See here, " he replied, "justyou trot back and tell Mr. H. V. Leslie I'm much obliged for hisfavoring me with an appointment, but long as he's so rushed, I'll makehim a present of his blessed quarter-hour. "

"My land, sir!" gasped the doorkeeper. "I can't take such a message to_him_!"

"Suit yourself, " said Blake, deliberately drawing a cigar from hisvest pocket and biting off the tip. 

This time the man was gone a full half-minute. He eyed Blake withrespectful curiosity as he swung the door wide open and announced:"Mr. Leslie asks you to come in, sir. "

As the door closed softly behind him, Blake stared around the barelittle room into which he had been shown. He was looking for the thirdguardian of the sanctum, --the great man's private secretary. But theroom was empty. Without pausing, he crossed to the door in the sidewall and walked aggressively into the private office of Genevieve'sfather. 

Mr. Leslie sat at a neat little desk, hurriedly mumbling into thetrumpet of a small phonograph. 

"Moment!" he flung out sideways, and went on with his mumbling. 

Blake swung around one of the heavy leather-seated chairs with a twistof his wrist, and drew out a silver matchsafe. As he took out a match, Mr. Leslie touched a spring that stopped the whirring mechanism of thephonograph, and wheeled around in his swivel desk-chair. 

"Dictate on wax, " he explained. "Cuts out stenographer. Any clerk cantypewrite. No mislaid stenographer's notes; no mistakes. Well, you'renearly on time. "

"Sharp at the door, according to your waiting-room clock, " said Blake, striking the match on his heel. 

"Good--punctuality. First point you score. Now, what do you expect toget out of me?"

Blake held the match to his cigar with deliberate care, blew it out, and flipped it into the wastebasket, with the terse answer: "Just_that_ much. "

The other's bushy eyebrows came down over the keen eyes. For a fullminute the two stared, the man of business seeking to pierce with hisnarrowed glance Blake's hard, open gaze. The failure of his attemptperhaps irritated him beyond discretion. At any rate, his silentantagonism burst out in an explosion of irascibility. 

"Needn't tell me your game, young man, " he rasped. "You think, becauseyou were alone with my daughter, you can force me to pay hush money. "

Blake rose to his feet with a look in his eyes before which Mr. Leslieshrank back and cringed. 

"Wait! Sit down! sit down! I--I didn't mean that!" he exclaimed. 

Blake drew in a deep breath and slowly sat down again. He saidnothing, but puffed hard at his cigar. 

Mr. Leslie rebounded from panic to renewed irascibility. "H'm! Soyou're one of that sort. I might have foreseen it. "

Blake looked his indifference. "All right. That's the safety-valve. Blow off all the steam you want to through it. Only don't try theother again. You're her father, and that gives you a big vantage. Anyone else have said what you did, he wouldn't have had the chance totake it back. "

"Do you mean to threaten me?"

"I've smashed men for less. "

"You look the part. "

"It's not the part of a lickspittle. "

"Look here, young man. As the man who happened to save the life of mydaughter--"

"Suppose we leave her out of this palaver, " suggested Blake. 

"Unfortunately, that is impossible. It is solely owing to theobligations under which your service to her have put me that I--"

"That you're willing to let me come in here and listen to yourpleasant conversation, " broke in Blake ironically. "Well, let me tellyou, I'm some busy myself these days. Just now I'm out collecting oneof your past-due obligations, I've heard you admit you owe for thatfirst Q. T. Railroad survey. "

"There was no legal claim on me. I conceded the point at the requestof Mr. Griffith. "

"Had to hire him, eh? Best consulting engineer in the city. And heheld out for a settlement, " rallied Blake. 

"You were one of the party?"

"Transitman. "

"Then apply to my auditor. He has your pay-check waiting for you. "

"How about interest? It's two years over-due. "

"I never allow interest on such accounts. "

Blake took out his cigar and looked at his antagonist, his jaw out-thrust. "If I had a million, I wouldn't mind spending it to make youpay that interest. "

"You could spend twice that, and then not get it, " snapped Mr. Leslie. "You'll soon find out I can't be driven, young man. On the other hand--how big a position do you think you could fill?"

"Quien sabe?"

"See here. You've put me under obligations. I'd rather it had been anyother man than you--"

"Ditto on you!" rejoined Blake. 

The blow struck a shower of flinty sparks from Mr. Leslie's narrowedeyes. 

"You'll do well to be more conciliatory, young man, " he warned. 

"Conciliatory? _Bah!_"

"Didn't take you for a fool. "

"Well, you won't take me in for one, " countered Blake. 

"You seem determined to hurt your own interests. Unfortunately you'veput me in your debt--an obligation I must pay in full. "

"Why not get a receiver appointed, and reorganize?" gibed Blake. "That's one of the ways you dodge obligations, isn't it?"

Mr. Leslie's wrinkled face quickly turned red, and from red to purple. He thrust a quivering finger against a push-button. Blake grinnedexultantly and picked up his hat. 

"Don't bother your bouncer, " he remarked in a cheerful tone. "I don'tneed any invitation to leave. "

The tall doorkeeper stepped alertly into the room, but turned back onthe instant at sight of his master's repellent gesture. 

"Mistake, " snapped Mr. Leslie, and as the man disappeared, he turnedto Blake. "Wait! Don't go yet. "

Blake was rising to his feet. He paused, considered, and resumed hisseat. Mr. Leslie had regained his normal color and his composure. Heput his finger-tips together, and jerked out in his usual incisivetone: "I propose to liquidate this obligation to you without delay. Would you prefer a cash payment?"

"No. " Again Blake set his jaw. "You couldn't settle with me for cash, not even if you overdrew your bank account. "

"Nonsense!" snapped Mr. Leslie. He studied the young man's resoluteface, and asked impatiently, "Well--what?"

"Can't you get it into your head?" rejoined Blake. "I'm not asking forany pay for what I did. "

"What, then? If not a money reward--I see. You're perhaps ambitious. You want to make a name in your profession. "

"Ever know an engineer that didn't?"

"I see. I'll arrange to give you a position that--"

"Thanks, " broke in Blake dryly. "Wait till I ask you for a job. "

"What are you going to do?--loaf?"

"That's my business. "

Mr. Leslie again studied Blake's face. Though accustomed to read menat a glance, he was baffled by the engineer's inscrutable calm. 

"You nearly always win at poker, " he stated. 

"Used to, " confirmed Blake. "Cut it out, though. A gambler is a fool. More fun in a nickel earned than a dollar made at play orspeculating. "

"So! You're one of these socialist cranks. "

Blake laughed outright. "It's the cranks that make the world go'round! No; I've been too busy boosting for Number One--like you--tolet myself think of the other fellow. The trouble with that crazyoutfit is they want to set you to working for the people, instead ofworking the people. No; I've steered clear of them. 'Fraid I might getinfected with altruism. Like you, I'm a born anarchist--excuse me!--individualist. What would become of those who have the big interestsof the country at heart if they didn't have the big interests inhand?"

Mr. Leslie ignored the sarcasm. "Either you're a fool, or you'replaying a deep game. It occurs to me you may have heard that mydaughter has money in her own right. "

"Three million, she said, " assented Blake. 

"She told you!"

"Guess she told me more than she seems to have told you. "

"About what?"

"Ask her. "

Mr. Leslie's eyes narrowed to thin slits. "Her aunt wrote me that shesuspected you had the effrontery to--aspire to my daughter's hand. Icouldn't believe it possible. "

"That so?" said Blake with calm indifference. 

Mr. Leslie started as though stung. "It's true, then! You--you!--" Hechoked with rage. 

"I thought that would reach you, " commented Blake. 

"You rascal! you blackguard!" spluttered Mr. Leslie. "So that's yourgame? You know she's an heiress! Think you have the whip-handle--bleedme or force her to marry you!--Alone with her after the other man--!You--you scoundrel! you blackguard! I'll--"

"Shut up!" commanded Blake, his voice low-pitched and hoarse, his facewhite to the lips. For the second time during the interview Mr. Lesliecringed before his look. His pale eyes were like balls of white-hotsteel. 

Slowly the glare faded from Blake's eyes, and the color returned tohis bronzed face. He relaxed his fists. 

"God!" he whispered huskily. "God! . .. But you're her father!"

Something in his tone compelled conviction, despite Mr. Leslie'sbitter prejudice. He jerked out reluctantly: "I'm not so sure--perhapsI spoke too--too hastily. But--the indications--"

"Needn't try to apologize, " growled Blake. 

"I'll not--in words. How about a twenty-five-thousand-dollarposition?"

"What?" demanded Blake, astonished. 

"That, as a beginning. If you prove yourself the kind of man I thinkyou are, --the kind that can learn to run a railroad system, --I'll pushyou up the line to a hundred thousand, besides chances to come in onstock deals with George Ashton and myself. "

"But if you think I'm a--"

"You're the only man that ever outfaced me in my own office. I'llchance the rest, --though I had your record looked up as soon as yourname was cabled to me. I know not only who you are but _what_ youare. "

Blake bent forward, frowning. "I've stood about enough of this. "

"Wait, " said Mr. Leslie. "I'm not going to drag that in. I mention itonly that you will understand without argument why my offer is basedon the condition that you at once and for all time give over yourridiculous idea of becoming my son-in-law. "

"You--mean--that--?"

"That I'd rather see my daughter in her grave than married to you. Isthat plain enough? You're a good engineer--when you're not a_drunkard_. "

For a moment Blake sat tense and silent. Then he replied steadily: "Ihaven't touched a drop of drink since that steamer piled up on thatcoral reef. "

"Three months, at the outside, " rejoined Mr. Leslie. "You've beenknown to go half a year. But always--"

"Yes, always before this try, " said Blake. "It's different, though, now, with the backing of two such--ladies!"

"Two?" queried Mr. Leslie sharply. 

"One's dead, " replied Blake with simple gravity. 

"H'm. I--it's possible I've misjudged you in some things. But thisquestion of drink--I'll risk backing you in a business way, if itcosts me a million. I owe you that much. But I won't risk mydaughter's happiness--supposing you had so much as a shadow of achance of winning her. No! You saved her life. You shall have nochance whatever to make her miserable. But I'll give youopportunities--I'll put you on the road to making your own millions. "

Blake raised his cigar and flecked off the ash. "_That_ for yourdamned millions!" he swore. 

Mr. Leslie stared and muttered to himself: "Might have known it! Manof that kind. Crazy fool!"

"Fool?" repeated Blake contemptuously. "Just because money is _your_god, you needn't think it's everybody else's. You--money--hog! Youthink I'd sell out my chance of winning _her!_"

"You have no chance, sir! The thought of such a thing is absurd--ridiculous!"

"Well, then, why don't you laugh? No; you hear me. If I knew I didn'thave one chance in a million, I'd tell you to take your offer and--"

"Now, now! make no rash statements. I'm offering you, to begin with, atwenty-five-thousand-dollar position, and your chance to acquire afortune, if you--"

Blake's smouldering anger flared out in white heat. "Think you canbribe me, do you? Well, you can just take your positions and yourdollars, and go clean, plumb to hell!"

"That will do, sir!--that will do!" gasped Mr. Leslie, shocked almostbeyond speech. 

"No, it won't do, Mr. H. V. Leslie!" retorted Blake. "I'm not one ofyour employees, to throw a fit when you put on the heavy pedal, andI'm not one of the lickspittles that are always _baa-ing_ aroundthe Golden Calf. You've had your say. Now I'll have mine. To beginwith, let me tell you, I don't need your positions or your money. Griffith has given me work. I'm working for him, not you. Understand?"

"You are? He's my consulting engineer. "

"That cuts no ice. I'm doing some work for him--for _him_; understand?It's not for you. He gave me the job--not you. After what you've saidto me here, I wouldn't take a _hundred_-thousand-dollar job from you, not if I was walking around on my uppers. Understand?"

"But--but-"

Blake's anger burst out in volcanic rage. "That's it, straight! Idon't want your jobs or your money. They're dirty! You've looked up myrecord, have you? How about your own? How about the Michamac Bridge?Griffith says the Coville Company has taken it over; but you startedit--you called for plans--you advertised a competition. Where are myplans?--you!"

Mr. Leslie shrank back before the enraged engineer. 

"Calm yourself, Mr. Blake!" he soothed in a quavering voice. "Calmyourself! This illusion of yours about lost plans--"

"Illusion?" cried Blake. "When I handed them in myself to yoursecretary--that dude, Ashton. "

Mr. Leslie sat up, keenly alert. "To him? You say you handed in a setof bridge plans to my former secretary?"

"He wasn't a _former_ secretary then. "

"To young Ashton, at that time my secretary. Where was it?"

"In there, " muttered Blake, jerking his thumb towards the emptyanteroom. "I had to butt in to get even that far. "

"Why didn't you show your receipt when you applied for your plans?"

"Hadn't a receipt. "

"You didn't take a receipt?"

"And after that Q. T. Survey, too!" thrust Blake. "I sure did play thefool, didn't I? But I was all up in the air over the way I had workedout that central span, and didn't think of anything but the committeeyou'd appointed to pass on the competing plans. Those judges were allright. I knew they'd be square. "

"Sure you had any plans? Where's your proof?" demanded Mr. Leslie witha shrewdness that won a sarcastic grin from Blake. 

"Don't fash yourself, " he jeered. "You're safe--legally. Of course myscratch copy of them went down in the steamer. The fact I wroteGriffith about them before the contest wouldn't cut any ice--with yourlawyers across the table from any I could afford to hire. "

"Griffith knows about your plans?"

"Didn't get a chance to show them to him. All he knows is I wrote himI was drawing them to compete for the bridge--which of course was partof my plan to blackmail you, " gibed Blake. He rose, with a look thatwas almost good-humored. "Well, guess we're through swappingcompliments. I won't take up any of your valuable time discussing theweather. "

With shrewd eyes blinking uneasily under their shaggy brows, Mr. Leslie watched his visitor cross towards the door. The engineer walkedfirmly and resolutely, with his head well up, yet without any trace ofswagger or bravado. 

As he reached for the doorknob, Mr. Leslie bent forward and called inan irritable tone: "Wait! I want to tell you--"

"Excuse _me!_ My time's too valuable, " rejoined Blake, and he swungout of the room. 

Mr. Leslie sat for a few moments with his forehead creased in intentthought. He roused, to touch a button with an incisive thrust of hisfinger. To the clerk who came hastening in he ordered tersely: "PhoneGriffith--appointment nine-fifteen to-morrow. Important. "

CHAPTER IX

PLAYS FOR POSITION

About three o'clock of the same day a smart electric _coupe_ whirledup Lake Shore Drive under a rattling fusillade of sleet from over thelake. At the entrance of the grounds of the Leslie mansion it curvedaround and shot in under the _porte cochere. _

A footman in the quiet dark green and black of the Leslie liverysprang out to open the _coupe_ door, while the footman with the_coupe_, whose livery was not so quiet, swung down to hand outthe occupants. Before the servant could offer his services, DoloresGantry darted out past him and in through the welcome doorway of theside entrance. Her mother followed with stately leisure, regardless ofa wind-flung dash of sleet on her sealskins. 

Having been relieved of their furs, the callers were shown to thedrawing-room. As the footman glided away to inform his mistress oftheir arrival, Dolores danced across to the door of the rear drawing-room and called in a clear, full-throated, contralto voice: "Ho, Vievie! Vievie! You in here? Hurry up! There's something I do so wantto tell you. "

Mrs. Gantry paused in the act of seating herself. "Dolores! Why mustyou shriek out like a magpie? Will you never forget you're a tomboy?"

"I'm not, mamma. I'm simply acting as if I were one. You forget I'm afull-blown _debutante_. Vievie has already promised me a ball. "

"Behave yourself, if you wish to attend it. "

Dolores jumped to a chair and sank into it with an air of elegantlanguor. "Yes, mamma. This--ah--driving in moist weather is sofatiguing, don't you find it?"

Mrs. Gantry disposed herself upon the comfortable seat that she hadselected, and raised her gold lorgnette. "Do not forget that the ballGenevieve has so generously promised you is to be honored by thepresence--"

"Of a real live earl and a real hero, with Laffie Ashton thrown in forgood--I mean, bad--measure!" cut in Dolores with enthusiasm. "Youknow, I asked Vievie to 'put him on her list, else he never may bekissed!'"

Again Mrs. Gantry raised her lorgnette to transfix her daughter withher cold stare. "_You_ asked her to invite Lafayette Ashton? And youknow his reputation!"

"Of course. But you mustn't ask for the details, mamma, " reproved thegirl. "It's best that you should not become aware of such things, mydear. Only, you know, 'boys will be boys, ' and we must not lose sightof the fact that poor dear Laffie will be worth twenty millions someday--if his papa doesn't make a will. Besides, he dances divinely. Ofcourse Earl Jimmy's mustache is simply too cute for anything, but, alas! unless Vievie clings to her heroic Tommy--"

"Tommyrot!" sniffed Mrs. Gantry. "The presumption of that low fellow!To think of his following her to America!"

"You should have forewarned the authorities at Ellis Island, and hadhim excluded as dangerous--to your plans. "

"No more of this frivolity! I've confided to you that that man isdangerous to Genevieve's happiness. I'll not permit it. What afortunate chance that the earl came with him! I shall see to it thatGenevieve becomes a countess. "

Dolores pulled a mock-tragic face. "Oh, mamma, " she implored, "whydon't you root for me, instead? I'm sure a coronet would fit me toperfection, and his mustache is _so_ cute!"

To judge by Mrs. Gantry's expression, it was fortunate for herdaughter that Genevieve came in upon them. Dolores divined this lastfrom the sudden mellowing of her mother's face. She whirled up out ofher chair and around, with a cry of joyous escape: "Oh, Vievie! You'rejust in time to save me!"

"From what, dear?" asked Genevieve, smilingly permitting herself to becrumpled in an impetuous embrace. 

"Mamma was just going to run the steam-roller over me, simply becauseI said Jimmy's mustache is cute. It _is_ cute, isn't it?"

"'Jimmy'?" inquired Genevieve, moving to a chair beside Mrs. Gantry. 

"His honorable earlship, then--since mamma is with us. "

"You may leave the room, " said her mother. 

"I may, " repeated the girl. She pirouetted up the room and stopped tolook at a painting of a desolate tropical coast. 

"It's such a dreadful day out, Aunt Amice, " said Genevieve. "And youcan't be rested from the trip. "

"Quite true, my dear, " agreed Mrs. Gantry. "But I had to see you--totalk matters over with you. I did not wish to break in on yourenjoyment of those delightful English house parties; and crossingover, you know, I was too wretchedly ill to think of anything. Can Inever get accustomed to the sea!"

"It's so unfortunate, " condoled Genevieve. "I believe I'm a bornsailor. "

"You proved it, starting off with that globe-trotting Lady Bayrose. "

"Poor Lady Bayrose! To think that she--" The girl pressed her hands toher eyes. "The way that frightful breaker whirled the boat loose andover and over!--and the water swarming with sharks!"

"Do not think of it, my dear! Really, you must not think of it!" urgedMrs. Gantry. "Be thankful it happened before the sailors had time toput you in the same boat. Better still, my dear, do not permityourself to think of it at all. Put all that dreadful experience outof your mind. "

"But you do not understand, Aunt Amice. I fear you never will. Exceptfor that--for poor Lady Bayrose--I've told you, I do not wish toforget it. "

"My dear!" protested Mrs. Gantry, "cannot you realize how veryimproper--? That man! What if he should talk?"

"Is there anything to be concealed?" asked Genevieve, with quietdignity. 

"You know how people misconstrue things, " insisted her aunt. "Thatnewspaper notoriety was quite sufficiently--It's most fortunate thatLord Avondale is not affected. I must admit, his attitude towards thatman puzzles me. "

"I can understand it very well, " replied Genevieve, firmly. 

"You both insist that the fellow is--is not absolutely unspeakable! Ishould never have thought it of you, Genevieve, nor of such a thoroughgentleman as Lord Avondale--gentleman in _our_ sense of the term, --refined, cultured, and _clean_. Were he one of the gentry who havereasons for leaving England, --who go West and consort with ruffians--remittance men--But no. Lady Chetwynd assured me he has been presentedat Court, and you know the strictness of Queen Mary. "

"You admit that Lord Avondale is, shall I say--perfect. Yet--"

"He is irreproachable, my dear, except as regards his extraordinaryinsistence upon an intimate friendship with that man. "

"That is what confirms my good opinion of him, Aunt Amice. "

"That!"

"It proves he is himself manly and sincere. "

Mrs. Gantry raised a plump hand, palm outward. "Between the two ofyou--"

"We know Mr. Blake--the real man. You do not. "

"I never shall. I will not receive him--never. He is impossible!"

"What! never?--the man who saved me from starvation, fever, wildbeasts, from all the horrors of that savage coast?--the intimatefriend of the Earl of Avondale?"

"Does he paint, Vievie?" called Dolores. "Is this a picture of yourCrusoe coast?"

"No, dear. I bought that in New York. But it is very like the placewhere Tom--"

"'Tom'!" reproached Mrs. Gantry. She looked around at her daughter. "Dolores, I presumed you left us when I ordered you. "

"Oh, no, not 'ordered, ' mamma. You said 'may, ' not 'must. '"

"Leave the room!"

The girl sauntered down towards the arched opening into the reardrawing-room. As she passed the others, she paused to pat her cousin'ssoft brown hair. 

"I do believe the sun has burnt it a shade lighter, Vievie, " sheremarked. "What fun it must have been! When _are_ you going to show methat leopard-skin gown?"

"Leave the room this instant!" commanded Mrs. Gantry. 

Dolores crossed her hands on her bosom and crept out with an air ofmartyred innocence. Her mother turned to Genevieve for sympathy. "Thatgirl! I don't know what ever I shall do with her--absolutelyirrepressible! These titled Englishmen are so particular--she is yourcousin. "

Genevieve colored slightly. "You should know Lord Avondale better. Ifhe is at all interested--"

"He is, most decidedly. He dined with us last evening. Laffie Ashtoncalled; so I succeeded in getting the earl away from Dolores. We had amost satisfying little _tete-a-tete_. I led him into explainingeverything. "

"Everything?" queried Genevieve. 

"Yes, everything, my dear. His aloofness since you reached Aden hasbeen due merely to his high sense of honor, --to an absurd butchivalrous agreement with that fellow to not press his suit untilafter your arrival home. At Aden he had given the man his word--"

"At Aden?" interrupted Genevieve. "How could that be, when Tom leftthe ship at Port Mozambique?"

"He didn't. It seems that the fellow was aboard all the time, hidingin the steerage or stoke-hole, or somewhere--no doubt to spy on youand Lord Avondale. "

Genevieve averted her head and murmured in a half whisper: "He wasaboard all that time, and never came up for a breath of air all thosesmothering days! I remember Lord James speaking of how hot and vile itwas down in the forecastle. This explains why he went forward somuch!"

"It explains why he did not book passage with you from Aden--why hedid not hasten to you at Lady Chetwynd's--all because of hischivalrous but mistaken sense of loyalty to that low fellow. "

"If you please, Aunt Amice, " said Genevieve, in a tone as incisive asit was quiet, "you will remember that I esteem Mr. Blake. "

Mrs. Gantry stared over her half-raised lorgnette. She had neverbefore known her niece to be other than the very pattern of docility. 

"Well!" she remarked, and, after a little pause; "Fortunately, thatabsurd agreement is now at an end. The earl intimated that he wouldcall on you this afternoon. I am sure, my dear--"

Of what the lady was sure was left to conjecture. The footman appearedin the hall entrance and announced: "Mr. Brice-Ashton. "

Ashton came in, effusive and eager. "My dear Miss Genevieve! I--ah, Mrs. Gantry! Didn't expect to meet you here, such a day as this. Mostunexpected--ah--pleasure! _N'est-ce pas?_--No, no! my dear MissLeslie; keep your seat!"

Genevieve had seemed about to rise, but he quite deftly drew a chairaround and sat down close before her. "I simply couldn't wait anylonger. I felt I must call to congratulate you over that marvellousescape. It must have been terrible--terrible!"

Genevieve replied with perceptible coldness: "Thank you, Mr. Ashton. Ihad not expected a call from you. "

"'Mr. ' Ashton!" he echoed. "Has it come to that?--when we used to makemudpies together! Dolores said that you--"

"Not so fast, Laffie!" called the girl, as she came dancing into theroom in her most animated manner. "Don't forget I'm Miss Gantry now. "

Ashton continued to address Genevieve, without turning: "I came allthe way down from Michamac just to congratulate you--left my bridge!"

"You're too sudden with your congratulations, Laffie, " mocked Dolores. "Genevieve hasn't yet decided whether it's to be the hero or theearl. "

"Dolores, " admonished her mother. "I told you to leave the room. "

"Yes, and forgot to tell me to stay out. It's no use now, is it?Unless you wish me to drag out Laffie for a little _tete-a-tete_in the conservatory. "

"Sit down, dear, " said Genevieve. 

Mrs. Gantry turned to Ashton with a sudden unbending from hauteur. "Mydear Lafayette, I observed your manner yesterday towards that--towardsMr. Blake. Am I right in surmising that you know something with regardto his past?"

"About Blake?" replied Ashton, his usually wide and ardent eyesshifting their glance uneasily from his questioner to Genevieve andtowards the outer door. 

"About my friend Mr. Blake, " said Genevieve. 

"You call him a friend?--a fellow like that!" Ashton rashly exclaimed. 

"He has proved himself a disinterested friend, --which I cannot say ofall with whom I am acquainted. "

"Oh, of course, if you feel that way. "

"My other friends will remember that he saved my life. "

"If only he had been a gentleman!" sighed Mrs. Gantry. 

"Yes, Vievie, " added Dolores. "Next time any one goes to save you, shoo him off unless he first offers his card. "

"Mr. Blake is what many a seeming gentleman is not, " said Genevieve, her levelled glance fixed upon Ashton. "Tom Blake is a man, a strong, courageous man!"

"We quite agree with you, " ventured Ashton. "He is a man of the typeone so frequently sees among firemen and the police. "

Mrs. Gantry intervened with quick tact: "Mr. Blake is quite an eminentcivil engineer, we understand. As a fellow engineer, you have met him, I dare say--have had dealings with him. "

"I?--with him? No--that is--" Ashton stammered and shifted aboutuneasily under Genevieve's level gaze. "It was only when I was actingas Mr. Leslie's secretary. Blake handed me the bridge plans that heafterwards claimed were lost. I tell you, I had nothing to do withthem--nothing! I merely received them from him. That was all. I wentaway the very next day--resigned my position. I don't know what becameof his plans, --nothing whatever! I tell you, the Michamac Bridge--"

"Why, Lame!" giggled Dolores. "What makes you squirm so? You'retwitching all over. I thought you'd had enough of the simple life atMichamac to recover from the effects of that corner in oats. Youhaven't started another corner already, have you?"

"No, I have--I mean, yes--just a few cocktails at the club--yes, that's it. So bitter cold, this sleet! You'll understand, Mrs. Gantry--perhaps one too much. Haven't had any since I went back to thebridge last time. "

"Then up at Michamac you take it straight?" asked Dolores. 

Ashton forced a nervous laugh. "Keep it up, Dodie! You'll make a wityet. " He bent towards Genevieve. "You'll pardon me, won't you, Genevieve?"

The girl raised her fine brows ever so slightly. "'Miss Leslie, ' ifyou please. "

"Of course--of course! Just another slip--that last cocktail and thesleet. Wet cold always sends it to my head. That about Blake, too--Ioughtn't to 've spoken of it after you said he was your friend. It's, of course, your father's affair. "

"Then you need say no more about it, " said Genevieve with ironicalgraciousness. He shifted about in his chair, and she caught himdeftly. "Must you be going?--really! Good-day. "

He rose uncertainly to his feet, his handsome face flushed, and hisfull red lower lip twitching. 

"I--I had not intended--" he began. 

"Good-day!" said Mrs. Gantry with significant emphasis. 

"So sorry you must rush off so soon, Laffie, " mocked Dolores. 

Social training has its value. Ashton pulled himself together, bowedgracefully, and started up the room with easy assurance. 

As he neared the doorway, the footman appeared and announced withunction: "The Right Honorable, the Earl of Avondale. "

Ashton stopped short, and when the Englishman entered, met him with aneffusive greeting: "_Mon Dieu!_ Such a fortunate chance, yourlordship! So glad to meet you again, --and here, of all places! Don'tforget to look me up at my clubs. "

"Hearts are trumps, Laffie--not clubs, " called Dolores, as Lord Jamespassed him by with a vague nod. 

CHAPTER X

THE SHADOW OF DOUBT

Before the earl had reached them Mrs. Gantry was rising. 

Genevieve rose to protest. "You're not going so soon, Aunt Amice?You'll stay for a cup of tea?"

"Not to-day, my dear. Ah, earl! you're just in time to relieveGenevieve from the ennui of a solitary afternoon. I regret so muchthat we cannot stay with you. Come, Dolores. "

Dolores settled back comfortably on her chair. "Go right on, mamma. Don't wait for me. I'll stay and help Vievie entertain Lord Avondale. "

"Come--at once. "

"Oh, fudge! Well, start on. I'll catch you. "

Mrs. Gantry stepped past Lord James. Genevieve met his eager glance, and hastened to overtake her aunt. "Really, won't you stay, AuntAmice? I'll have tea brought in at once. "

"So sorry, my dear, " replied Mrs. Gantry, placidly sailing on towardsthe reception hall. 

Dolores simulated a yawn. "O-o-ho! I'm _so_ tired. Will nobody help meget up?"

With a boyish twinkle in his gray eyes but profound gravity In hismanner, Lord James offered her his hand. She placed her fingers in hispalm and sprang up beside him. The others were still moving up theroom. She surprised him by meeting his amused gaze with an angry flashof her big black eyes. 

"Shame!" she flung at him. "You, his friend, and would take her fromhim!"

He stared blankly. The girl whirled away from him with a swish ofsilken skirts and fled past her mother, all her anger lost in wildpanic. 

"Dolores! Whatever can--" cried Mrs. Gantry. But Dolores had vanished. "Really, Genevieve, that madcap girl--! About yourself, my dear. Promise me now, if you cannot say 'yes, ' at least you'll not make it afinal 'no. '"

"But, Aunt Amice, unless I feel--"

"Promise me! You must give yourself time to make sure. He will wait. Iam certain he will wait until you have found out--"

"I cannot promise anything now, " replied Genevieve. 

Mrs. Gantry did not press the point. It was the second time during thecall that her niece had proved herself less docile than she hadexpected. As she left the room, Genevieve returned to Lord Jameswithout any outward sign of hesitancy. She seated herself and smiledcomposedly at her caller, who still stood in the daze into whichDolores's outburst had thrown him. 

"Won't you sit down?" she invited. "How is Mr. Blake?"

[Illustration: "Shame!" she flung at him. "You, his friend, and wouldtake her from him!"]

With rather an abstracted air, Lord James sank down on the chairopposite her and began fiddling with the cord of his monocle. 

"Haven't seen him since yesterday, " he replied, "Left him at theoffice of a Mr. Griffith--engineer--old friend. Gave him workimmediately--something big, I take it. Asked Tom to bunk with him. "

"It's so good to hear he has work already--and to stay with a friend!You mean, live with him?"

"Yes. "

"He--the friend--seems desirable?"

"Decidedly so, I should say. Engineer who first started him on hiscareer, if I remember aright what Tom once told me of his early life. "

"Oh, that is such good news! But have you seen him since--since thismorning? He had that appointment with papa, you know. "

"No, I regret to say I haven't; and I fear I cannot reassure you as tothe outcome. You know Tom's way; and your father, I take it, israther--It would seem that they had a disagreement before Tom wentWest the last time. "

"Yes. He once referred to it. Some misunderstanding with regard to thepayment of a railway survey. I asked papa about it last evening, andhe told me that it had been made all right--that Tom would get his payfor his share in the survey. "

"Little enough, in the circumstances, " remarked Lord James. 

"That was not all. Papa promised to give him a very good position. Hehad intended to offer money. But I explained to him that, of course, Tom would not accept money. "

"Very true. I doubt if he would have accepted it even had it not beenfor his hope that--" Lord James paused and stared glumly at hisfinger-tips. "Bally mess, deuce take it! He and your father at outs, and he and I--"

"You have not quarrelled? You're still friends?" exclaimed Genevieve. 

"Quarrelled? No, I assure you, no! Yet am I his friend? Permit me tobe candid, Miss Leslie. I'm in a deuce of a quandary. On the trip upto Aden, you'll remember, I told you something of the way he and I hadknocked about together. "

"Yes. Frankly, it added not a little to my esteem for you that you hadlearned to value his sterling worth. "

"I did not tell you how it started. It was in the Kootenay country--British Columbia, you know. Bunch of sharpers set about to rook me ona frame-up--a bunco game. Tom tipped me off, though I had snubbed him, like the egregious ass I was. I paid no heed; blundered into the trap. Wouldn't have minded losing the thousand pounds they wanted, but theybrought a woman into the affair--made it appear as if I were a cad--orworse. "

"Surely not that, Lord James. No one could believe that of you. "

"You don't know the beastly cleverness of those bunco chaps. They hadme in a nasty hole, when Tom stepped in and showed them up. Seems heknew more about the woman and two of the men than they cared to havepublished. They decamped. "

"That was so like Tom!" murmured Genevieve. 

"Claimed he did it because of an old grudge against the parties. Hadto force my thanks on him. Told you how we'd chummed together since. Deuce take it! why should it have been you on that steamer--with him?"

"Why?" echoed Genevieve, gazing down at her clasped hands, which stillshowed a trace of tropical tan. 

"You know it--it puts me in rather a nasty box, " went on Lord James. "Had I not met you before he did, it is possible that I could haveavoided--You see my predicament. He and I've been together so much, Ican foresee the effect on him of--er--of a great disappointment. "

Genevieve gazed up at him with startled eyes. "Lord James, you mustexplain that; you must be explicit. "

"I--I did not intend to so much as mention it, " stammered the youngEnglishman, bitterly chagrined at himself. "It was only--pray, do notask me, Miss Leslie!"

"You referred, of course, to his drinking, " said Genevieve, in a toneas tense as it was quiet. "Do not reproach yourself. When we were castashore together, he was--not himself. But when I remember all thoseweeks that followed--! You cannot imagine how brave and resolute, howtruly courageous he was!--and under that outward roughness, how kindand gentle!"

"I too know him. That's what makes it so hard. The thought that I maypossibly cause him a disappointment that may result in--" Lord Jamescame to a stop, tugging at his mustache. 

Genevieve was again staring at the slender little hands, from whichthe most expert manicuring had not yet entirely removed all traces ofrough usage. 

"He told me something of--of what he had to fight, " she murmured in atroubled voice. "But I feel that--that if something came into hislife--" She blushed, but went on bravely--"something to take him outof what he calls the grind--"

Lord James had instantly averted his gaze from her crimsoning face. 

"That's the worst of it!" he burst out. "If only I could feel surethat he--I've seen him fight--Gad! how he has fought--time and again. Yet sooner or later, always the inevitable defeat!"

"I cannot believe it! I cannot!" insisted Genevieve. "With hisstrength, his courage! It's only been the circumstances; that he hashad nobody to--I--I beg your pardon! Of course you--What I mean issomebody who--" She buried her face in her hands, blushing morevividly than before. 

The Englishman's face lightened. "Then you've not let my deplorableblunder alter your attitude towards him?"

"Not in the slightest. "

He leaned forward. "Then--I can wait no longer! You must know howgreatly I--All those days coming up to Aden I could say nothing. Before coming aboard, he had told me why he could not permit you to--to commit yourself irrevocably. "

He paused. Genevieve bent over lower. She did not speak. 

He went on steadily: "It was then I realized fully his innatefineness. I own it astonished me, well as I thought I knew him. Withhis brains, his 'grit, ' and _that_, I'd say he could become anythinghe wished--were it not for his--for the one weakness. "

Genevieve flung up her head, to gaze at him in indignant protest. "Weakness! How can you say that? He is so strong--so strong!"

"In all else than that, " insisted Lord James. "You must face the hardfact. Gad! this is far worse than I thought it would be. But I knewyou before he did, and I've played fair with him. It was not easy tosay nothing those days before we reached Aden, or to stay away fromyou after I reached home. Even he could not have found it so hard. Hehas all that stubborn power of endurance; while I--"

"You have no cause to reproach yourself. I cannot say how greatly itpleased me that you took him to Ruthby Castle. "

"Could you but have been there, too! He and the pater hit it off outof hand. Jolly sensible chap, the pater--quiet, bookish--long head. "

"He must be!"

"Not strange about Tom, though. It's odd how his bigness makes itselffelt--to those who've any sense of judgment. And yet it's not so odd, when you come to think. My word! if only it were not for his--Forgiveme, Miss Genevieve! I've the right to consider what it might mean toyou. It gives me the right to speak for myself. He himself insistedthat, in justice to you, I should not withdraw. "

"Lord James!"

"Pray, do not misunderstand, Miss Genevieve. He knew what it meant tome. But our first thought was for you. He wished you to have the fullcontrast of your own proper environment, that you might regain yourperspective--the point of view natural to one of your position. "

"He could think I'd go back to the shams and conventions, after thoseweeks of _real_ life!"

"Sometimes life is a bit too real in the most conventional ofsurroundings, " said his lordship, with a rueful smile. "No. He sawthat you had no right to commit yourself then; that you shouldreconsider matters in the environment in which you belong and forwhich he is not now fitted--whatever may be the outcome of his effortsto make himself fit. "

"He will succeed!"

"He may succeed. I should not have the slightest hesitancy in sayingthat success would be certain, were it not for that one flaw. It's notto be held against him--an inherited weakness. "

"Do you not believe we can overcome heredity?"

"In some cases, I daresay. But with him--You must bear in mind I'veseen the futility of his struggle. All his resolution and courage andendurance seem to count for nothing. But it's too painful! Can't weleave him out of this? You are aware that I missed my opportunity whenLady Bayrose changed her plans and rushed you off on the other ship. After that you may imagine how difficult I found it to say nothing, donothing, coming up to Aden. "

"Please, please say no more!" begged Genevieve, her eyes bright withtears of distress. "I regard you too highly. You have my utmostesteem, my respect and friendship, my--you see he has taught me to besincere--you have my affection. Dear friend, I shall be perfectlycandid. I was a silly girl. I had never sensed the realities of life. I had a young girl's covetousness of a coronet--of a title. Yet thatwas not all. I felt a warm regard for you. Had you spoken before I methim, before I learned to know him--"

"Before you knew him? Then you still--? The contrast of civilization--of your own environment--has made no difference?"

"I do not say that. Yet it is not in the manner you suppose. " Shelooked away, with a piteous attempt to smile. "It's strange how muchpain can be caused by the slightest shadow of a doubt. "

"Miss Genevieve! I--I shall never be able to forgive myself! For me tohave said a word--it was despicable!"

"No, do not say it. Can you think me capable of misunderstanding? Dearfriend, I esteem you all the more for what I know it must have costyou. But no; what I spoke of was something that was already in my ownmind. "

"Ah--then you, too--Miss Genevieve, it's been so good of you. Let mebeg that you do not consider this as final. "

"But I can promise you nothing. It would not be right to you. "

"I ask only that you do not consider this final. You have admitted ashadow of a doubt. With your permission, I propose to wait until youhave solved that doubt. You have given me cause to hope that, were itnot for him--"

"It is not right for me to give you the slightest hope. "

"But I take it. Meantime, no more annoyance to you. We'll be jollygood friends, no more. You take me?"

"I'll ring for tea. You deserve it. "

"No objections, I assure you. I'll serve as stopgap till Tom turnsup. "

Genevieve rose quickly, her color deepening. "He is coming?--thisafternoon!"

"I should not have been surprised had I found him here. And now--" Heglanced at his watch. "It's already half after four. "

"Oh, and papa said he'd be home early to-day!--though his custom is tocome barely in time to dress for dinner. "

"Hope Tom hit it off with him this morning--but--" Lord James shookhis head dubiously--"I fear he was not in a conciliatory mood. "

CHAPTER XI

REBELLION

Genevieve rang for tea, and changed the conversation to impersonaltopics. A footman brought in a Russian samovar and a service ofeggshell china. They sipped their tea and chatted lightly aboutEnglish acquaintances, but with frequent glances towards the hallentrance. Each was wondering which one would be first to come, Blakeor Mr. Leslie. 

The conversation had languished to a mere pretext when Blake wasannounced. The engineer entered slowly, his face red and moist fromthe fierce drive of the sleet off the lake. He had come afoot. 

Genevieve placed a trembling hand on the cover of her samovar, andcalled to him gayly: "Hurry here at once and have a good hot cup oftea. You must be frozen. "

Blake came to them across the waxed floor with an ease and assuranceof step in part due to his visit to Ruthby Castle and in part to hiswalk over the sleet-coated pavements. 

"No tea for me, Miss Jenny, " he replied with cheerful heartiness. "Thanks, just the same. But I'm warm as toast--look it, too, eh?"

"Then take it to cool you off, " suggested Lord James. "That's theRussian plan. When you're cold, hot tea to warm you; when you're hot, hot tea to cool you. "

"Not when water tastes good to me, " replied Blake with a significancethat did not escape his friend. "Well, Jimmy, so you beat me to it. "

"Waited till after three, " said Lord James. 

"Thought you'd hang back to give me the start? Went you one better, eh?" replied Blake. He stared fixedly into the handsome high-bred faceof his friend and then at Genevieve's down-bent head. "Well? What'sthe good word? Is it--congratulations?"

"Not this time, old man, " answered the Englishman lightly. He rose. "Take my seat. Must be going. "

Blake's eyes glowed. "You're the gamest ever, Jimmy boy. "

"Don't crow till you're out of the woods, " laughed his friend. "Can'twish you success, y'know. But it's to continue the same between us asit has been, if you're willing. "

"That's like you, Jimmy!"

"To be sure. But I really must be going. Good-day, Miss Genevieve. "

The girl looked up without attempting to conceal her affection andsympathy for him. 

"Dear friend, " she said, "before you go, I wish to tell you how highlyI value and appreciate--"

"No more, no more, I beg of you, " he protested, with genialinsistence. "Tom, I'll be dropping in on you at your office. "

He bowed to Genevieve, and still cloaking his hurt with a cheerfulsmile, started to leave them. At the same moment Mr. Leslie camehurrying into the room. The sight of Lord James brought him to astand. 

"H'm!" he coughed. "So it's you, Lord Avondale? Hodges said--" Hiskeen eyes glanced past the Englishman to the big form across thecorner of the table from Genevieve. "What! Right, was he?--Genevieve. "

"Yes, papa?" replied the girl, looking at Blake with a startled gaze. She was very pale, but her delicately curved lips straightened withquiet determination. She did not rise. 

"Er--glad to meet you again so soon, Mr. Leslie, " said Lord James, deftly placing himself so that the other could not avoid his profferedhand without marked discourtesy. Mr. Leslie held out his flaccidfingers. They were caught fast and retained during a cordial andprolonged handshake. 

"When we first met, " went on his lordship suavely, "time was lackingfor me to congratulate you on the fact that your daughter came throughher terrible experience so well. She has assured me that she feels allthe better for it. Only one, like myself, accustomed to knocking aboutthe tropics, can fully realize the extraordinary resourcefulness andcourage of the man who had the good fortune to bring her through itall safely and, as she says, bettered. "

"Yes, yes, we all know that, and admit it, " replied the captive, attempting to free his hand. 

Lord James gave it a final wring. "To be sure! You, of all men, willbear in mind what he accomplished. Yet I must insist that my ownappreciation is no less keen. It is the greatest satisfaction to methat I am privileged to call Thomas Blake my friend. "

"Your friend has put me under obligations, " answered Mr. Leslie. "Ihave acknowledged to him that I owe him a heavy debt for what he hasdone. I stand ready to pay him for his services, whenever he is readyto accept payment. "

"Ah, indeed, " murmured Lord James. "'Pon my word, now, that's what Icall deuced generous. "

"No; that's not the question at all. It's merely a matter of abusiness settlement for services rendered, " replied Mr. Leslie. 

"Yet one does not--er--value gratitude in pounds and dollars, y'know. "

"No, no, of course you do not, papa!" exclaimed Genevieve. "Pleaseremember--please try to consider--"

She would better have remained silent. Her evident concern alarmed herfather to the point of exasperation. 

"I am considering how this friend of Lord Avondale's bore himselftowards me, in my office, this morning, " he interrupted her. He turnedagain to Lord James. "I should not need to tell you, sir, that themanner of expressing gratitude depends altogether on thecircumstances. We are now, however, considering another matter. Youwere about to leave--You will always be welcome to my house, LordAvondale, and so will be your friends, _when they come and go withyou. _"

"Father!" protested Genevieve, rising to face him. 

"My mistake, Miss Jenny, " said Blake, coolly drawing himself up besideher. "I thought it was _your_ house. "

He swung about to Mr. Leslie, and said, with unexpected mildness:"Don't worry; I'm going. We don't want to fuss here, do we?--to makeit any harder for her. But first, there's one thing. You're herfather--I want to say I'm sorry I cut loose this morning. "

"What! you apologize?"

"As to what I said about my bridge plans--yes. If you had left outabout--If you hadn't rubbed it in so hard about me and--You know whatI mean. It made me red-hot. I couldn't help cutting loose. But, justthe same, I oughtn't to've said that about the plans, because--well, because, you see, I don't believe it. "

"You don't? Then why--?"

"I did believe it before. I believed it this morning, when I was mad. But I've had time to cool off and think it over. Queer thing--all theevidence and probabilities are there, just the same; but somehow Ican't believe it of you any longer--simply can't. You're her father. "

"H'm--this puts a different face on the matter, " admitted Mr. Leslie. "I begin to think that I may have been rather too hasty. Had you beenmore conciliatory, less--h'm--positive, I'm inclined to believe thatwe--"

"I don't care what _you_ believe, " was Blake's brusque rejoinder. "I'm not trying to curry favor with you. Understand? Come on, Jimmy. "

But Genevieve was at his elbow, between him and the door. 

"You are not going now, Tom, " she said. 

"Genevieve, " reproved her father. "This is most unlike you. "

"Unlike my former frivolous, pampered self!" cried the girl. "I'm nolonger a silly debutante, papa. I've lived the grim hard realities oflife--there on that dreadful coast--with him. I'm a woman. "

"You child! You're not even twenty-one. "

"I am old--older than the centuries, papa--old enough to know my ownmind. " She turned to Blake. "You were right, Tom. This is my home--legally mine. You are welcome to stay. "

"Mr. Leslie!" interposed Lord James, before her father could reply. "One moment, if you please. I have told you that Mr. Blake and I arefriends. More than that, we are intimate friends--chums. I wish toimpress on you the very high esteem in which I hold him, the more thanadmiration--"

"Chuck it, Jimmy, " put in Blake. 

Lord James concluded in a tone of polite frigidity. "And since youplace conditions on his welcome to your house, permit me to remarkthat I prefer his acquaintance to yours. " He bowed with utmostformality. 

"H'm!" rasped Mr. Leslie. "You should understand, sir. Had you notinterrupted me--" He abruptly faced Blake. "You, at least, willunderstand my position--that I have some reason--It is not that I wishto appear discourteous, even after this morning. You've apologized; Icannot ask you to go--I do not ask you to go. Yet--"

"If you please, papa, " said Genevieve with entrancing sweetness. 

"Well?"

"Isn't it time for you to dress?"

"No--came home early, " replied Mr. Leslie, jerking out his watch. Hesearched his daughter's face with an apprehensive glance, and againaddressed Blake. "Too early. There's time for a run out to GeorgeAshton's. Want to see him on a matter of business. Valuableacquaintance for you to make. Jump into the runabout with me, and I'llintroduce you to him. "

"Thanks, " said Blake dryly. "Not to-day. "

"Mr. Blake has just come, papa, " said Genevieve. "You would notdeprive us of the pleasure of a little visit. "

"H'm. By cutting it close, I can wait a few minutes. "

"You need not trouble to wait, papa. You can introduce him to Mr. Ashton some other time. "

"May I offer myself as a substitute?" put in Lord James. "Mrs. Gantryhas told me so much about the elder Mr. Ashton. Quite curious to meethim. "

Blandly taking Mr. Leslie's assent as a matter of course, he startedtoward the door. "Good-day, Miss Leslie. Ah--do we go out this way?Can't tell you how I value the opportunity. Very good of you, very!"

"Wait, " said Mr. Leslie. "Genevieve, haven't you an engagement out, this afternoon?"

"If I had a dozen, papa, I should not deprive Mr. Blake of his call. "

"Mr. Blake is welcome to his call. But--since you force me to say it--I must expressly tell you, it is my wish that you should not see himalone. "

"I'm very sorry, papa, that you should forbid me, " said Genevieve witha quiet tensity that should have forewarned him. 

"Sorry?"

"Yes, papa, because, if you insist, I shall have to disobey you. "

"You will?"

He stared at her, astounded, and she sustained his gaze with asteadiness that he perceived could not be shaken. 

Lord James again interposed. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Leslie, if I mayseem to interfere. But as he is my friend, I, too, request you--"

"You?" exclaimed Mr. Leslie, with fresh astonishment. "You also sidewith him?--when my sister-in-law tells me--"

"That is all by-the-bye, I assure you, sir. The least I can do for theman who saved her life is to play fair. Permit me to say that you cando no less. "

Mr. Leslie looked at Genevieve with a troubled frown. 

"At least, my dear, I hope you'll remember who you are, " he said. 

She made no reply, but stood white-faced and resolute until he wentfrom the room. Lord James followed close after him. 

Blake and Genevieve were left alone. 

CHAPTER XII

THE DEEPENING OF DOUBT

Blake stood as motionless as a carved figure, his eyes glowing uponthe girl, blue and radiant with tenderness and compassion and profoundlove. 

The clang of a heavy door told her that her father had left the house. On the instant all her firmness left her. She hid her face in herhands and sank into the nearest chair, quivering and weeping, insilent anguish. 

Blake came near and stood over her. He spoke to her in a voice thatwas deep and low and very soft: "There, there, little girl, don't youmind! Just cry it out. It'll do you good. You know I understand. Havea good cry!"

The sympathetic urging to give way freely to her weeping almostimmediately soothed her grief and checked the flow of tears. She roseuncertainly, dabbing at her eyes. 

"I--I couldn't help it, Tom. It's the fi-first time papa's ever beenso cross with me!"

"My fault, I guess. Rubbed his fur the wrong way this morning prettyhard. But don't you fret, girlie. It'll be all right. Only we mustn'tblame him. Think of what it means to him. You're all he has, and if hethinks you're--if he thinks he's going to lose you--"

"But it was so cruel!--so unjust!--the way he treated you!"

"Oh, that's all right, little woman. I don't mind that. We'll allforget it by to-morrow. He didn't mean half he said. It was just thethought that I--that somebody might take you away from him. Jenny!"His eyes glowed upon her blue as sapphires. "You're home now. "

He held his arms open for her to come to him. She swayed forward as ifto give herself into the clasp of those strong arms, but instantlychecked the movement and shrank back a little way. 

"Wait, Tom, " she murmured hesitatingly. "We must first--"

"Wait longer, Jenny?" he exclaimed, his deep voice vibrant with theintensity of his feeling. "No, I must say it! I've waited all theseweeks--good Lord!--when maybe you've thought it was because I didn'twant to--to do as you asked!"

"It's not that, Tom, truly it's not that. I was hurt and--shamed. Buteven then I divined why you had done it and realized the nobility ofyour motive. "

"Nobility? That's a good joke! You know I was only trying to do thesquare thing. Any man would have done the same. "

"Any _man_ would. I'm not so certain as to some who call themselvesgentlemen. "

"There're some who're real gentlemen--worse luck to me--Jimmy, forone. I can never catch up with him in that line, girlie, but I canmake a stagger at it. "

"You can become anything you will, Tom, " she said with calmconviction. 

"Maybe, " he replied. "But, Jenny, I can't wait for that. Wish I could. I'm still only--what you know. Same time, you're back home now, andyou've been visiting with your titled friends. Also you've seen howyour father looks at it, and how--"

"What does all that amount to--even papa's anger? If only that wereall!"

"Jenny! then you still--?" His voice quivered with passion. "My littlegirl!--how I love you! God I how I love you! I never thought much ofgirls, but I loved you the first time I ever set eyes on you, there inthe Transvaal. That's why I threw up the management of the mine. Iknew who your father was; I knew I hadn't a ghost of a show. But Ifollowed you to Cape Town--couldn't help it!"

"You--you old silly!" she murmured, half frightened by the greatnessof his passion. "You should have known I was only a shallow societygirl!"

"Shallow?--you? You're deep as blue water!"

"The ocean is fickle. "

"You're not; you're true! You've _lived!_ I've seen you face witha smile what many a man would have run from. "

"Because with me was one who would have died sooner than that harmshould come to me! Those weeks, those wonderful weeks that we lived, so close to primitive, savage Nature--bloody fanged Nature!--thoseweeks that I stood by your side and saw her paint for us herbeautiful, terrible pictures of Life, pictures whose blue was thestorm-wave and the sky veiled with fever-haze, whose white was theroaring surf and the glare of thunderbolts, whose red was fire andblood! And you saved me from all--all! I had never even dreamt that aman could be so courageous, so enduring, so strong!"

His face clouded, and he gave back before her radiant look. 

"Strong?" he muttered. "That's the question. Am I?"

"Of course you are! I'm sure you are. You _must_ be. It was thatwhich compelled my--which made me--" She paused, and a swift blushswept over her face from forehead to throat--"made me propose to you, there on the cliff, when the steamer came. "

"That a lady should have loved me like that!" he murmured. "I stillcan't believe it was true! My little girl, it's not possible--notpossible!"

"You say 'loved, '" she whispered. Her eyelids fluttered and droopedbefore his ardent gaze; her scarlet face bent downward; she held outher hands to him in timid surrender. 

He caught them between his big palms, but not to draw her to him. Ajagged mark on her round wrist caught his eye. It was the scar of avicious thorn. The last time he had seen it was on the cliff top, --that other time when she put out her arms to him. He bent over andkissed the red scar. 

"Jenny, " he replied in bitter self-reproach, "here's another time I'veproved I'm not in your class--not a gentleman. You've raised a point--the real point. Am I what you think me? You think I'm at least a man. Am I?"

She looked up at him, her face suddenly gone white again. "Tom! Youdon't mean--?"

"About my being strong. All that you've seen so far are my leadingsuits. There's that other to be reckoned with yet. I told your fatherI hadn't touched a drop since the wreck. But you know how it wasbefore. "

"Yes, dear, but that _was_ before!"

"I know. Things are different now. I've something at stake that'llhelp me fight. You can't guess, though, how that craving--Lucky I'llhave Jimmy, as well, to back me up. He's great when it comes tojollying a fellow over the bumps. He'll help. "

"It's little enough, after all you've done for him! He told me. "

"Just like him. But let's not get sidetracked. What I wanted to makeclear is that I'm not so everlastingly strong as you seem to think. "

"Tom, you'll not give way! You'll fight!"

"Yes, I'll fight, " he responded soberly. 

"And you'll win!"

"I hope so, girlie. I've fought it before, and it has downed me, timeand again. But now it's different--unless you've found you weremistaken. But if you still feel as when you--as you did there on thecliff that morning--Good God! how _could_ I lose out, with youbacking me up?"

She looked at him with a quick recurrence of doubt. "You ask help ofme?"

"If you care enough, Jenny. It's not going to be a joke. I've triedbefore, and gone under so many times that some people would say I'veno show left. But let me tell you, girlie, I'm going to fight thistime for all I'm worth. I'm going to break this curse if I can. It_is_ a curse, you'll remember. I told you about my mother. "

"You should not think of that. What does heredity count as againstenvironment!"

"Environment?--heredity? By all accounts, my father was the man you'vethought me, and a lot more--railroad engineer; nerviest man ever ranan engine out of Chicago on the Pennsylvania Line; American stock fromway back--Scotch-Irish; sober as a church, steady, strong as a bull. Never an accident all the years he pulled the fast express till theone that smashed him. Could have jumped and saved himself--stayed byhis throttle, and saved the train. They brought him home--what wasleft of him. Papers headlined him; you know how they do it. That wasmy father. "

"Oh, Tom! and with such a father!"

"Wait a minute. You spoke of heredity and environment. I'm giving youall sides, except anything more about my mother. Her father was acranky inventor . .. Well, inside six months we were living in atenement. I was a little shaver of six. The younger of my sisters wasa baby. Talk about environment! Wasn't many years before I was knownas the toughest kid in Rat Alley. "

"Don't dwell on that, Tom. Don't even speak of it, " begged Genevieve. 

He shook his head. "I want you to know just what I've been. It's yourright to know. I wasn't one of the nasty kind and I wasn't a sneak. But I was the leader of my gang. Maybe you know what that means. Ofcourse the police got it in for me. Finally they made it so hot I hadto get out of Chicago. I took to the road--became a bum. "

"Not that!--surely not that!"

"Well, no, only a kid hobo. But I'd have slid on down if I hadn'tdropped into a camp of surveyors who were heading off into themountains and had need of another man. Griffith, the engineer incharge, talked me into joining the party as axman. I took a fancy tohim. He proved himself the first real friend I'd ever had--or was tohave till I met Jimmy Scarbridge. "

"A man's worth is measured by the friends he makes, " she observed. 

"Not always. Well, Griffith got me interested. I joined the party. _Whew!_--seven months in the mountains, and not a saloon withinfifty miles any of the time. But I stuck it out. Nobody ever called mea quitter. "

"And now, Tom, you'll not quit! You'll win!"

"I'll try--for you, girlie! You can't guess how that braces me--thethought that it's for you! You see, I'm beginning to count on thingsnow. I'm not even afraid of your money now. Good old Grif--Griffith, you know--has given me a shy at a peach of a proposition--toughestproblem I was ever up against. It's a big irrigation dam that hasfeazed half a dozen good engineers. "

"But you'll solve the problem! You can do anything!"

"I'm not so sure, Jenny. I've only begun to dig into the field books. Even if I do make a go of it in the end, chances are I'll have to worklike--like blazes to get there. But that'll help me on this otherfight--help choke down the craving when it comes. A whole lot turns onthat dam. If I make good on it, I'm made myself. Tack up my ad. Asconsulting engineer, and I'll have all the work I want. Won't beashamed to look your three millions in the face. "

"My money! Can you still believe that counts with me? Money! It iswhat we are ourselves that counts. If you acquired all the money inthe world, yes, and all the fame, but failed to master yourself, you'dnot be the man I thought you--the man whom I--whom I said I loved. "

"Jenny! Then it's gone--you no longer care?"

"You have no right to ask anything of me until you've--"

"I'm not, Jenny! Don't think it for a moment. I'm not asking anythingnow. I wanted to wait. It's only that I want you to know how I loveyou. I wouldn't dream of asking you to--to marry me now--no, not tillI've won out, made good. Understand? All I want is for you to wait forme till I've made my name as an A-1 engineer and until I've downedthat cursed craving for drink. "

"You will, Tom--you _must!_"

"With you to back me, little woman! Yes, I guess I can make it thistime, with you waiting for me!"

Genevieve met his smile and enthused gaze with a look of firmdecision. Her doubt and hesitancy had at last crystallized into a setpurpose. She replied in a tone that rang with a hardness new to him:"No. It must be more than that. "

"More?" he asked, surprised. 

"More, much more. That morning, after I so shamelessly forced you tolisten to me, nothing could have altered my purpose had you comeaboard the steamer with me. "

"But I couldn't then. 'T wouldn't have been fair to you. "

"Yet it might have been wise. Who knows? At the least, the questionwould have been settled 'for better or for worse. ' It is easier toface the trouble which one cannot escape than deliberately to makechoice of entering into the state that may or may not bring about thedreaded misfortune. Had you married me then, Tom, I would surely havebeen happy for a time. But now--you have made me believe that you wereright. "

Blake drew back from her, his head downbent in sudden despondency. "Soyou've found out you don't feel the same?"

Her eyes dimmed with tears of compassion for him, but her voice was asfirm as before. "I loved Tom Blake because he was so manly, so strong!I still love that Tom Blake. You are not sure that you are strong. "

"But if I knew I had your love back of me, Jenny!"

"That's it--you wish to lean on me! It's weak; it's not like you. Youwon my love by your courage, your resolution, your strength! All mylove for you is based on your strength. If that fails--if you proveweak--how am I to tell whether my love will endure?"

"I'll win out. I know I can win out if I have you to fight for. "

"If you have me to _lean_ on! No; you must prove yourself strongerthan that. I had no doubts then. I urged you to marry me--flung myselfat you. But now, after what I've been forced to realize since then--"

She stopped short, leaving him to infer the rest. He took it at theworst. He replied despairingly yet without a trace of bitterness:"Yes, you'd better take Jimmy. He's your kind. "

"Tom! How can you? I've a great esteem for Lord James, I like him verymuch, but--"

"He's the right sort. You could count on being happy with him, " statedBlake, in seeming resignation. She looked at him, puzzled and hurt byhis calmness. The look fired him to a passionate outburst. "Don't youthink it, though! He's not going to have you! I can't give you up! I'mgoing to win you. My God! I love you so much I'd try to win you--I'dhave to win you, even if I thought you'd be unhappy!"

Her voice softened with responsive tenderness. "Oh, Tom, if only Iknew we would have--would have and keep that great love that coversall things! I'd rather be miserable with you than happy without you!"

"Jenny! you do love me!" he cried, advancing with outstretched arms. 

She drew back from him. "Not now--not now, Tom!"

He smiled, only slightly dashed. "Not now, but when I've made good. You'll wait for me! I can count on that!"

"No, " she answered with utmost firmness. 

"Jenny!"

"I'll make no promise--not even a conditional one. You must make thisfight without leaning on any one. I _must_ know whether you arestrong, whether you are the real Tom Blake I love. "

"But I'm not asking anything--only in case I make good. "

"No; I'll not bind myself in any way. I'll not promise to marry youeven if you should win. It was you who made me wait, and now I shallmake sure. Unless I feel certain that we would be bound together forall time by the deepest, truest love, I know it would be a mistake. IfI were certain, right now, that you lack the strength to conqueryourself for the sake of your own manhood, I would accept Lord James. "

Whether or not the girl was capable of such an act, there could be nodoubt that she meant what she said, and her tone carried conviction toBlake. He was silent for a long moment. When he replied, it was in avoice dull and heavy with despondency. "You don't realize what you'reputting me up against. "

"I realize that you must clear away all my doubt of your strength, "she rejoined, with no lessening of her firmness. "You were strongthere on that savage coast, in the primitive. But you must proveyourself strong enough to rise _out_ of the primitive--to rise toyour true, your higher self. "

He bent as if he were being crushed under a ponderous weight. Hisvoice dulled to a half articulate murmur. "You--won't--help--me?"

"I cannot--I dare not!" she insisted almost fiercely. "If I did Ishould doubt. This dreadful fear! You _must_ prove you're strong!You _must_ master yourself for the sake of your own manhood!"

At last he was forced to realize that it was necessity, not desire, that impelled her to thrust him from her. He must fight his hardbattle alone--he must fight without even the thought that he had hersympathy. 

He should have divined that she would be secretly hoping, perhapspraying for him, striving for him in spirit with all the might of hertrue love. But by her insistence she had at last compelled him todoubt her love. 

He thought of the many times that he had gone down in disgracefuldefeat, and black despair fell upon him. His broad shoulders stoopedyet more. 

"What's the use?" he muttered thickly. 

But the question itself served as the goad to quicken all his immensereserve of endurance. He looked up at Genevieve, heavy-eyed but grimwith determination. 

"You don't know what you've put me up against, " he said. "But I'll notlay down yet. Nobody ever called me a quitter. You've a right to askme to make good. I'll make a stagger at it. Good-bye!"

He turned from her and walked up the room with the steady deliberationof one who bears a heavy burden. 

It was almost more than she could endure. She started to dart afterhim, and her lips parted to utter an entreaty for him to come back toher. But her spirit had been tempered in that fierce struggle for lifeon the savage coast of Mozambique. 

She checked herself, and waited until, without a backward glance, hehad passed out through the curtained doorway. Then, and not untilthen, she sank down in her chair and gave way to the anguish of herlove and doubt and dread. 

CHAPTER XIII

PLANS AND OTHER PLANS

A quarter after nine the next morning found Griffith at the door ofMr. Leslie's sanctum. He stuffed his gauntlet gloves into a pocket ofhis old fur coat, and entered the office, his worn, dark eyes vaguewith habitual abstraction. 

Mr. Leslie was in the midst of his phonographic dictation. He abruptlystopped the machine and whirled about in his swivel-chair to face theengineer. 

"Sit down, " he said. "How's the Zariba Dam?"

"No progress, " answered Griffith with terse precision. He sat downwith an air of complete absorption in the act, drew out an old knifeand his pipe, and observed: "You didn't send for me for that. "

"How's the bridge?"

"Same, " croaked the engineer, beginning to scrape out the bowl of hispipe with the one unbroken blade of his knife. 

"That young fool still running around town?"

"Can't say. It'd be a good thing to have him do it all the time ifwork was going on. Had a letter from McGraw, that man I put in asgeneral foreman. He says everything is frozen up tight; may keep sofor two weeks or more. "

"You've laid off most the force?"

"No, not even the Slovaks. "

Mr. Leslie frowned. "Two or three weeks at full pay, and no work?That's an item. "

"Hard enough to hold together a competent force on such winter work asthat, " rejoined Griffith. "Almost impossible with your kid-gloveResident Engineer. I've said nothing all this time; but he's made someof my best men quit--bridge workers that've stayed by me for years. Said they couldn't stand for his damned swell-headedness, not even tooblige me. "

"Well, well, I leave it to you. Do the best you can. It's a badbargain, but we've got to go through with it. Only time the young foolever showed a glimmer of sense was when he had his father's lawyersdrew his contract with me. My lawyers can't find a flaw in it. "

"Not even diamond cut diamond, eh?" cackled Griffith. He ceasedscraping at his pipe to peer inquisitively into the bowl. "What I'venever been able to figure out is how he happened to solve the problemof that central span. Don't think you've ever realized what awonderful piece of work that was. It's something new. Must have been ahappy accident--must have come to him in what I'd call a flash ofintuition or genius. He sure hadn't it in him to work such a thing outin cold blood. "

"Genius?--_pah!_" scoffed Mr. Leslie. 

"Hey?" queried Griffith, glancing up sharply. "What else, then?"

"I've recently been given reason to suspect--" began Mr. Leslie. Hepaused, hesitated, and refrained. "But we'll talk of that later. First, my reason for sending for you. I understand that you know thisman Blake, who, unfortunately, was the person that saved my daughter. "

Griffith replied with rather more than his usual dryness. "If I've gota correct estimate of what Miss Leslie had to be pulled through, it'slucky that Tom Blake was the man. "

"You've a higher opinion of him than I have. "

"We've worked together. "

"He's in your office now, " snapped Mr. Leslie. 

"Yes, and he stays there long as he wants, " rejoined Griffith in aquiet matter-of-fact tone. "It's your privilege to hire anotherconsulting engineer. "

Mr. Leslie brought his shaggy eyebrows together in a perplexed frown. "Must say, I can't understand how the fellow makes such friends. Yourcase is hardly less puzzling than that of the Earl of Avondale. "

"Hey? Oh, you mean young Scarbridge. He seems to be one of the rightsort--even if he _is_ the son of a duke. But if Tommy hadn'tintroduced him as a friend--"

"We're talking about Blake, " interrupted Mr. Leslie. "I want yourhelp. "

"Well?" asked Griffith warily. 

"He has put me under obligations, and refuses to accept any rewardfrom me. It's intolerable!"

"Won't accept anything, eh? Well, if he says he won't, he won't. Nouse butting your head against a concrete wall. "

"He's a fool!"

"I'd hardly agree as to that. He doesn't always do as people expecthim to. Same time, he usually has a reason. "

"But for him to refuse to take either cash or a position!"

"I notice, though, he drew his pay-check for the Q. T. Survey. No;Tommy isn't altogether a fool--not altogether. "

"Twenty-five-thousand-dollar position!" rasped Mr. Leslie. 

"Hey?"

"Offered him that, and--"

"You offered him--?" echoed Griffith, his lean, creased face almostgrotesque with astonishment. 

"Think I don't value my daughter's life?" snapped Mr. Leslie. "I wasready to do that and far more for him. He refused--not only refusedbut insulted me. "

Griffith peered intently into the angry face of his employer. "Insulted you, eh? Guess you prodded him up first. "

"I admit I had rather misjudged him in some respects. "

"So you gave him the gaff, eh?--and got it back harder!" cackledGriffith. 

"He shall be compelled to accept what I owe him, indirectly, if notdirectly. You have given him work?"

"Yes. "

"You've, of course, told him that I'm the Coville ConstructionCompany. "

"Not yet. "

"What! You're certain of that?"

Griffith nodded. "He sailed into me, first thing, for taking work fromyou. To ease him off, I said the Coville Company had taken over thebridge from you. The matter hasn't happened to come up again since. "

"You're certain he doesn't know I'm interested in the company?"

"Not unless somebody else has told him. " "Then--let's see--We'llappoint him Assistant Resident Engineer on the bridge. "

"He'll not take it under young Ashton. "

"Not if his salary is put at twenty-five thousand?"

"As Assistant Engineer?" said Griffith, incredulous. 

"You'll be too busy with my other projects to keep up these visits toMichamac. Besides, you said the bridge is coming to the crucial pointof construction. "

"That central span, " confirmed Griffith. 

"If you consider Blake sufficiently reliable, you can give himdetailed instructions and send him up to take charge. "

"How about Ashton's contract?"

"He'll be satisfied with the glory. Reports will continue to name himas Resident Engineer. If he won't listen to reason, I'll ask hisfather to drop him a line. The young fool has had his allowance cuttwice already. He'd consider his pay as engineer a bare pittance. "

"Heir to the Ashton millions, eh?" croaked Griffith. 

"If I know George Ashton, he has a good safe will drawn, providingthat his fortune is to be held in trust. That fool boy won't have anychance to squander more than his allowance, --and he won't keep me nowfrom paying off this obligation to Blake. "

"Perhaps not. I'm not so sure, though, that Tom will--One thing'scertain. He won't go up to Michamac right away. "

"He won't? Why not? It's just the time for him to get the run ofthings, now while there's no work going on. "

"He'd catch on quick enough. It's not that. Fact is, he's got hold ofsomething a lot bigger, and I know he'll not quit till he has eitherwon out or it has downed him. Never knew of but one thing that everdowned him. "

Mr. Leslie glared at the engineer, his face reddening with rage. 

"Something bigger!" he repeated. "So the fellow has bragged about it!"

Griffith stared back, perplexed by the other's sudden heat. "Guesswe've got our wires crossed, " he said. "I told him, of course. Hedidn't know anything about it. "

"What you talking about?" demanded Mr. Leslie, puzzled in turn. 

"The Zariba Dam. "

"That!" exclaimed Mr. Leslie, and his face cleared. "H'm, --what aboutthe dam?"

"I had about thrown it up. I'm giving Tom a go at it. "

Mr. Leslie's eyebrows bristled in high curves. 

"What! wasting time with a man like that? If _you've_ given it up, we'll try England or Europe. "

"No use. Plenty of good men over there. They can give us pointers onsome things. But if they've ever done anything just like this ZaribaDam, they've kept it out of print. "

"But an unknown second-rate engineer!"

"That's what's said of every first-rater till he gets his chance. "

"You're serious?"

"I don't guarantee he can do it. I do say, I won't be any toosurprised if he pulls it off. It's a thing that calls for invention. He'll swear he hasn't an ounce of it in him--says he just happens toblunder on things, or applies what he has picked up. All gas! He onceshowed me some musty old drawings that made it look like one of hisgrandfathers ought to be credited with the basic inventions of a dozenmachines that to-day are making the owners of the patent-rights rich. Guess some of that grandfather's bump can be located on Tom's head. "

"Inventor--h'm--inventor!" muttered Mr. Leslie half to himself. "Thatputs rather a different face on that bridge matter. "

"As how?" casually asked Griffith, beginning to scrape afresh at hispipe-bowl. 

Mr. Leslie considered, and replied with another question: "At the timeof the competition in plans for the bridge, did you know that Blakewas to be a contestant?"

"He writes letters about as often as a hen gets a tooth pulled. But Igot a letter the time you mention, --a dozen lines or so, with anotheradded, saying that he was in for a whirl at the Michamac cantilever. "

"You've shown him Ashton's bridge plans?"

"Not yet. He's been too busy on the Zariba field books. "

"You've seen his own plans for the bridge?"

"No. They were lost. "

"The originals, I mean--his preliminary copy. He must have keptsomething. "

"Yes. But I guess they're pretty wet by now, " replied Griffith, hisface crackling with dry humor. "They're aboard that steamer, down onthe African coast. If you want to see them, you might finance awrecking expedition. But Tom says she went down mast-under, and thereare plenty of sharks nosing along the coral reef. "

Mr. Leslie winced at the word _sharks_, and reluctantly admitted:"I've had a long talk with my daughter. He played the part of a man. Iacknowledge that I've held a strong prejudice against him. It seems, however, that in part I've been mistaken. "

"Now you're talking, Mr. Leslie!"

"Only in part, I say--about his lost bridge plans. I had thought hewas trying to blackmail me. "

"More apt to be a black eye, if you let him know you thought that, "was Griffith's dry comment. 

"He came near to resorting to violence. As I look at it now, I can'tsay I blame him. Those bridge plans, though--Knowing this about hisinventiveness, has it not occurred to you that his plans may not havebeen lost, after all?"

"Look here, Mr. Leslie, " said Griffith, rising with the angularity ofa jumping-jack, "we've rubbed along pretty smooth since we gottogether last year; but Tom Blake is my friend. "

"Sit down! _sit_ down!" insisted Mr. Leslie. "You ought to see bythis time that I'm trying to prove myself anything but an enemy tohim. "

Griffith sat down and began mechanically to load his pipe with theformidable Durham. Mr. Leslie put the tips of his fingers together, coughed, and went on in a lowered tone. "Those plans disappeared. Hischarge was preposterous, ridiculous--_as against me_. Yet if theplans were not lost, what became of them? He told me yesterday that hehimself handed them to the person who was at that time acting as mysecretary. You catch the point?"

"Um-m, " grunted Griffith, his face as emotionless as a piece ofcrackled wood. 

"Young Ashton was my secretary. He resigned the next day. Said he hadbeen secretly working on plans for the Michamac cantilever; thought hehad solved the problem of the central span; might go ahead and put inhis plans if none of the competitors were awarded the bridge. Within amonth he did put in plans. "

"Well?" queried Griffith. 

"Don't you make the connection?" demanded Mr. Leslie. "Blake handedhis plans to Ashton, and took no receipt. The plans disappeared. Ashton leaves; comes back in a month with plans that he hasn't theskill to apply in the construction of the bridge--plans include anentirely new modification of bridge trusses--stroke of inventivegenius, you called it. "

Griffith's lean jaw dropped. "You--you don't mean to say he--the sonof George Ashton--that he could--God A'mighty, he's heir to twentymillions!"

"You don't believe it? Suppose you knew he was about to be cut offwithout a cent? George had stood about all he could from the youngfool. Those bridge plans came in just in time to prevent the drawingof a new will. "

The hand in which Griffith held his pipe shook as if he had beenseized with a fever chill, but his voice was dry and emotionless. "That accounts for those queer slips and errors in the plans. Hecouldn't even make an accurate copy, and was too much afraid of beingfound out to take time to check Tom's drawings. Jammed them into hisfireplace soon's he'd finished. The thief!--the infernal thief!--the--!"Griffith spat out a curse that made even Mr. Leslie start. 

"Good Lord, Griffith, " he remonstrated. "That's the first time I everheard you swear. "

"I keep it for _dirt_! . .. Well, what you going to do about it?"

"I am going to have you show Ashton's plans to Blake. If he recognizesthem as a copy of his own--"

"Better get ready to ship Laffie out of the country. Once saw Tommanhandle a brute who was beating his wife--one of those husky saloonbouncers. The wife had a month's nursing to do. Tom will pound that--that sneak to pulp. "

"Show him the plans. If he recognizes them, I'll let the thief know hehas been found out. He'll run, and we'll be rid of him without anyscandal. We'll arrange for Blake to get the credit for the bridge, after a time. George Ashton and I are rather close together. I don'twant him to be hit harder than's necessary. "

"Say, Mr. Leslie, I don't mind admitting you _are_ square!" exclaimedGriffith. "You don't like Tom, and you know he hasn't a line of proof. It would be only his word against Laffie's. Unknown engineer trying toblackmail the son of George Ashton. You know what would be said. "

"I told you, I owe him a debt. I intend to pay it in full. "

"One thing though, " cautioned Griffith. "Even a cornered rat willfight. There's the chance that Laffie may not run. He'd be adrivelling idiot if he did, with his father's millions at stake. Don'tforget we've no proof. It won't look even possible to outsiders. Suppose I hold off showing Tom those plans till we see if he can makeit on the Zariba Dam? If he pulls that off, no engineer in the U. S. Will doubt his claims to the bridge. "

"That means a delay, " said Mr. Leslie irritably. "My first plan was tosend Blake to Michamac at once. "

"Lord! With one cantilever finished and the other out to the centralspan--if it's Tom's bridge, he'd recognize it as quick as his plans. And if he did--well, I'd not answer for what would happen to that damnthief. "

"H'm--perhaps you're right, " considered Mr. Leslie. He thought amoment, and added with quick decision, "Very well. Keep him on at thedam. What are you paying him?"

"Two hundred. "

"Double it. "

"No go. He'd suspect something. "

"Suspect, would he? H'm--several expert engineers have failed on thatdam. If it can be put through, the project will net me a half-million. Ten per cent of my profits might stimulate you engineers. I offerfifty thousand dollars as reward to the man who solves the problem ofthe Zariba Dam. "

"Say, that's going some!" commented Griffith. 

"Plain business proposition. If I can't get it done for wages, it ischeaper to pay a bonus than to have the project fail. "

"Good way to put it, " admitted Griffith. "Don't just know, though, what I'll do with all that money. "

"You? Thought you said that Blake--"

"D'you suppose he'd take a cent of it? He's working for me. "

"But if he does the work?"

"He might accept the credit. The cash would come to me, if he had tocram it down my throat. He won't touch your money. "

"Crazy fool!" rasped Mr. Leslie. Again he paused to consider, andagain he spoke with quick decision. "The Coville Company takes overthe project. I don't believe the dam can be built; I'm tired of thewhole thing. So I unload on the Coville Company. You see? The companyoffers the fifty thousand bonus as a last hope. It hires Blake directon some of its routine work. You insist that he try for the dam, between times. "

"That's the ticket!" said Griffith. "We'll try it on him. "

"Then call by the Coville office. I'll phone over for them to have thetransfer made and a letter waiting for you, " said Mr. Leslie, and hejerked out his watch. 

Griffith rose at the signal. He fumbled for a moment with his hat andgloves, and spoke with a queer catch in his voice. "I'd like to--letyou know how I--appreciate--"

"No call for it! no call for it!" broke in Mr. Leslie. "Good-day!"

He whirled about to his desk and caught up the receiver of one of hisprivate-line telephones. 

CHAPTER XIV

BETWEEN FRIENDS

Lord James sauntered into the office of Griffiths, C. E. , and inquiredfor Mr. Blake. The cleric stared in vague recognition, and answeredthat Mr. Blake was busy. Nothing daunted, the visitor crossed to thedoor toward which the clerk had glanced. 

When he entered, he found Blake in his shirtsleeves, humped over asmall desk. He was intently absorbed in comparing the figures of twofield books and in making little pencil diagrams. 

"Hello, old man. What's the good word?" sang out his lordship. 

Blake nodded absently, and went on with his last diagram. When he hadfinished it, he looked up and perceived his friend standing gracefuland debonair in the centre of the room. 

"Why, hello, Jimmy, " he said, as if only just aware of the other'spresence. "Can't you find a chair?"

"How's the dam?"

"Dam 'fi 'no, " punned Blake. He slapped his pencil down on the desk, and flung up his arms to stretch his cramped body. 

"You need a breather, " advised Lord James. 

"Young Ashton came 'round to my hotel last evening. Wanted me to go tosome bally musical comedy--little supper afterward with two of theshow-girls--all that. I had another engagement. He then asked me todrop around this morning and take my pick of his stable. Wants me toride one of his mounts while I'm here, you know. Suppose you come up-town with me and help me pick out a beast. "

"No, " said Blake. "Less I see of that papa's boy the better I'll likehim. "

"Oh, but as a fellow-engineer, y'know, " minced Lord James. 

"You love him 'bout as much as I do. "

Lord James adjusted the pink carnation in his lapel, and casuallyremarked: "You'll be calling at the Leslies' this afternoon, Idaresay. "

"No, " said Blake. 

"Indeed?" exclaimed the younger man. He flushed and gazed confusedlyat Blake, pleased on his own account, yet none the less distressed forhis friend. 

Blake explained the situation with sober friendliness. "It's all up inthe air, Jimmy. I've got to make good, and she won't promise anythingeven if I succeed. "

"Not even if you succeed?" Lord James was bewildered. 

"Can't say I blame her, since I've had time to think it over, " saidBlake. "If it was you, for instance, she might have a show to get somehappiness out of life, even with the whiskey. But think of her tied upto me, whiskey or no whiskey!"

"You'll down the habit this time, old man. "

Blake smiled ironically. "That's what you've said every time. It'swhat I've said myself, every time since I woke up to what the cursedsprees meant. No; don't be afraid. You'll have your chance soonenough. She has cut me clean off from outside help. She wouldn't evengive me so much as a 'good luck to you'!"

"She wouldn't? But of course you know that she wishes it. "

"Does she? But that's not the point. She's made me believe she isn'tsure of her--of her feelings toward me. Don't think I blame her. Idon't. She's right. If I can't stand up and fight it out and win, without being propped up by my friends, I ought to lose out. I'm notfit to marry any woman--much less her. "

Lord James tugged and twisted at his mustache, and at last brought outhis reply: "Now, I--I say, you look here, old chap, you've got to winthis time. It means her, y'know. You must win. "

"Jimmy, " stated Blake, his eyes softening, "you're the limit!"

"You're not!" flashed back his friend. "There's no limit to you--towhat you can do. "

"Heap of good it does--your saying it, " grumbled Blake. 

"This--er--situation won't prevent your calling at the Leslies', Ihope. "

"I'm not so sure, " considered Blake. "Leastways you won't see me theretill I begin to think I see a way to figure out this dam. "

Lord James swung a leg over the corner of the desk and proceeded tolight a cigarette. Through the haze of the first two puffs he squintedacross at the glum face of his friend, and said: "Don't be an ass. Shehasn't told you not to call. "

"No, " admitted Blake. "Just the same, she said she wouldn't give meany help. "

"That doesn't bar you from calling. The sight of her will keep youkeen. "

"I tell you, I'm not going near her house till I think I've a show tomake good on this dam. "

"Then you'll lunch with me and make an early call at the Gantrys'. Miss Dolores requested me to give you an urgent invitation. "

"Excuse _me!_" said Blake. "No High Society in mine. "

"You'll come, " confidently rejoined his friend. "You owe it to MissGenevieve. "

Blake frowned and sat for some moments studying the point. Lord Jameshad him fast. 

"Guess you've nailed me for once, " he at last admitted. "Rather have atooth pulled, though. "

"I say, now, you got along swimmingly at Ruthby. "

"With your father. He wasn't a Chicago society dame. "

"Oh, well, you must make allowances for the madam. Miss Doloresexplained to me that 'Vievie has only to meet people in order to bereceived, but mamma has to keep butting in to arrive--that's why shecultivates her grand air. '"

"No sham about Miss Dolores!" approved Blake. 

"Right-o! You'll come, I take it. What if the dragon does have rathera frosty stare for you? She said I might bring you to call. Seriously, Tom, you must learn to meet her without showing that her manner flecksyou. Best kind of training for society. As I said just now, you owe itto Miss Genevieve. "

"Well--long as you put it that way, " muttered Blake. 

"You'll get along famously with Miss Dolores, I'm sure, " said LordJames. "She's quite a charming girl, --vivacious and all that, youknow. She's taken quite a fancy to you. The mother is one of thosesilly climbers who never look below the surface. You have twice mymoral stamina, but just because I happen to have a title and somepolish--"

"Don't try to gloze it over, " cut in Blake. "Let's have it straight. You're a thoroughbred. I'm a broncho. "

"Mistaken metaphor, " rejoined his friend. "I'm a well-bred nonentity. You're a diamond in the rough. When once you've been cut andpolished--"

"Then the flaws will show up in great shape, " gibed Blake. 

"Never think it, old man! There is only one flaw, and that willdisappear with the one cutting required to bring the stone to the bestpossible shape. "

"Stow it!" ordered Blake. The rattling of the doorknob drew his gazeabout. "Here's Grif, back at last. He's been to chin with PapaLeslie. " He squinted aggressively at the older engineer, who enteredwith his usual air of seeming absorption in the performance of hismost trivial actions. "Hello, you Injin! Gone into partnership with H. V. ? You've been there all morning. "

"Other way 'round, if anything, " answered Griffith. He noddedcordially in response to the greeting of Lord James, and beganrummaging in his pockets as he came over to the desk. "Now, where'sthat letter? Hey?--Oh, here it is. " He drew out a long envelope, andstarted to open it in a precise, deliberate manner. 

"So he fired you, eh?" rallied Blake. 

"In a way, " said Griffith, peering at the paper in his hand. "It seemshe's unloaded the Zariba project onto the Coville Company. "

"Thought it couldn't be put through, eh?" said Blake. "Bet he didn'tlet it go for nothing, though. "

"It's not often he comes out at the little end of the horn, " repliedGriffith. "Didn't take the Coville people long to wake up to thesituation. Look here. "

Blake took the opened letter, which was headed with the name andofficers of the Coville Construction Company. He read it through withcare, whistled, and read it through the second time. 

"Well, what you think of it?" impatiently demanded Griffith. 

"_Whee!_ They sure must think H. V. Has left them to hold the bag. Fifty thousand bonus to the engineer that shows 'em how the damcan be built!"

"Strict business, " croaked Griffith. "The company is stuck if theyquit. Fifty thousand is only ten per cent of their net profits if theproject goes through. Wish I had a show at it. "

"Well, haven't you? It says any engineer. "

"I had quit before you came, only I didn't like to own up to H. V. "

"You needn't yet a while. I'll keep digging away at it. If I put itthrough, we divvy up. I'm working for you. See?"

"Not on your life, Tommy! I don't smouge on another man's work. "

"Well, then, we'll say I'm to split it because you put me next to thechance. "

"No go. I've no use for three-fourths of what I'm making nowadays. It's just piling up on me. Look here. I happened to speak about you tothe Coville people--looking ahead, you know. They want me to try youout on some work I'm too busy to do myself. It's not much, and theyoffer only one-fifty a month as a starter, but it may lead tosomething better than I can do for you. "

"Yes, that's so, " considered Blake. 

"It is checking field work reports that come in slowly this time ofyear. That's the only trouble. You'll be sitting around doing nothinghalf the time--that is, unless you're fool enough to waste any moretime on this dam' dam. "

"Waste time?" cried Blake, his eyes flashing. "Watch me! Wait till youget your next bill for electric lights! You've given me my cue, Grif. I'm going to buck through this little proposition in one-two-threestyle, grab my fifty thousand, and plunge into the New York FourHundred as Tommy Van Damdam. Clear out, you hobos. I'm going to work!"

"Don't forget I've got you on for lunch and Mrs. Gantry's, " remindedLord James. 

Blake paused, pencil in hand. "Aw, say, Jimmy, you'll have to let meoff now. "

"Can't do it, old man, really. "

"At least that infernal call. "

"No, you've got to get used to it. Tell you what, I'll let you off onthe lunch if you'll be at my hotel at four sharp. Don't squirm. Thatgives you as many hours to grind as are good for you at one stretch. If you try to funk it, I'll hold you for both lunch and call. Yoursocial progress is on my conscience. "

"Huh!" rejoined Blake. "Don't wish you any hard luck, but if you andyour conscience were in--"

"Four sharp, remember!" put in Lord James, dodging from the room. 

Griffith followed him closely and shut the door. 

"I'm not so busy, Mr. Scarbridge. Step into my private office and havea cigar, " he invited, and as Lord James hesitated, he added in a lowertone, "Want your idea about him. "

Lord James at once went with the engineer into his office. 

"You wish to speak about Tom? "he said. 

"Yes. Did you notice that look about his eyes? It's the first sign. "

"Oh, no! let us hope not, Mr. Griffith. I happen to know he hassuffered a severe disappointment. It may be that. "

"Well, maybe. I hope so, " said Griffith dubiously. With innatedelicacy, he refrained from any inquiry as to the nature of Blake'sdisappointment. As he handed out his box of cigars, he went on, "Idon't quite like it, though. He's a glutton for field work, but thisindoors figuring soon sets him on edge. He can't stand being coopedup. " "Count on me to do all I can to get him out. "

"Yes, I'm figuring on you, Mr. Scarbridge. He's told me all about you. Between the two of us, we might stave it off and keep him going formonths. Wish I knew more about the girl--Miss Leslie. If she's theright sort, there's just a chance of something being done that I gaveup as being impossible, last time he was with me--he might bestraightened out for good. "

"It's possible, quite possible! Others have been cured, --why not he?"exclaimed Lord James, his face aglow with boyish enthusiasm. But assuddenly it clouded. "Ah, though, most unfortunate--this stand of MissLeslie's!"

"What about her?" queried Griffith, as the other hesitated. 

"She has told him that he must win out absolutely on his own strength, without her aid or sympathy. "

"Well, I'll be--switched! Thought she loved him. "

Lord James flushed, yet answered without hesitancy. "It is to bepresumed she does, otherwise she would not have forced this test uponhim. "

"How d' you make that out?"

"Mere grateful interest in his welfare would have been satisfied bythe assurance of his material success. On the other hand, her--ah--feeling toward him is at present held in restraint by her acutejudgment. She had reason to esteem him in that savage environment. Shenow realizes that he must win her esteem in her own properenvironment. She is not merely a young lady--she is a lady. Her raregood sense tells her that she must not accept him unless he proveshimself fit. "

"He's a lot fitter than all these lallapaloozer papa's boys and someof their fathers, --all those empty-headed swells that are calledeligibles, " rejoined Griffith. 

"It's not a question of polish or culture, believe me. She is far tooclever to doubt that he would acquire that quickly enough. Myreference was to this one flaw, which may yet shatter him. Thequestion is whether it penetrates too deep into his nature. If not--ifhe can rid himself of it--then even I admit that he would make herhappy. "

"Yet she won't lift a finger to help him fight it out?"

"Courage is the fundamental virtue in a man. It includes moralstrength. If she cannot be sure of his strength, she will always doubthim and her love for him. "

"Can't see it that way. If she helped him, and he won out, he'd becured, wouldn't he?"

"I've been trying to guess at a woman's reason, but I'm not so rash asto attempt to argue the matter, " said Lord James. He picked up his hatand held out a cordial hand to the engineer. "She may or may not beright. I'm not altogether certain as to the intuitive wisdom of women. However that may be, we at least shall do our best to pull himthrough. "

"That's talking, Mr. Scarbridge!" exclaimed Griffith. 

CHAPTER XV

BY-PLAY

Promptly at four that afternoon Blake was shown to the rooms of hisfriend at the hotel. He entered with a glum look not altogetherassumed. 

"Well, here I am, " he grumbled. "Hope you're satisfied. You're robbingme of the best part of the day. "

"I daresay, " cheerfully assented Lord James. "Now look pleasant till Isee if you're dressed. "

"No, I haven't a thing on. Just clothed in sunshine and a sweetsmile, " growled Blake, throwing open his raincoat to show his suit ofrough gray homespun. "You don't ever get me into that skirty coatagain. I can stand full dress, but not that afternoon horror-gown. I'mno minister. "

"Don't fash yourself, old man. At least you've been tailored inLondon, and that's something. You'll do--in Chicago. "

"I'll do O. K. Right here, " said Blake. "What say? You've spoiled myafternoon. We'll call it quits if you settle down with me and put inthe time chinning about things. "

"Tammas, I'm shocked at you, " reproved Lord James. "You cannot wish todisappoint Mrs. Gantry, really!"

"Mrs. Gantry be--"

"No, no! Do not say it, my deah Tammas! When one is in Society, y'know, one is privileged to think it, but it's bad form to express itso--ah--broadly--ah--I assure you. "

He adjusted his monocle and stared with a vacuous blandness wellcalculated to madden his friend. Blake hurled a magazine, which hislordship deftly sidestepped. He reached for his hat, and faced Blakewith boyish eagerness. 

"Come on, Tom. Chuck the rotting. We're wasting time. "

"Must have a taxicab waiting for you, " bantered Blake. 

"No, a young lady. Miss Dolores is really eager to become acquaintedwith you, and--er--she may have a friend or two--"

"Excuse _me!_"

"Tammas the quitter!"

Lord James started for the door, and Blake followed him, striving hardto maintain his surly look. At the street entrance he sought topostpone the coming ordeal by urging his need for exercise. 

"Don't worry. I'll pay, " said Lord James, pretending to misunderstand, and he raised his finger to the chauffeur of the nearest cab. "You canwalk home, if you wish to save pennies. Now, you know, we desire toreach Mrs. Gantry's as soon as possible. "

"Yes, we do!" growled Blake. 

He seemed more than ever determined to remain in his glum mood, andthe pleasant badinage of his friend during their run out to LincolnPark Boulevard rather increased than lessened his surliness. When theyentered through the old Colonial portal of the Gantry home, he jerkedoff his English topcoat unaided, contemptuously spurning theassistance of the buff-and-yellow liveried footman. But as they wereannounced, he assumed what Lord James termed his "poker face, " andentered beside his friend, with head well up and shoulders squared. 

"Good boy! Keep it up, " murmured Lord James. "She'll take you for adistinguished personage. "

Blake spoiled the effect by a grin, which, an instant later, wastransformed into a radiant smile at sight of Genevieve beside Mrs. Gantry. 

Dolores came darting to meet them, her black eyes sparkling and herlithe young body aquiver with animation. 

"Oh, Lord Avondale!" she cried. "So you _did_ make him come. Mr. Blake, why didn't you call at once?"

"Wasn't asked, " answered Blake, his eyes twinkling. 

"You are now. So please remember to come often. Never fear mamma. I'llprotect you. Oh, I'm just on tiptoe to see you in those skin thingsyou wore in Africa. I made Vievie put on her leopard-skin gown, and Ithink it's the most terrible romantic thing! And now I'm just dying tosee your hyena-skin trousers and those awful poisoned arrows and--"

"Dolores!" admonished Mrs. Gantry. 

"Oh, piffle!" complained the girl, drawing aside for the men to passher. 

Even Mrs. Gantry was not equal to the rudeness of snubbing a caller inher own house--when she had given an earl permission to bring him. Butthe contrast between her greetings of the two men was, to say theleast, noticeable. 

Blake met her supercilious bearing toward him with an impassivenessthat was intended to mask his contemptuous resentment. But Genevievesaw and understood. She rose and quietly remarked: "You'll excuse us, Aunt Amice. I wish Mr. Blake to see the palm room. I fancy it willcarry him back to Mozambique. "

Mrs. Gantry's look said that she wished Mr. Blake could be carriedback to Mozambique and kept there. Her tongue said: "As you please, mydear. Yet I should have thought you'd had quite enough of Africa for alifetime. "

"One never can tell, " replied Genevieve with a coldness that chilledthe glow in Blake's eyes. 

They went out side by side yet perceptibly constrained in theirbearing toward one another. 

Dolores flung herself across the room and into a chair facing hermother and Lord James. 

"Did you see that?" she demanded. "I do believe Vievie is the coldestblooded creature! When she knows he's just dying for love of her! Why, I never--"

"That will do!" interrupted Mrs. Gantry. 

"I'll leave it to Lord Avondale. Isn't it the exact truth?"

"Er--he still looks rather robust, " parried Lord James. 

"You know what I mean. But I didn't think she'd behave in this dog-in-the-manger fashion. She might have at least given me a chance for atete-a-tete with him, even if he is _her_ hero. "

"I am only too well aware what Lord Avondale will think of _you_, going on in this silly way, " observed Mrs. Gantry. 

"If Lord Avondale doesn't like me and my manners, he needn't. Needyou, Mr. Scarbridge?"

"But how can I help liking you?" asked the young Englishman with suchevident sincerity that the girl was disconcerted. She flashed abewildered glance into his earnest face, and turned quickly away, hercheeks scarlet with confusion. 

"Ah, Earl, " purred her mother, "I fully appreciate your kindness. Sheis Genevieve's cousin. You are therefore pleased to disregard hergaucheries. "

"Ho! so that's it?" retorted Dolores. "Lord Avondale needn't troubleto disregard anything about me. "

"Believe me, I do not, Miss Gantry, " replied Lord James. "I find youmost charming. "

"Because I'm Vievie's cousin! Well, if you wish to know what I think, I think all Englishmen are simply detestable!" cried the girl, and shesprang up and flounced away, her face crimson with anger. 

"You had better go straight to your room, " reproved her mother. 

The girl promptly dodged the doorway for which she was headed, andveered around to a window, where she turned her back on them andperched herself on the arm of a chair. 

Mrs. Gantry sighed profoundly. "_A-a-ah!_ Was ever a mother sotried! Such temper, such perversity! Her father, all over again!"

"If you'll permit me to offer a suggestion, " ventured Lord James, "mayit not be that you drive with rather too taut a rein?"

"Too taut! Can you not see? The slightest relaxation, and I shouldhave a runaway. "

"But a little freedom to canter? It's this chafing against the bit. Sohigh spirited, you know. I must confess, it's that which I find mostcharming about her. "

"Impossible! You cannot realize. "

"Then, too, her candor--one of the rarest and most admirable traits ina woman. "

"Simply terrible! That she should fling her--opinion of you in yourface!"

"Better that than the usual insincerity in such cases of dislike. Itgives me reason to hope that eventually I can win her friendship. "

"Your kindness is more than I can ever repay!"

"You can by granting me a single favor. "

"Indeed?" Mrs. Gantry raised her eyebrows in high arches. 

"By receiving my friend as my friend. "

"Ah! Had you not asked permission to bring him, he would not have beenreceived at all. "

"Not even as the man who saved your niece?"

"That is an obligation to be discharged by her father. "

"I see. Very well, then. Regarding him simply as my friend, I ask youto consider that he is undergoing a most difficult, I may say, crueltest. He must overcome something that he has vainly fought for years--something that has crushed many of the greatest intellects the worldhas known. "

"The more reason for me to save Genevieve from ruin. From what yousay, I imply that it is a hopeless case of degeneracy. "

"Not hopeless; and degenerate in that respect alone--if you mustinsist on the term. "

"I do insist. "

"What if he should succeed in overcoming it?"

"He cannot. Even should he seem to, there will always be a weakness tobe feared. "

"Is that just?"

"It is just to Genevieve. "

"Everything for Vievie, coronet included!" called Dolores over hershoulder. 

Mrs. Gantry's English complexion deepened to the purple ofmortification. The frank smile that told of his lordship's enjoymentof her discomfiture was the last straw. She rose in her stateliestmanner. 

"I shall leave you a few moments to be entertained by the dear child, since you find her so amusing, " she said. "Genevieve must not bepermitted to remain too long in the close hot air of the palm room. "

"There's some hot air outside the conservatory, mamma, " remarkedDolores. 

But Mrs. Gantry sailed majestically from the room, without deigning toheed the pleasantry. 

Lord James sauntered across to the window and perched himself on achair arm close before the girl. 

"When do you begin?" he asked. "Your mamma said you were to entertainme. "

"Best possible reason why I shouldn't, " she snapped, staring hard outof the window. 

"What if I should try to entertain you?"

"You wouldn't succeed. I wanted to talk to a man. It's too bad! Simplybecause you asked me to, I was silly enough to tease Vievie intocoming over this afternoon--and the minute he comes, she rushes himoff to the conservatory. "

"Believe me, I regret quite as keenly that she did not take meinstead. "

"That's complimentary--to me!"

"Can you blame me for agreeing, when you express a preference for theman instead of the mere son of a duke?"

"Perhaps you're a man yourself. Who knows?"

"Quien sabe, Senorita Dolores?" he rallied her. "Tell me how to proveit. "

She flashed him a glance of naive coquetry. "You ask how? If I were mygreat grandmother, you might try to kiss me, and chance a stilettothrust in return. "

"Your great grandmother was an Italian?"

The girl's red lips curled disdainfully. "No, she was Spanish. Thoughshe lived in Mexico, her family were Castilian and related to theroyal Valois family of France. So you see how far back it goes. Wehave the journal of her husband. She married Dr. Robinson, whoaccompanied Lieutenant Pike on his famous expedition. "

"Pike? Leftenant Pike?"

"No, he wasn't 'left. ' He came back and became the General Pike whodied at the moment of his glorious victory over the English, in theWar of 1812. "

"Ah, come to think--Pike of Pike's Peak. Never heard of the battle youmention; but as an explorer--So one of his companions married yourancestress?"

"Yes. He must have been another such man as Mr. Blake. "

"The kind to risk stiletto thrusts for kisses?"

"Yes. I know I must be exactly like her--that haughty SenoritaAlisanda. "

"Indeed, yes. I can almost see her dagger up your sleeve. "

The girl's black eyes flashed fire. "If it _was_ there, you'd geta good scratch!"

"Believe me, " he apologized, "you quite failed to take me. "

"It's no question of taking you. I prefer heroes. "

"Can't say I blame you. You've all the fire and charm of a Spanishgirl, and, permit me to add, the far greater charm of an Americangirl. "

She looked to see if he was mocking her. Finding him unaffectedlysincere, she promptly melted into a most amiable and vivacious thoughunconventional debutante. 

CHAPTER XVI

THE AMARYLLIS

The constraint between Blake and Genevieve had rather increased thanlessened when they left the others. Neither spoke until they hadpassed through the outer conservatory into the tropical heat of thepalm room. But there the first whiff of the odor from the moist warmmould brought with it a flood of pungent memories. 

"The river jungle, " muttered Blake, sniffing. "Air was drier out underthe cocoanut palms. "

"That first night, in the tree!" murmured Genevieve. "How easily youhauled us up with the vine rope! Ah, then--and now!"

Blake drew away from her, his face darkening. "Hope you don't think Iexpected to see you here? If Jimmy knew, he didn't tell me. "

"How could he know? Dolores did not phone to me until mid-afternoon. But even had you been told, I see no reason why you shouldn't havecome. "

"You don't?" he asked, his face brightening. "I was afraid you mightthink I was trying to dodge your conditions. Besides, I had promisedmyself not to call on you till I thought I saw a way to work out a bigpiece of engineering that I'm on. "

"Then you have a good position? I'm so glad!"

"Not a regular position. But I've been given work and a chance at oneof the biggest things in hydraulics--the Zariba Dam, out in Arizona. "

"You're not going away?" Calmly as she tried to speak, she could notentirely repress an under-note of apprehension. Slight as was thebetrayal of feeling, it enheartened him immensely. He beamed up at thepalm crests that brushed the glazed dome. 

"Looks like they're going to raise the roof, doesn't it?" he said. "Feel that way myself. Your father unloaded the Zariba project ontothe Coville Construction Company, and they've offered a cool fiftythousand dollars to the man that figures out a feasible way toconstruct the dam. I spoke about it before, you may remember; but thisbonus wasn't up then. If I put it through, I'll be recognized as afirst-class engineer. "

"You will succeed, of course, " said Genevieve with perfect confidencein his ability to overcome such a relatively easy difficulty. 

"Hope so, " responded Blake. "I'm still tunnelling in the dark, though. Not a glimmer of a hole out. "

"That is of small concern. "

"Isn't it, though? I'm counting on that to boost me along on the otherthing. Nothing like a little good luck to keep a fellow braced up. "

"But I'm sure you have some Dutch blood, --and you know the Dutch neverfight harder than when the odds are against them. "

"Then it's too bad I'm not Hans Van Amsterdam. He'd have the scrap ofhis life. "

"Do you mean that the odds are so greatly against you?" askedGenevieve, with sudden gravity. 

"What's the use of talking about it?" said Blake, almost brusquely. "If I win, I win; and I'm supposed to believe that is all it means. IfI lose, you're rid of me for good. "

Genevieve bit her lip and turned her head to hide her starting tears. 

"I did not think you would be so bitter over it!" she half sobbed. 

"Can't you take a joke?" he demanded. "Great joke!--me thinking I've aghost of a show of winning you! No; the laugh's on me, all right. Ideaof me dreaming I can down that damnable thirst!"

"Tom, you'll not give up--you'll not!" she cried with a fiercenessthat shook him out of his bitter despondency. 

"Give up?" he rejoined. "What d' you take me for? I'll fight--courseI'll fight, till I'm down and out. People don't much believe in hellnowadays, Jenny. I do. I've been there. I'm bound to go there again, Idon't know how soon. Don't think I'm begging for help or whining. Nobody goes to hell that hasn't got hell in him. He always gets justwhat's coming to him. "

"No, no! It's not fair. I can't bear to hear you blame yourself. There's no justice in it. Both heredity and environment have beenagainst you. "

"Justice?" he repeated. He shook his head, with rather a grim smile. "Told you once I worked in a pottery. Supposing the clay of a piecewasn't mixed right, it wasn't the dish's fault if it cracked in thefiring. Just the same, it got heaved on the scrap-heap. "

Genevieve looked down at her clasped hands and whispered: "May noteven a flawed piece prove so unique, so valuable in other respects, that it is cemented and kept?"

Blake laughed harshly. "Ever know a cracked dish to cement itself?"

"This is all wrong! The metaphor doesn't apply, " protested the girl. "You're not a lifeless piece of clay; you're a man--you have a free, powerful will. "

"That's the question. Have I? Has anybody? Some scientists argue thatwe're nothing but automatons--the creatures of heredity andenvironment. "

"It's not true. We're morally responsible for all we do--that is, unless we're insane. "

"And I'm only dippy, eh?" said Blake. 

He moved ahead around the screening fronds of a young areca palm, andcame to an abrupt halt, his eyes fixed on an object in the midst ofthe tropical undergrowth. 

"Look here!" he called in a hushed tone. 

Genevieve hesitated, and came to him with reluctant slowness. But whenshe reached his side and saw what it was he was looking at sointently, her cold face warmed with a tender glow, and, unable torestrain her emotion, she pressed her cheek against his arm. Hequivered, yet made no attempt to take advantage of her weakness. 

"Tom! oh, Tom!" she whispered. "It's exactly the color of the otherone!"

"Wish _this_ snake was as easy to smash!" he muttered. 

"It will be!" she reassured him. He made no response. After a shortsilence, she said, "In memory of that, Tom, I wish you would kiss me. "

He bent over and touched his lips to her forehead with reverenttenderness. That was all. 

When Mrs. Gantry came in on them, they were still standing side byside, but apart, contemplating the great crimson amaryllis blossom. Their attitude and their silence were, however, sufficient to quickenher apprehensions. 

"My dear child, " she reproached Genevieve, "you should know that thisdamp mouldy air is not wholesome for you. "

"She's right, Miss Jenny, " agreed Blake. "It's too much likeMozambique--gets your thoughts muddled. You've failed to do as yousaid you would. I ought to've gone sooner. Good-day, Mrs. Gantry. Good-day, Miss Jenny. "

He turned away with decisive quickness. 

"Must you go?" asked Genevieve, with a trace of entreaty that did notescape her aunt. 

"Yes, " said Blake. 

"You'll come to see me soon!"

"Not till I see daylight ahead on the dam. Don't know when that willbe. Best I can say is Adios!"

"I trust it will be soon. "

"Same here, " he responded, and he left the palm room with head down-bent, as if he were already pondering the problem, the solving ofwhich was to free him from the self-imposed taboo of her house. 

"My dear Genevieve!" Mrs. Gantry hastened to exclaim. "Why must youencourage the man?"

The girl pointed to the gorgeous blossom of the amaryllis. "That isone reason, Aunt Amice. "

"That? What do you mean?"

"Your amaryllis--not the flower itself, but what it stands for to me. "

"Still, I do not--"

"Not when you recall what I told you about that frightful puff adder--that I was stooping to pick an amaryllis when the hideous creaturestruck at me?"

"You mentioned something about a snake, but there was so much else--"

"Yes, it was only once of the many, many times when he proved himselfa man. Though the adder only struck the fold of my skirt, I stoodparalyzed with horror. Winthrope, as usual, was ineffectual. Tom camerunning with his club--and then--" The girl paused until the vividblush that had leaped into her cheeks had ebbed away. "It was notalone his courage but his resourcefulness. Most men would have turnedaway from the writhing monster, full of loathing. He saw theopportunity to convert what had been a most deadly peril into a sourceof safety. He sent me away, and extracted the poison for his arrowtips. "

"My dear child, I freely admit that he is an admirable savage, "conceded Mrs. Gantry. 

"Say rather that he was fit to survive in a savage environment. Weshall now see him adapt himself to the other extreme. "

"Young girls always tend to idealize those whom they chance to fancy. ""Chance? Fancy? Dear Aunt Amice, you and papa do not, perhaps cannot, realize that for those many weeks I lived with storm and starvation, sun and fever, serpents and ferocious beasts all striving to destroyme. I saw the hard realities of life, and learned to think. Mentally Iam no longer a young girl, but a woman, qualified to judge what herfuture should be. "

The glowing face of her usually composed niece warned Mrs. Gantry tobe discreet. She patted the coils of soft hair. "There, there, mydear. Pray do not misunderstand me. All I ask is that you make surebefore you commit yourself, --a few months of delay, that you maycompare him with the men of our own class. "

Genevieve smiled. "I have gone quite beyond that already, Aunt Amice. "

"Indeed?" murmured the elder woman. Too tactful to venture further, she placed a ring-crowded hand upon her ample bosom. "It is too closein here. I feel oppressed. "

Genevieve readily accompanied her from the conservatory. 

Blake had gone, alone, for they found Lord James in the midst of alively tete-a-tete with Dolores. 

At sight of the merry couple, Genevieve paused in the doorway torecall to her companion some previous conversation. "You see, Aunty. Confess now. They would make a perfect couple. "

"Nonsense. He would never dream of such a thing, even were you out ofhis thoughts. What is more, though he seems to have caught her in oneof her gay moods, I know that she simply abominates him. She told himas much, within a minute after you left us. "

"I'm so sorry!" sighed Genevieve. "At least let us slip out withoutinterrupting them. I must be going, anyway. "

"My dear, I have you to consider before Dolores, " replied Mrs. Gantry, and she advanced upon the unconscious couple. "Genevieve is going. "

Lord James looked about, for the slightest fraction of a momentdiscomposed. Genevieve perceived the fleeting expression, and hastenedto interpose. "Do not trouble. It is so short a distance. "

But the Englishman was already bowing to Dolores. The girl turned herback upon him with deliberate rudeness. 

"You see!" murmured Mrs. Gantry to Genevieve. 

When Lord James and her niece had gone, the outraged dame wheeled uponher daughter. But at the first word, Dolores faced her with such anoutblazing of rebellious anger that the mother thought best to deferher lecture. 

CHAPTER XVII

ENTRAPPED

On a frosty Sunday morning, some ten days later, Blake came swingingout Lake Shore Drive at a space-devouring stride that soon brought himto the Leslie mansion. He turned in, and the footman, who had receivedorders regarding him, promptly bowed him in. 

After a moment's hesitancy, Blake handed over a calling card. All hisprevious cards had been printed, with a "C. E. " after his name andnothing before it. These social insignia had been ordered for him byLord James. Blake wondered how the innovation would impress Genevieve. 

She presently came down to him, dressed for church but without herhat. He was quick to note the fact. "You're going out. Didn't mean tocall at the wrong time. "

"No, " she replied. "I am going to church, but not until Aunt Amice andDolores call by for us. That may not be for half an hour. I am veryglad to see you. I remember what you said about your next call. Thismeans, does it not, that you believe you can solve the problem of theZariba Dam?"

"Yes. I sidetracked the proposition four days ago. Had all the factsand factors in my head, but couldn't seem to get anywhere. Well, Ihadn't tried to think about the dam since then, but this morning, allof a sudden, the idea came to me. "

"You had set your subconscious mind to working, " remarked Genevieve. "The ideas of many of the great inventions and discoveries have comethat way. "

"Don't know about any subconscious mind, " said Blake. "But that ideaflashed into my head when I wasn't thinking of the dam at all--justlike I'd dreamed it. "

"You mean 'as if' you'd dreamed it, not 'like, '" said Genevieve, witha look of playful reproof. 

"How's that?" he queried. "Never thought that was wrong. But I likeyour telling me. Is that right?"

"Quite, --grammatically as well as otherwise, " she answered, smiling athis soberness. But her tone was as earnest as his. "The speech of agreat engineer should be as correct as his figures. "

"That's a go!" agreed Blake. "I'll hire a grammar expert just as soonas I work out this dam idea--_um_--you know what I mean--this ideaabout the dam. Don't know how long that will take. But I'm prettysure I've got the thing cinched--else I wouldn't have had the nerve tocome here this morning. You'll believe that, Jenny?"

"Of course. Yet there was no reason why you should have remained awayeven had you not succeeded. I did not mean you to--to take it thatway, Tom. "

"All right, then. I'll drop around often if it's not against rules. "

"You'll come to church with me this morning?"

"Church!" echoed Blake, in mock-tragic fright. "Haven't been inside achurch since I don't know when. "

"All the more reason why you should go with us now, " she argued. 

"Us?"

"Aunt Amice always calls by for papa. He is one of the vestrymen ofthe Cathedral, you know, but he'd never go if aunty did not come forhim. We share the same pew. But it's a large one. There'll be room foryou. "

"Not in the same pew with your aunt and father, " rejoined Blake. "It'dtake a larger pew than was ever made, to hold them and me. "

"Oh, but you must come, Tom. You'll enjoy the music. Here they arenow. "

"O-ho, Vievie, you in here?" called Dolores, and she darted in uponthem. "Goodness! who's the man? Why, it's Mr. Blake. Hail to thehero!"

She pirouetted down to them and shook Blake's hand vigorously, chattering her fastest. "You can't imagine how glad I am to see you. I've had less than half of Jeems, with mamma butting in all the wayover. Of course he'll sit between her and Vievie. If you'll come alongas my own particular, I'll feed you on chocolates and keep you nudgedduring the sermon. "

"Oh, but I say, Miss Gantry, those were to be my chocolates, "protested Lord James from the doorway. 

"Hello, " said Blake. "So you're the man, are you? Better look out. First thing you know, you'll get roped. "

"Roped? What's that?" demanded Dolores. 

"Ask Jeems, " laughed Blake. 

"Er--seems to me I've heard the expression in relation to the term'steer, '" observed Lord James. 

"Oh, something to do with a ship, " said the girl. 

"Yes, with what the sailormen would call a trim craft. Eh, Jeems?"chuckled Blake. 

"You're laughing at me!" accused the girl. "To make up for it, you'llhave to come and hold my prayer-book for me. Just think!--a real heroto hold my prayer-book!"

"Excuse _me!_" objected Blake. "I don't know the places. "

"Never mind. We can study the styles quite as well. Vievie, let'shurry on. Mamma has gone up to rout out Uncle Herbert. They'll belate--as usual. "

"Well, then, I'll clear the track, " said Blake. "Take good care ofJeems for me. Good-bye, Miss Jenny. "

"Don't leave, Tom, " replied Genevieve. "If you do not wish to go tothe Cathedral--"

"We'll all stay home, " cut in Dolores. 

"What's this about staying home?" came the voice of Mrs. Gantry fromthe hall. 

"Quick, Mr. Blake!" exclaimed Dolores in a stage whisper. "Hide behindme. I'm taller than Vievie. "

Her mother came in upon them in time to catch Blake's broadest grin. "Stay at home, indeed! Such a delightful day as--Ah!"

"It is Mr. Blake, Aunt Amice, " said Genevieve in a tone that compelledthe stiffening matron to bow. 

"Well, good-bye, " repeated Blake. 

"Please wait, " said Genevieve. "If you do not wish to go to church, you must stay to--Here's papa. "

"Not late this time, am I?" demanded Mr. Leslie, bustling into theroom. "All ready, my dear? No, you've not got on your hat. Hello!" Hestopped short, staring at Blake. "Didn't know you were to be with us. "

"I'm not, " said Blake. 

"You're not? H'm, --why not? Not afraid of church, are you? Better joinus. "

Blake stared in open astonishment. "Thanks, I--Not this time, Iguess, " he replied. 

Mr. Leslie seemed about to press the point, but paused and glanced athis watch. 

"Please do not wait for me, " said Genevieve. "I have decided not togo. "

If Blake expected an outburst over this, he had another surprise instore for him. Mrs. Gantry turned away, tight-lipped and high of chin, either too full for utterance or else aware that it was an instantwhen silence was the better part of diplomacy. 

Mr. Leslie followed her, after a half-irritable, half-cordial word toBlake. "Very well, very well. Some other time, then. "

As Lord James took his leave of Genevieve with apparent nonchalance, Blake noted an exultant sparkle in the black eyes of Dolores. Yet thelook was flatly contradicted by her words as she flounced about towardthe door: "You needn't say good-bye, Mr. Scarbridge. You may as wellstay right here, since she's not going. "

"You see how she rags me, " complained Lord James, hastening out afterher. 

Blake watched them go, his eyes keen with eager observation. He wasstill staring at the doorway when Genevieve offered banteringly, "Apenny for your thoughts, Mr. Blake. "

"You'll have to bid higher. Make it a coronet--I mean, half a crown. "

"Only half a crown? Why not a crown--the oak crown of the conqueror?You know the Bible verse: 'He that overcometh himself is greater thanhe that taketh a city. '"

"Can't say as to that; but I've taken in the town, after having failedto overcome, " said Blake with bitter humor. 

"Tom! You must not speak of your defeats. They are past and of thePast. You must not even think of them. Have you ever been baptized?"

"Baptized? Let's see. .. Yes, I remember the question was brought upwhen I came back from my first hoboing and my sisters got me going tothe Episcopal Mission. They even persuaded me to join what's called aconfirmation class. That's when it had to be proved I'd beenbaptized. "

"Oh, Tom! then you've been confirmed--you're an Episcopalian!"

"I was confirmed. That's not saying I'm an Episcopalian now. "

"Have you joined another denomination?"

"No. It was just that my religious streak pinched out, and some yearsafter that I read Darwin and Spencer and Haeckel. "

"But that's no reason. If only you had read Drummond first, you'd haveseen that true science and true religion are not opposed but arecomplementary to each other. "

"Drummond?" queried Blake. "Never heard of him, that I remember. Anyway, I guess I'm not one of the religious kind. It was only toplease my sisters I started in that time. "

"But you'll go to church with me now, Tom?"

Blake hesitated. "Thought you told them you'd decided not to go?"

"Not to the Cathedral. There's the little chapel down the street, inwhich I was confirmed. It's nearer. We could walk. The bishopofficiates at the communion this morning, but he is ill; so Mr. Vincent, the vicar, will preach. He's a young clergyman and is said tobe as popular with the men of his congregation as with the women. Histext to-day for morning service is--No, I'll not tell it to you, butI'm sure you'll find the sermon helpful. "

"If you're so anxious to have me go, Jenny, I'll go. But it's to bewith you, not because I'm interested in that kind of religion. I don'tbelieve in going to a church every week and whining about being fullof sin and iniquity and all that. The people that do it are eitherhypocrites and don't believe what they are saying, or else it's true, and they ought to go to jail. "

Genevieve smiled regretfully. "You and I live in such differentworlds. Will you not try to at least look into mine?"

"Well, I'll not sleep during the sermon, " promised Blake. 

She shook her head at his levity, and left him, to fetch her hat andfurs. 

When they went out, Blake had no need to stop in the hall. He hadbrought no overcoat. The first breath of the clear frosty air outsidecaused her to draw her furs about her graceful throat. She glanced atBlake, and asked with almost maternal concern. "Where's your topcoat?You'll take cold. "

"What, a day like this?" he replied. "On a good hustling job I'd callthis shirtsleeve weather. "

"You're so hardy! That is part of your strength. "

"Um-m, " muttered Blake. "That cousin of yours is a hummer, isn't she?"

"If you but knew how she envies me my Crusoe adventures!"

"I'm not surprised to hear it. What gets me is seeing her go to thesame church as her mother. "

"She doesn't usually. But how could she miss such a chance to teaseaunty and Lord James? She's a dear contrary girl. "

"Then she's not an Episcopalian?"

"Oh, yes. Isn't it nice that we all are?"

"We all?" queried Blake. 

"If you've been confirmed, you are, too. That's why I'm so glad you'recoming with me. We'll take the communion together. "

Blake's face darkened, and he replied hesitatingly: "Why, you see, Jenny, I--I don't think I want to. "

"But, Tom, when it will please me so much!"

"You know I'd like to please you--only, you see, I'm not--I don'tbelieve in it. "

"Do you positively disbelieve in it?"

"Well, I can't say just that. "

"Then I'm sure it will be all right. You'll not be irreverent, andmaybe it will reawaken your own true spiritual self. "

"Sorry, " said Blake uneasily. "I'm afraid I can't do it, even toplease you. "

"But why not? Surely, Tom, you'll not allow your hard cold science tostand in the way of a sacrament!"

"I don't know whether it is a sacrament or isn't. "

"Is that your reason for refusing what I so greatly desire?"

He looked away from her, and asked in a tone that was meant to becasual, "Do they use regular wine, or the unfermented kind?"

"So that's your reason!" she exclaimed. "I did not think you'd beafraid. "

"Anything that has alcohol in it--" he sought to explain. "It's thevery devil to rouse that craving! There have been times when I'vetaken a drink and fought it down--but not when--No, I can't risk it, Jenny. "

"Not the communion wine? Surely no harm could come from that! You needtake only the slightest sip. "

"One taste might prove to be as bad as a glassful. You can't guesswhat it's like. I'm apt to go wild. Just the smell is bad enough. "

"But it's the _communion_, Tom. You have been confirmed in the Church. You know what the consecrated bread and wine symbolize. You can recallto mind all the sacred associations. "

"I'm mighty sorry, " replied Blake. "If only that meant to me what itdoes to you, I might risk it. I'm no blatant atheist or anti-religionist. I'm simply agnostic; I don't believe. That's all. Youhave faith. I haven't. I didn't wish to get rid of my faith. It justwent. "

"It may come to you again, if you seek to partake of the spiritualcommunion, " urged Genevieve. 

"I'm willing enough to try that. But I'll not risk any wine. "

"You'll not?" she cried. "Afraid to taste the consecrated wine? Thenyou _are_ weak!--you _are_ a coward! And I thought you strong, despiteyour own confession!"

The outburst of reproach forced Blake to flinch. He muttered inprotest, "Good Lord, Jenny! you don't mean to say you make this a partof the test?"

"Does it mean nothing to you that I long to have you share thecommunion with me?" she rejoined. "What must I think of you if youdare not venture to partake of that holy symbol, in the communion ofall that is highest within you with the Father?"

Blake quivered as though the frosty air had at last sent a chillthrough his powerful frame. 

"You insist?" he asked huskily. 

"You are strong. You will do it, " she replied. 

"You don't know what it means. But, since you insist--" he reluctantlyacquiesced. He added almost inaudibly, "Up against it for sure! Still--there have been times--"

CHAPTER XVIII

HOLY COMMUNION

They reached the chapel and entered during the last verse of theProcessional Hymn. As Genevieve was known to the usher in charge ofthe centre aisle, they were shown to a pew farther forward than Blakewould have chosen. 

Genevieve produced a dainty hymnal and prayer-book, and gave hercompanion the pleasurable employment of helping her hold first one andthen the other, throughout the service. If his spirit was quickened bya re-hearing of the prayers in which he had once believed, he did notshow it. But he seemed pleased at the fact that Genevieve was toointent upon worship to gaze around at the hats and dresses of theother ladies. 

The chapel choir could not boast of any exceptional voices. It was, however, very well trained. Throughout the anthem Blake sat tense, almost quivering, so keen was his delight. At the close he sank backinto the corner of the pew, his gaze shifting uneasily from the infirmand aged bishop in the episcopal chair to the thin, eager-faced youngvicar who had hastened around to mount up into the pulpit. 

With a quick movement, the vicar opened the thick Bible to his text, the announcement of which caused Blake to start and fix his attentionupon him:

"'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he thatruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. ' Proverbs 16:32. "

Genevieve glanced at Blake, who recalled how she had expressed hercertainty that he would find the sermon helpful. The text was apt, tosay the least. His hard-set face momentarily softened with a smilethat caused her to settle back, in serene contentment. He assumed whatLord James would have termed his "poker face" and leaned up in thecorner of the pew, to gaze at the preacher, as impassive as a woodenimage. 

The manner in which the Reverend Mr. Vincent elucidated his text soonwon a stare of pleased surprise from Blake. He began by describing, noless vividly than briefly, the walled cities of the ancients and theenormous difficulty of capturing them, either by siege or assault. This was followed by a graphic summary of the life of Alexander theGreat. 

Blake listened with such intentness to this novel sermon that he didnot perceive that Genevieve was no less intently studying him. It wasevident he was deeply impressed by the obvious inference to be drawnfrom the life of the mighty young Macedonian, --the youth who conqueredworlds, only to be himself conquered by his own vices. 

But when, warming to his theme, the young vicar entered upon a eulogyof asceticism, Blake bent over and stared moodily at the printed"Suggestions to Worshippers" pasted on the back of the next pew. Hisbig body, to all appearances, was absolutely still and rigid, but thefingers of his right hand moved about restlessly, tapping his knee orclenching upon the broad palm. 

In the midst of Mr. Vincent's explanations of what he considered thefundamental differences between the self-torture of the Hindu yogisand the mortifications of spirit and body practised by the mediaevalmonks, Blake shook his head in an uneasy, annoyed gesture. Yet if hemeant this as an indication of dissent, he gave no other sign that hewas following the thread of the sermon. 

Even the close of the eloquent peroration, in which Mr. Vincentbesought his hearers to prepare for the fasting and prayer of theLenten season, failed to rouse Blake from his moody abstraction. Butat the end of the regular service, when the white-gowned choir-boysflocked out and the majority of the congregation began to crowd intothe aisles with decorous murmurings and the soft rustling of silkenskirts, Blake raised his head and followed their departure with ashifting, disquieted gaze. 

At last all others than those who had remained for the communion hadpassed out into the vestibule, and the closing of the doors muffledthe loud clear voices of those on the outer steps. Genevieve touchedBlake's arm. He started, and glanced up into the chancel. As he caughtsight of the bishop and Mr. Vincent behind the rail, his uneasinessbecame so pronounced that Genevieve was alarmed. 

"What is it? Are you ill?" she whispered. 

"No, " he replied. He thrust his shaking hands into his coat pockets, forced himself to take a deep breath, and added in a thick, half-inarticulate mutter, "no--won't give in--not a quitter. "

She could not catch the words, but the resolute tone reassured her. 

"It's the air in here. It's stifling. But we shall not be long now, "she murmured, and she lapsed into devotional concentration. 

Blake, however, followed the service with increasing restlessness. Hisfingers twitched within the sheltering pockets, and the lines of hisface drew tense. He glanced about two or three times as though halfinclined to bolt. 

A little more, and he might have broken under the strain and run away. But then the communicants began to leave their pews and drift forwardinto the chancel. At the touch of Genevieve's hand upon his arm hestarted more sharply than before. 

"Tom, you really are ill!" she insisted. 

"No, " he mumbled, "I guess I--Wait, though. I've forgotten. Does hemean we're supposed to take it as real flesh and blood?"

"Only the Romanists hold to that. We take it symbolically. "

"Then why doesn't he say so?"

"He did. Besides, every one understands. You are coming?"

"Wine--alcohol--and she still insists!" he muttered in a thick, almostinarticulate voice. 

Intent upon the sacrament, she failed to heed either his tone or thedespair in his tense face. 

"Come. We are the last, " she urged. "We'll soon be out in the openair. "

With a heaviness that she mistook for solemnity, he stepped out intothe aisle for her to leave the pew, and walked beside her up into thechancel. 

She knelt near the extreme end of the altar rail, and bent over withher face in the little hand that she had bared to receive thecommunion bread. For a moment Blake stood beside her, staringdubiously at the venerable figure of the bishop. Mr. Vincent passedbetween. Blake took a step to the left and knelt down besideGenevieve. 

The only sounds in the chancel were the intoned murmurings of thebishop and Mr. Vincent and the labored breathing of an asthmatic womannext to Genevieve. The less indistinct of the murmuring voices drewnear. Genevieve thrust out her palm a little way. Blake, withoutlooking up, did the same. 

Mr. Vincent reiterated his intoned statement above them, as though ininvocation, and placed tiny squares of bread in their palms. They werethe last in the line of kneeling communicants. Blake waited untilGenevieve raised her hand to her mouth. Mechanically he followed herexample. He swallowed the little morsel of bread with perceptibleeffort. Again he pressed his forehead down upon the hand that grippedthe brass rail. 

The bishop's voice now murmured near them, feeble and broken, yet verysolemn: "'The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink this inremembrance that Christ's Blood was shed for thee, and be thankful. '"

Both of Blake's hands now clutched the rail in a grip that whitenedthe knuckles. Persons from the other end and the centre of the linewere rising and softly retiring to their pews. The asthmatic womangasped and fell silent as the bishop held the communion cup to herlips. 

The bishop shuffled quietly along another step and stood bowed overthe last two communicants. He was a very old man and he was ill. Hisvoice sank to an inaudible murmur: "'The Blood . .. Shed for thee, preserve . .. Life. Drink this . .. "

Blake waited, tense and rigid, as one about to meet the shock of adeadly attack. The bishop drew the chalice back from Genevieve's lipsin his trembling hands, and paused for Blake to reach out and take it. 

Blake did not move. The bishop bent farther over. The fumes of thewine rose in the face of the kneeling man. He quivered and shrankback--then, almost violently, he flung up his head and caught the cupto his lips. 

Genevieve was rising. Blake stood up abruptly and followed her down totheir pew. She knelt at once; but he caught up his soft hat, andholding it before his face, bent down close to her ear. He spoke in astrained whisper: "Excuse me. I've got to go. "

She half rose. "You're ill! I'll go with you and--"

"No. Sit still. I've a--a most important engagement with, a friend--Mr. Griffith. Got to hurry!"

"Not so loud!" she cautioned him. "If you _must_ go, Tom!"

"Yes, must! Sorry, but--" His hand sought and closed upon hers in asudden caressing clasp, and his voice became husky. "Good-bye, girlie!May not see you for a--for a time!"

"Why, are you going out of town?" she asked. 

But he was already turning away. Without pausing to answer herquestion, he started rapidly down the aisle, his head and shouldersbent forward in a peculiar crouch. A slight frown of perplexity anddispleasure marred the serenity of Genevieve's face. But the benignvoice of the bishop immediately soothed her back into her beatificabstraction. 

When the service was ended, she walked home in a most devotional frameof mind, and after luncheon, spent the afternoon searching outscriptural verses that she thought would aid in the spiritual re-awakening of Blake. Later in the afternoon she accompanied her fatherto the Gantrys', her face aglow with reverent joy. It was as if shefelt that she had already guided Blake into the straight and narrowway that leads up out of the primitive. 

They found Dolores industriously shocking her mother by a persistentheckling of Lord James, who was smiling at her quips and sallies andtwirling his little blond mustache as if he enjoyed the raillery. 

"Oh, here's Vievie, at last!" cried the girl. "Vievie darling, youreyes positively shine! Have you and the heroic Thomas been talkingabout the sharks and crocodiles of your late paradise? That was socute of you, waiting this morning till we had gone, and then slippingoff with him alone. "

"We went to my little chapel. I knew the dear old bishop would bethere. And the new vicar, Mr. Vincent, preached a splendid sermon. "

"Which you talked about all the way home--I don't think, " mockedDolores. 

"No, you never think, " agreed Mrs. Gantry. 

"Mr. Blake had to hasten away, just before the close of the communionservice, " explained Genevieve. "He remembered an important engagementwith Mr. Griffith. "

"About the Zariba Dam?" queried her father with alert eagerness. 

"He did not say. I am not altogether sure that he--"

"Pardon me, " interrupted Lord James. "Do you really believe that, inthe circumstances, he would leave you for a business appointment?"

"Why shouldn't he?" said Mr. Leslie. "If he solves the problem of thatdam, his fortune is as good as made. He'll have big positions thrustupon him. Did he seem excited, my dear--abstracted?"

"Oh, do you think it was that?" replied Genevieve. "I feared he wasill. The ventilation of the chapel is so wretched. He did look odd;yet he would not admit that he felt ill. I was half doubtful whetherit was right to insist that he stay to communion. "

"Communion!" gasped Mrs. Gantry. "You don't mean to say, my dear, thatyou've made a convert of him? Impossible!"

"I'm afraid not, " sighed Genevieve. "I believe he took the communionmerely to oblige me. "

"Took the communion?" echoed Lord James, no less astonished than Mrs. Gantry. "Surely you do not--er--It seems quite impossible, you know. "

"Is it so very amazing, when I asked him--urged him?" said Genevieve, flushing ever so slightly under his incredulous look. 

"My word!" he murmured. "Tom did that!"

"I regret that he was not in a condition to receive the utmost goodfrom it. But he was either ill or else rendered uneasy over hisbusiness with Mr. Griffith, " remarked Genevieve. 

"Of course, of course!" assented Lord James, bending over to brush aspeck from his knee. "Quite a pity, indeed!" He straightened andturned to Mrs. Gantry, with a forced smile. "Er--it's deuced stupid ofme--agreeing to dine, y'know--deuced stupid. Must beg pardon forcutting it! I'd quite forgotten I was to meet Tom--er--and Griffith, at their offices. They may be waiting for me now. "

"Why, of all things!" protested Dolores. "You don't mean to say youare going to run off, just when dinner is ready?"

"Lord Avondale has made his excuses, " said her mother. "No doubtanother time--"

"Very soon, I trust--very soon, " assented Lord James, with apropitiatory glance at Dolores. "It's a keen disappointment, I assureyou. " He looked about at Genevieve. "If you ladies will be so kind--It's a most pressing matter. Er--Griffith is not in the best ofhealth. He may have to take a trip to Florida. "

"No, he won't, " broke in Mr. Leslie. "Not unless he leaves some one tomanage Lafayette Ashton. The young cub isn't fit to be left alone withthat bridge. Isn't that what this appointment is about? Griffith mayhave it in mind to put Blake in charge of the bridge. "

"Er--must say it wouldn't surprise me if he takes a run up there withGriffith, " said Lord James. "May go along myself. "

"But you'll be back for the ball!" exclaimed Dolores. 

"Right-o! Count on me for the ball. That's a fortnight off. Ampletime. "

"Then I promise you two waltzes. Bring back Laffie with you. He dancesdivinely. "

Lord James smiled in rather an absent manner, and turned to Genevieve. "You take me? I expect to be away with Tom for a few days. He willprobably lack opportunity to call on you before he leaves town. Youmay have a message for me to take to him. "

"Give him my best wishes for the success--of his work. "

"That is all?"

For a few moments Genevieve stood hesitating, too intent upon her ownthoughts to heed the covert stare of Dolores and the open scrutiny ofher aunt and father. Lord James waited, with his averted gaze fixedupon the anxious face of Mrs. Gantry. 

"That is all, " quietly answered the girl, at last. 

Mrs. Gantry sighed with relief, but Dolores frowned, and Mr. Lesliestared in irritable perplexity. Lord James bowed and hastened outbefore any of the others had observed his expression. 

CHAPTER XIX

THE FALL OF MAN

Griffith, C. E. , sat in the inner room of the bare living apartmentsadjoining his office. His feet, clad in white socks and an ancientpair of carpet slippers, were perched upon the top of a clicking steamradiator. His lank body balanced itself perilously in a rickety cane-seated chair, which was tilted far back on the rear legs. His pipe, long since burnt out and cold, hung from his slack jaw, while hiseyes, bright and excited, galloped through the last pages of asensational society novel. 

He reached the final climax of the series of climaxes, and sat for amoment tense; then, flirting the cheap thing into a corner, he drewdown his feet and stood up, stretching and yawning. Having relievedhis cramped muscles, he drew out a tobacco pouch. But while in the actof opening it, he glanced at the alarm-clock on the book-shelves, andended by replacing the pouch, without loading his pipe. 

"Nine, " he croaked, and again he stretched and yawned. 

A sharp knock sounded at the hall-door of the outer room. Before hecould start in response, a second and far louder knock followed. 

"H'm--must be a wire, " he muttered, and he shuffled quickly over thefaded carpet into the front room. 

The door shook with a third knocking that sounded like fist blows. Griffith's eyes sharpened with the look of a man who has lived inrough places and scents danger. He turned the night-catch and steppedto one side as he flung the door open. Before him stood a tall youngman in an English topcoat. The visitor's curly yellow hair was bareand his handsome face scarlet with embarrassment. 

"I--er--I beg your pardon, Mr. Griffith. I--" he stammered. 

A big hand swung up on his shoulder, and a deep voice, thick andjocular, cut short his apology. "Thash all ri', Cheems. Wash ri' in. Ish on'y ol' Grishsh. Wash ri' in, I shay. "

Propelled by the hand on his shoulder, Lord James entered with aprecipitancy that carried him half across the room. Blake followedwith solemn deliberation, keeping a hand upon the door casing. Griffith stepped around and shut and bolted the door. Without a secondglance at Blake, he shuffled close up to Lord James and demanded in arasping, metallic voice, "What's the meaning of this, Mr. Scarbridge?"

"Thash all ri', Grish, " interposed Blake, "thash all ri'. M'frenshChimmy Ear' Albondash. Hish fa'er's Dush Rubby--y' shee?"

Without raising his voice, Griffith gave utterance to a volley ofblasphemous expletives that crackled on the air like an electricdischarge. 

"If you will kindly permit me, sir--"

"Hell!" cut in the engineer. "You call yourself his friend. Goodfriend you are, to let him touch a drop!"

"This is no time for misunderstandings between his friends, Mr. Griffith, " said Lord James, with a quiet insistence that checked theother's anger. "He was hard at it when, I found him--had been forhours. "

"Ri' she are, Chi-Chimmy boy! Ching o' it, Grishsh!--thish ish arelish--relishush lushingsh--church shaloo--loon. "

Griffith went over to the swaying figure, and stared close into thepallid face and glittering, bloodshot eyes. 

"You damned fool!" he jerked out. 

"Whash--whash 'at? Whash you shay, Grishsh?"

"You damned idiot!"

"Thash all ri'. Goo' frensh, Grishsh, youm me. Lesh hash a dro-drop. "

"Come on in, " said the engineer. "I'll give you several drops. " Heshot a glance at the Englishman. "Lend a hand, will you?"

Lord James stepped quickly to the other side of Blake, who claspedeach about the neck in a maudlin but vice-like embrace. As they movedtoward the bedroom, Griffith exclaimed with strategic enthusiasm:"That's it, boys, come right on in. It's so confounded dusty here, let's have a bath. "

"All ri', Grishsh, en'ching you shay. Bu' you wanna wash ou' y' don'gi' wa'er insish. Wa'er insish a man'sh wor' ching--"

"That's all right, old man, " cut in Lord James, "I'll see to that. Leave it to me. "

By this time they had come in beside Blake's own cot, which extendedout of the corner of the room, at the foot of Griffith's equallysimple bed. Griffith opened the door of a tiny bathroom and turned onthe hot water in the tub. Lord James fell to stripping Blake, regardless of his protests that he could undress himself. 

"Chuck it!" ordered his lordship, as Blake sought to interfere. "Youdon't want to keep us waiting our turn, do you?"

Blake launched upon an elaborate and envolved disclaimer that he hadharbored the remotest idea of causing his friends the slightesttrouble. In the midst Griffith came out of the bathroom. With hishelp, Blake was soon got ready, and the two led him in between them. In the corner of the bathroom was a small cabinet shower-bath with awooden door. Blake turned toward it, but Griffith drew him about tothe steaming tub. 

"Hot room first, Tommy, " he said. "Haven't forgotten how to take aTurkish, have you?"

Blake entered upon another profuse apology, meantime docily permittingthe others to immerse him in the tub of hot water. Griffith promptlyadded still hotter water to the bath, while Lord James held the vaporcurtains tight about the patient's neck. Before many minutes Blakebegan to grow restless, then to curse. But between them, Griffith andLord James managed to keep him in the tub for more than a quarter ofan hour. 

"All right, Tommy. Now for the shower, " said Griffith, at last. 

Blake came out of the tub red and still wobbly. They rushed him overand shoved him into the cabinet. Lord James stepped clear, andGriffith slammed shut the door, latched it with an outside hook, andjerked open the lever of the shower-faucet, which was outside thecabinet. 

"_Oof!_" grunted Blake, as the cold deluge poured down upon his barehead and body. 

"Fine, hey?" called Griffith. 

"_Wow!_ Lemme ou'! _Oo-ou!_"

The cabinet shook with a bump that would have upset it had it not beenscrewed fast to the wall. 

"Aw, now, don't do the baby-act, Tommy!" jeered Griffith. "Yowlinglike a bum, over a bath!"

"Be game, old man!" chimed in Lord James. "Take your medicine. "

"Bu-but 'sh cole! _W-whew!_"

"Stay with it, old man--stay with it!" urged Lord James. "Don't laydown. Be a sport!"

"G-gosh! 'M free-freezin'! Lemme out!"

Griffith rubbed his hands together and cackled: "Stay with it, Tommy. It's doing the work. Stay with it. "

"Damnation!" swore Blake. "O-open that door!"

"Time we were moving, Mr. Scarbridge, " said Griffith. 

He followed Lord James out of the bathroom, and closed the door. Heled the way through into the front room, and closed that door. Theystood waiting, silent and expectant. 

The walls shook with a muffled crash. 

"Repairs, five dollars, " said Griffith. "Better stand farther overthis way. "

The bathroom door slammed open violently. The two men glanced intoeach other's eyes. 

"You've played football?" croaked the engineer. 

Lord James nodded. 

"Tackle him low--fouler the better, " advised Griffith. 

There was a pause . .. One of the cots in the bedroom creakedcomplainingly. 

"Huh, " muttered Griffith. "Sulking, eh? Good thing for us. " He gazedfull into the Englishman's face, and offered his hand. "I hope you'lloverlook what I said, Mr. Scarbridge--Lord Scarbridge. Under thecircumstances--"

"Don't mention it, Mr. Griffith! It's--it's the most positive proof ofyour friendship for him--that you should have been so angered. Deucetake it, I'd give anything if this hadn't happened!"

"How did it happen?" asked Griffith. "Sit down--No; no chance of hiscoming out now. "

Lord James slipped off his heavy topcoat, and seated himself, hisdress clothes and immaculate linen offering an odd contrast to theshabby room. But the engineer looked only at the face of his visitor. 

"It's a beastly shame--when he was holding his own so well!" exclaimedthe Englishman. 

"That's what gets me, " said Griffith. "He seemed to have staved it offindefinitely. I didn't notice a single one of the usual signs. And hehas let out that the dam was almost a certainty. If he had fizzled onit, I could understand how that and the way he's been grinding indoorsnight and day--"

"No; he's stood that better than I had feared. What a shame! what abeastly shame! When Miss Leslie learns--"

"Miss Leslie?" cut in Griffith. "If she shakes him for this, she's notmuch account--after all he did for her. If she's worth anything, now'sthe time for her to set to and help pull him up again. But you haven'tsaid yet how it happened. "

"That's the worst of it! To be sure, she was perfectly innocent. Shemust have thought it simply impossible that the communion wine--"

"Hey!--communion wine? That's what he meant by church saloons andreligious lushing, then. She steered him up against that--knowing hisone weakness?"

"My dear sir, how could she realize?"

"He told me she knew. "

"But the communion wine!"

"Communion alcohol! Alcohol is alcohol, I don't care whether it's in asaloon or a church or pickling snakes in a museum. I tell you, Tommy'scase has made a prohibition crank of me. Talk about it's being a man'slack of will and moral strength--_bah!_ I never knew a man who hadmore will power than he, or who was more on the square. You know it. "

"I--to be sure--except, you know, when he gives way to these attacks. "

"Gives way!--and you've seen him fight! It's a disease, I tell you--amonomania like any other monomania. Why don't they say to a crazy manin his lucid intervals, 'Trouble with you is your lack of will powerand moral strength. Brace up. Go to church'?"

"But you'd surely not say that Tom's insane? He himself lays it to hisown weakness. "

"What else is insanity but a kind of weakness--a broken cog in themachine which slips and throws everything out of gear, no matter howbig the dynamo? I tell you, a dipsomaniac is no more to be blamed forlack of will power or moral strength than is a kleptomaniac, or thanan epileptic is to be blamed for having fits. It's a disease. I'mgiving it to you straight what the doctors say. "

All the hopefulness went out of the Englishman's boyish face. 

"Gad!" he murmured. "Gad! Then he can't overcome it. "

"I don't know. The doctors don't seem to know. They say that a fewseem to outgrow it--they don't know how, though. But all agree thatthe thing to do is to keep the patient braced--keep him boosted up. "

"Count on me for that!" exclaimed Lord James. 

"It's where this girl--Miss Leslie--ought to come in, if she's worthanything, " thrust Griffith. 

"But--but, my dear sir, you quite fail to understand. It will never doto so much as hint to her that he has failed. "

"Failed!" retorted Griffith. "When she herself forced him to take thefirst drink--Don't cut in! If you know Tommy as well as you ought, youknow he would never have taken that drink in the condition he was in--not a single drop of anything containing alcohol! No! the girl forcedhim--she must have. He's dead in love with her. He'd butt his headagainst a stone wall, if she told him to. Hell!--just when he had hischance at last!"

"His chance?"

"I've been figuring it as a chance. Supposing he had pulled off thisbig Zariba Dam, he'd have felt that he had made good. It might havebrought around that change the doctors tell about. Don't you see? Itmight have fixed that broken cog--straightened him up somehow forgood. But now--hell!"

Griffith bent over, with a groan. 

"Gad!" murmured Lord James. After a long pause, he added slowly, "But, I assure you, regarding Miss Leslie, it will never do to tell her. Ifshe hears of this, he will have no chance--none! That occurred to meimmediately I inferred the deplorable truth. I told her we werethinking of going with you to the bridge--Michamac. "

"You did? Say, I thought Britishers were slow, but you got your fingeron the right button first shove. It's the very thing for him--change, open air, the bridge--Wait a minute, though! With the chances morethan even that it's Tommy's own--Until he makes good on the dam, nobody would take his word against that lallapaloozer's. "

"I--er--beg pardon. I fail to take you, " said Lord James. 

"Just the question of his finding out something that's apt to make himmanhandle young Ashton. "

"Ah--all the better, I say. Anything to divert his mind. "

Griffith looked at the Englishman with an approving smile. "You sureare the goods, Mr. Scarbridge! It'll take two or three days for him tofight down the craving, even with all the help we can give him. Wait aminute till I phone to a drug-store. "

He shuffled out through a side doorway that led into his privateoffice. While he was telephoning, Lord James heard low moans from thebedroom. He clenched his hands, but he did not go in to his frienduntil Griffith returned and crossed to the inner door. 

"Come in, Mr. Scarbridge, " he said. "Next thing is to see if we cantalk him into going to Michamac. "

CHAPTER XX

DE PROFUNDIS

He opened the door and, seemingly heedless of all else, hastenedthrough to the bathroom, to shut off the flow of the shower. LordJames followed him as far as the corner cot, where Blake, wet-hairedand half dressed, sat bowed far over, his elbows on his knees and hisface between his hands. 

"Head ache, old man?"

Blake raised his head barely enough for his friend to catch a glimpseof his haggard face and miserable eyes. 

"Come now, Tommy, " snapped Griffith, shuffling back from the bathroom, "we all admit you've made a damned fool of yourself; but what's theuse of grouching? Sit up now--look pleasant!" He swung around a chairfor Lord James, and seated himself in an old rocker. "Come, sit up, Tommy. We're going to hold an inquest on the remains. "

"They need it--that's no lie, " mumbled Blake. 

"_Bah!_ Cherk up, you rooster! It isn't the first time you've lostyour feet. Maybe your feelings are jolted, but--the instrument issafe. Remember that time you fell down the fifty-foot bank and nevereven knocked your transit out of adjustment? You never let go of yourgrip on it! Come; you'll soon be streaking out again, same as ever. "

"No, you're clean off this time, Grif. " Instead of raising his head, Blake hunched over still lower. He went on in a dreary monotone, "No, I'm done for this trip--down for the count. I'm all in. "

"Rot!" protested Lord James. 

"All in, for keeps, this time. I'm not too big a fool to see that. Everything coming my way, --and to go and chuck it all like this. Needn't tell me she'll overlook it. Wouldn't ask her to. I'm not worthit. "

"She's got to!" cried Griffith, with sudden heat. "She steered you upagainst this. "

"What if she did? Only makes it all the worse. Didn't have sand enoughto refuse. I'm no good, that's all--not fit to look at her--she's alady. You needn't cut in with any hot air. I'm no more 'n a blackguardthat got my chance to impose on her--and took it. That's the only namefor it--young girl all alone!"

"No, no, old man, just the contrary, believe me!" exclaimed LordJames. "I doubt if I myself could have done what you did when she--er--"

"'Cause there'd have been no need. You're in her class, while I--" Hegroaned, and burst out morosely: "You know I'm not, both of you. What's the use of lying?"

The two friends glanced across at each other and were silent. Blakewent on again, in his hopeless, dreary monotone. "Down and out--downand out. Only son of his mother, and she a drunkard. Nothing likeScripture, Jimmy, for consoling texts. "

He began to quote, with an added bitterness in his despair: "'Woe untothem that are mighty to drink, and men of strength to mingle strongdrink . .. Their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shallgo up as dust--' 'Awake, ye drunkards, and weep and howl, all yedrinkers of wine. ' 'For while they are drunken as drunkards, theyshall be devoured as stubble fully dry. '--Dry? Good Lord! Ring up acan of suds, Grif. I've got ten miles of alkali desert down mythroat!"

"All right, Tommy, " said Griffith. "We'll soon fix that. I've sent inan order already. "

"You have not!" rejoined Blake, in an incredulous growl. "Well, suppose you ring 'em up again. If that can doesn't get here mightysudden, I'll save the fellow the trouble of bringing it. "

"Hold on, young man, " ordered Griffith, as Blake started to heavehimself to his feet. "I'm running this soiree. "

He stood up and shuffled out into the front room. Blake shifted aroundrestlessly, and was again about to rise, when there came a sharprapping at the outer door. 

"That's the man now, " said Lord James. "Hold tight. It will now beonly a moment. "

Blake restrained himself. But it was a very long moment beforeGriffith came in with a pitcher and three glasses upon a batteredtray. At the tinkle of the glasses Blake looked up, his face aflame. He made a clutch at the pitcher. 

[Illustration: He went on in a dreary monotone, "No, I'm done for thistrip--down for the count. I'm all in. "]

Griffith gave him his shoulder, and cackled: "Don't play the hog, Tommy. I've been up in Canada enough to know that the nobility alwaysget first helping. Eh, Lord Scarbridge?"

"You--you--" gasped Blake. 

"But this time, " went on Griffith, hastily pouring out a brimmingglassful of liquid from the pitcher, "we'll make an exception. "

He turned about quickly, and with his hand clasped over the top of theglass, reached it out to Blake. Half maddened by his thirst, thelatter clutched the glass, and, without pausing to look at itscontents, drained it at a gulp. An instant later the glass shatteredto fragments on the floor, and Blake's fist flung out toward Griffith. 

"Quassia!" he growled. "You dotty old idiot! Needn't think you'regoing to head me off this soon!"

Griffith set the tray on his bed, and crossing to the door, locked itand put the key in his pocket. 

"Now, Tommy, " he croaked, "you've got just two friends that I know of. They're here. Maybe you can take the key from us; but you know whatyou'll have to do to us first. "

Blake stared at him with morose, bloodshot eyes. 

"You're dotty!" he growled. "You know you can't stop me, once I'munder way. I don't want to roughhouse it, but I want something forthis thirst, and I'm going to have it. Understand?" "H'm. If that'sall, " said Griffith. 

"That's all, if you're reasonable, " replied Blake less morosely. "Theygave me all I wanted when I took the gold cure. "

"Cured you, too, " jeered Griffith. 

"That's all right. The point now is, do I get something? If I do, Iagree to stay here. If I don't, I'm going out. "

"Try another glass of this while you're waiting, " suggested LordJames, and he poured out a second glassful of the bitter decoction. 

"No, " answered Blake. 

"You tossed down the other too fast. Sip it. You'll find that it willease the dryness while you are waiting, " insisted Lord James. " Try it, to oblige me. "

"_Ugh!_" growled Blake. He hesitated, then reluctantly took the glassand began to sip the quassia. After the last swallow, he turnedsullenly to Griffith. "Well, what you waiting for? Get a move on you. "

"It does help, doesn't it?" interposed Lord James. 

Blake muttered something behind his lips that the others chose to takefor assent. 

"Yes, it's the real thing, " said Griffith. "Try another, Tommy, sameway. "

"Another? _Bah!_ You can't fool me. I'm on to your game. "

"Sure you are, " assented Griffith. "What's more, you're sober enoughnow to know that our game is your game. Own up. Don't lie. "

Blake looked down morosely, and for a long quarter of a minute hisfriends waited in anxious suspense. At last, without looking up, heheld out his empty glass for Lord James to refill it. The secondbattle was won. 

As Lord James took the glass, Griffith interposed. "Hold on. We'llkeep that for later. I've something else now. "

"More dope!" growled Blake. 

"No, good stuff to offset the effects of the poison you've beenswilling since morning. Next course is bromide of potassium. "

"Take your medicine, bo!" chimed in Lord James. 

"_Ugh!_" groaned Blake. "Dish it out, then. Only don't forget. Youknow, well as I do, that if the craving comes on that bad again, I'm bound to have a drink. I tell you, I can't help myself. I've toldyou about it time and again. It's hell till I get enough aboard tomake me forget. You know I don't like the stuff. I've hated the verysmell of it since before my first real spree. "

Griffith shot a significant glance at Lord James. "That's all right, Tommy, --we understand how it is. But we've got hold of it this time. You'll never quit if you can help it, and we know now you can help it, with this quassia to keep your throat from sizzling. Here's yourbromide. "

Blake gulped down the dose, but muttered despondently: "What's theuse? You know you can't head me off for keeps, once I'm as far underway as I've got to-day. Think you're going to stop me now, do you?"

"That's what, " rejoined Griffith. "You'll think the same in about tenminutes. I'm going to talk to you like a Dutch uncle. "

"And I've got to sit here while you unwind your jaw! Cut it short. Don't see why you want to chin, anyway. All that's left is to haul meto the scrapheap. . . . You don't think I'd go near her after this, doyou? I've got a little decency left. Only thing I can do is to openwide and cut loose. D. T. Finish is the one for me. Won't take long forher to forget me. Any fool can see that. "

"We're going up to Michamac, first thing tomorrow, " remarked Griffithin a casual tone. 

"You may be. I'm not. "

"It's all arranged, Tammas, " drawled Lord James. "I told Miss Leslie--"

"You told her! Mighty friendly of you! Good thing, though. Sooner sheknows just what I am, the better. How soon do you figure on thewedding?"

"Chuck it, you duffer!" exclaimed the Englishman, flushing scarlet. "Ididn't tell her _this_. She doesn't know. "

Blake's haggard face lighted with a flash of hope, only to settle backinto black despair. 

"She'll learn soon enough. I'm done for, for good, this trip!" hegroaned. He clenched his fist and bent forward to glare at them insullen fury. "Damn you! Call yourselves my friends, and sit hereyawping, you damned Job's comforters! Think I'm a mummy?--when I'velost her! God!--to sit here with my brains going--to know I've lostall--all! Give me some whiskey--anything! . .. My girl--my girl!"

He bent over, writhing and panting, in an agony of remorse. 

Griffith fetched a tablet and a glass of water, to which he added someof the quassia. 

"Here's your dose of sulphonal, " he said, in his driest, most matter-of-fact tone. " You've got to get to sleep. It's an early train. "

"What's the use? Leave me alone!" groaned Blake. 

"Gad, old man, " put in Lord James. "Any one who didn't know you wouldthink you were a quitter. "

"What's the use? I've lost out. I'm smashed. "

"All right. Let's call it a smashup, " croaked Griffith. " Just thesame, you don't go out of commission till you've squared accounts. You're not going to leave the Zariba Dam in the air. "

"Guess I've got enough on paper for you to work out the solution, ifit's workable. "

"And if not?"

"I'm all in, I tell you. I'm smashed for good. "

"No, you're not. Anyway, there's one thing you've got to do. You'vegot to settle about that bridge. You've been too busy over the dam tothink of asking for a look at Ashton's plans, and I've said nothing. I've been waiting for you to make good on the dam. With that behindyou, no engineer in the U. S. Would doubt your word if you claimed thebridge. "

"What of that? What do I care?" muttered Blake. "The game's up. What'sthe use?"

"This!" snapped Griffith. " Either Laffie Ashton is a dirty sneakthief, or he's a man that deserves my apologies. It's a question offair play to me as well as to him. You're square, Tom. You'll come upto Michamac with me and settle this matter. "

"Lord! Why can't you let me alone?" groaned Blake. But he took thesulphonal and washed it down with the quassia-flavored water. 

Lord James went out into the office to phone his man at the hotel tofetch over clothes for a short trip. When he reentered the bedroomBlake was stretched out in bed, and Griffith was spreading a blanketfor himself on the floor. 

"Should I not run over to my hotel for the night?" remarked theEnglishman. "Don't want to put you out of your bed, y' know. "

"No. I sleep as well, or better, on the floor. We want to be sure ofan early start, " said Griffith. 

Blake rose on his elbow and blinked at them. His eyes were stillbloodshot and his face haggard, but the change in his voice wasunmistakably for the better. "Say, bos, it does pay to have friends--sometimes!"

"Forget it!" rejoined Griffith. "You go to snoozing. It's an earlytrain, remember. "

Blake sighed drowsily, and stretched out again on the flat of hisback. Within a minute he was fast asleep. 

CHAPTER XXI

THE BRIDGE

At dawn they roused him out of his drugged sleep and gave him ashowerbath and rubdown that brought a healthy glow to his cold skin. He turned pale at the mere mention of food, but after a drink ofquassia, Griffith induced him to take a cup of clear coffee and somethickly buttered toast. After that the three hastened in a cab to thestation, stopping on the way to buy half a case each of grapefruit andoranges. Aboard the train Blake was at once set to eating grapefruitand chewing the bitter pith to allay the burning of his terriblethirst. 

Throughout the trip, which lasted until mid-afternoon, one or theother of the two friends was ever at his side, ready to urge more ofthe acid fruit upon him and continually seeking to divert andentertain him by cheerful talk. Until after the noon hour they were onthe main line and had the benefit of the dining-car. Griffith ordereda hearty meal, more dinner than luncheon, and Blake was able to eatthe greater part of a spring chicken. 

The most trying and critical time during the trip was the short waitat the junction, where they transferred to the old daycoach that wasattached to the train of structural steel for the Michamac Bridge. Blake caught sight of a saloon, and the associations roused by itquickened his craving to an almost irresistible fury. When, none toosoon, the train pulled out of the little town, he sank back in hisseat morose and almost exhausted by his struggle. 

Though Lord James made every effort to rouse him to a more cheerfulmood, his face was still sullen and heavy when the train clanked inover the switches of the material yards at the bridge. Before theyleft the car Griffith made certain that Blake was wrapped about inovercoat and muffler and had on the arctics that he had bought forhim. 

Having directed one of the trainmen to bring the boxes of fruit to theoffice, Griffith led the way up the path formed by the bridge-servicetrack. The rails had been kept shovelled clear from the Februarysnowdrifts and ran straight out through the midst of the bleakunlovely buildings grouped near the edge of Michamac Strait, at thesouthern terminus of the bridge. 

Hardly had the three passengers stepped from the train, when Blakelifted his head for a clear view of the big electric derricks, thevast orderly piles of structural steel, floor beams, and planking, thesheds containing paint, machinery, and other stores, the gorged coal-bins, and all the other evidences of a vast work of engineering. 

His gaze followed the bridge-service track past the cookhouse andbunkhouse and the storehouses, out across the completed shore span tothe gigantic structure of the south cantilever. Far beyond, betweenits lofty skeleton towers and upsweeping side webs, appeared, inseemingly reduced proportions, the towers and webs of the northcantilever, across on the north edge of the channel of the strait. 

Blake drew in a deep breath, and stared at the titanic structure, eager-eyed. There was no need for Lord James to nudge Griffith. Theengineer had not missed a single shade of the great change in Blake'sexpression. He asked casually, "Well, how does the first sight strikeyou, Tommy?"

"You didn't say she was so far along, " replied Blake. 

"Didn't I? H. V. , you know, has a pull with the Steel Trust. We've hadour material delivered in short order, no matter who else waited. North cantilever is completed; ditto the south, except for part of thetimbering and flooring. The central span is built out a third of theway from the north 'lever. But several miles of the feed track on thatside the strait have been put into such bad shape by the weather thatwe'll have the central span completed from this side before the roadover there is open again. "

"That so?" said Blake. "I want to see about that span. "

"We'll go out for a look at once, soon as we dump our baggage in onLaffie, " said Griffith. 

"Is that thing here?" growled Blake. 

"Now, just you keep on your shirt, Tommy, " warned Griffith. "He may behere, or he mayn't. You are here to look at the Michamac Bridge andhold on to yourself. Understand?"

Blake scowled and stared menacingly toward a snow-embanked, snow-covered building, the verandahs of which distinguished it as theoffice and quarters of the Resident Engineer. 

"I want your promise you'll do nothing or say nothing to him tillafter you've made good on the Zariba Dam, " went on Griffith. "Youdon't want your blast to go off before you've tamped the hole. "

Blake's scowl deepened, and he clenched his fist in its thick furglove. But after a long moment he answered morosely, "Guess you'reright. He holds the cards on me now and has the drop. But if I find heslipped the aces out of my hand, it won't be long before I get thedrop on him. "

"And then something will drop!" added Lord James. 

"I'll smash him--the dirty sneak!" growled Blake. 

"Now, now, Tommy; you're not sure yet, " cautioned Griffith. 

"That so?" replied Blake in a tone that brought a glint of excitementinto the worn eyes of the older engineer. 

But before he could speak, a silk-robed figure stepped out onto theverandah of the Resident Engineer's office, and called delightedly, "Ah, Lord Avondale!--welcome to Michamac! You escaped my hospitalityin town, but you can't here!"

"Thanks. Very good of you, I'm sure, " replied Lord James dryly. 

"I see you've come with old Grif, " Ashton gayly rattled on. "Hello, Griffith! Hurry in, all of you. It's cold as the South Pole. I'll havea punch brewed in two shakes. Who's the other gentleman?"

At the question, Blake, who had been staring fixedly at the bridge, turned his muffled face full to the effusive welcomer. Before hishard, impassive look Ashton shivered as if suddenly struck through tothe marrow by the cold. 

"Blake!" he gasped. "Here?"

"No objections, have you?" asked Blake in a noncommittal tone. "Justthought I'd run up with Mr. Griffith and take a look at your bridge. He says it's worth seeing. But of course, if you don't allowvisitors--"

"Just the opposite, Tommy, " put in Griffith, quick to catch his cue. "Mr. Ashton is always glad to have his bridge examined by those whoknow what's what. Isn't that so, Mr. Ashton?"

"Why, of--of course--I--" stammered Ashton, his teeth chattering. 

"Sure, " went on Griffith. "Any man who's invented such a modificationof the truss as this bridge shows, ought to have all the fame he canget out of it. In England he'd be made a lord, I suppose. Eh, Mr. Scarbridge?"

"Er--we've knighted brewers and soap-boilers. But then, y'know, withus beer and soap are two of the necessities, " drawled Lord James. 

"W-won't you come in?" urged Ashton. "It's chi-illy out here! I'llhave that punch brewed in half a s-second. "

"My God!" gasped Blake, his jaws clenched and face black with theagony of his temptation. 

All unintentionally Ashton had turned the tables on his tormentors. 

Griffith scowled at him and demanded: "Where's McGraw?"

"B-bunkhouse, " answered Ashton. 

Griffith spoke to Lord James in a low tone. "Go in and keep him there, will you? Might stay with him all night. We'll stop at the bunkhouse. "

"I'm on, " said Lord James. 

Griffith raised his voice. "Well, then, if you prefer it that way, Mr. Scarbridge. It's true Ashton can make you more comfortable, and I'llbe busy half the night checking over reports and so forth with McGraw. Ashton, if you'll send over your report, it'll leave you free toentertain Mr. Scarbridge. And say, send over the boxes that'll becoming along in a little while. I'm trying a diet of grapefruit. " Heturned to Blake. "Come on. We don't want to keep Mr. Ashton out here, to shiver a screw loose. "

Blake uttered an inarticulate growl, but turned away with Griffith asLord James sprang up the verandah steps and blandly led thevacillating Resident Engineer into his quarters. The visitingengineers crossed over to the big ungainly bunkhouse, and entered thesection divided off for the bosses and steel workers and the otherskilled men. 

Within was babel. Kept indoors by the cold that enforced idleness onall the bridge force, the men were crowded thickly about their readingand card tables or outstretched in their bunks, talking, laughing, grumbling, singing, brooding--each according to his mood anddisposition, but almost all smoking. 

At sight of Griffith a half-hundred voices roared out a rough buthearty welcome that caused Blake's face to lighten with a flush ofpleasure. The greeting ended in a cheer, started by one of the Irishforemen. 

Griffith sniffed at the foul, smoke-reeking air, and looked doubtfullyat Blake. He held up his hand. Across the hush that fell upon the roomquavered a doleful wail from the Irish foreman: "Leave av hivin, Misther Griffith, can't ye broibe th' weather bur-r-reau? Me Schlovaksan' th' Eyetalians'll be afther a-knifin' wan another, give 'em wanwake more av this. "

"There are indications that the cold snap will break within a week, "replied Griffith. "You'll be at it, full blast, in two or three days. Where's McGraw?"

A big, fat, stolid-faced man ploughed forward between the crowdedtables. As he came up, he held out a pudgy hand, and grunted: "Huh!Glad t' see you. "

Griffith shook hands, and motioned toward Blake. "My friend Mr. Blake. Trying to get him to take charge here--nominally as AssistantEngineer--in case I have to go to Florida. "

McGraw's deep-set little eyes lingered for a moment on the stranger'smouth and jaw. "Good thing, " he grunted. 

"The company is offering him double what Mr. Ashton gets; but he's notanxious to take it as Assistant. "

The big general foreman was moved out of his phlegmatic stolidity. "Huh? He's not?"

"Not under that thing, " put in Blake grimly. 

"Must know him. "

"He may change his mind, " said Griffith. "The company has authorizedme to make it a standing offer. So if he turns up any time--"

McGraw nodded, and offered his hand to Blake. "Hope you'll come. C'ndo m' own work. Bridge needs an engineer, though--resident one. ""H'm, --Mr. Ashton might call that a slap on the wrist, " remarkedGriffith. "Get on your coat. We're going out to the bridge. "

McGraw headed across for his separate room. While waiting for him, Griffith introduced Blake to the engine-driver of the bridge-servicetrain, two or three foremen, and several of the bridge workers. Butthe moment McGraw reappeared in arctics and Mackinaw coat, Griffithhurriedly led the way out of the smother of smoke and foul air. 

As the three started bridgeward along the clean-shovelled service-track Blake fell in behind his companions. Seeing that he did not wishto talk, Griffith walked on in the lead with McGraw. 

They were soon swinging out across the shore, or approach, span of thebridge. This extended from the high ground on the south side of thestrait to an inner pier at the edge of the water, where it joined onto the anchor arm of the south cantilever. Almost all the area of thebridge flooring, which had been completed to beyond the centre of thecantilever, was covered with stacked lumber and piles of structuralsteel and rails, and kegs of nails, rivets, and bolts. 

Here every chink and crevice was packed with snow and ice. But all thetitanic steel structure above and the unfloored bottom-chords andgirders of the outer, or extension, arm of the cantilever had beenswept bare of snow by the winter gales and left glistening with theglaze of the last shower of sleet. 

Blake swung steadily along after the others, his face impassive. Buthis eyes scrutinized with fierce eagerness the immense webs of steelposts and diagonals that ran up on either side, under the grandvertical curves of the top-chords, almost to the peaks of thecantilever towers. He had to tilt back his head to see the tops ofthose huge steel columns, which reared their peaks two hundred andfifty feet above the bridge-floor level and a round four hundred feetabove the water of the strait. 

Presently the three were passing the centre of the cantilever, betweenthe gigantic towers, whose iron heels were socketed far below in thetop-plates of the massive concrete piers, built on the very edge ofdeep water. From this point the outer arm of the cantilever extendedfar out over the broad chasm of the strait, where, a hundred and fiftyfeet beneath its unfloored level, the broken ice from the upper lakecrashed and thundered on its wild passage of the strait. 

Blake looked down carelessly into the abyss of grinding, hurtling icecakes. The drop from that dizzy height would of itself have meantcertain death. Yet without a second glance at the ice-covered waters, he followed his companions along the narrow walk of sleeted planksthat ran out alongside the service-track. Though his gaze frequentlyshifted downward as well as upward, it went no farther than theponderous chords and girders and posts of the bridge's framework. 

Striding along the narrow runway of ice-glazed planks with theassurance of goats, the three at last passed under the main traveller, a huge structure of eleven hundred tons' weight that straddled thebridge's sides and rose higher than the towers. Its electromagneticcranes were folded together and cemented in place by the ice. 

A few yards beyond they came to the end of the extension arm of thecantilever and out upon the uncompleted first section of the central, or suspension, span. It was poised high in space, far out over thedizzy abyss. Many yards away, across a yawning gap, the completednorth third of the suspension span reached out, above the gulf, fromthe tip of the north cantilever, like the arm of a Titan straining toclasp hands with his brother of the south shore. 

Yet the mid-air companionship of this outreaching skeleton-arm servedonly to heighten the giddiness and seeming instability of the south-side overhang. From across the broad gap, the eye followed the curveof the bottom-chords of the north cantilever away down into the abysstoward the far shore of the strait, where the lofty towers uprearedupon their massive piers. 

From this viewpoint there was no relieving glimpse of the shorewardcurving anchor-arm that balanced the outer half of the northcantilever alike in line and weight. There was only the vast upcurveof the top-chords and the stupendous down-curve of the bottom-chordsand the line between that stood for the foreshortened sixteen hundredfeet of bridge-floor level extending from the north shore to theswaying tip of that unanchored north third of the central span. 

Few even among men accustomed to great heights could have stoodanywhere upon the outer reach of the overhang without a feeling ofnausea and vertigo. Not only did the gigantic structure on the farside of the gap seem continually on the verge of toppling forward intothe abyss, but the end of the south cantilever likewise quivered andswayed, and the mad flow of the roaring, ice-covered waters beneathadded to the giddiness of height the terrifying illusion that theimmense steel skeleton had torn loose from its anchorage to earth andwas hurtling up the strait through mid-air, ready to crash down todestruction the instant its winged driving-force failed. 

Yet Griffith and Blake followed McGraw out to the extreme end of theicy walk and poised themselves, shoulder to wind, on narrow sleet-glazed steel beams, as unconcerned as sailors on a yardarm. Griffithand McGraw were absorbed in a minute inspection of the bridge'scondition and in estimating the time it would take to throw forwardthe remaining sections of the central, or suspension, span, upon thetermination of the irksome spell of extreme frosty weather. 

Blake looked, as they looked, at post and diagonal, eyebolt andbottom-chord, and across the gap at the swaying tip of the northcantilever. But his face showed clearly that his thoughts were not thesame as their thoughts. His eyes shone like polished steel, and therewas a glow in his haggard face that told of an exultance beyond hispower of repression. 

At last Griffith roused from his absorption. He immediately noticedBlake's expression, and dryly demanded: "Well?"

"Well your own self!" rejoined Blake, striving to speak in anindifferent tone. 

"Something of a bridge, eh?"

"It's not so bad, " admitted Blake. He glanced at McGraw, who hadpaused in his ox-like ruminating. 

Griffith addressed the general foreman. "Mr. Blake is a bit off hisfeed. A friend that came with us will occupy my room in Mr. Ashton'squarters. I'd like a room in the bunkhouse for Mr. Blake and myself, with a good stove and a window that'll let in lots of fresh air. "

"C'n have mine, " grunted McGraw. "Extra bunk in yardmaster's room, "

"It'll be a favor, " said Griffith. "You might get it ready, if youwill. Mr. Blake must have clean air when he goes inside. He and I willtake our time going back. There are two or three things I want anotherlook at. "

McGraw at once started shoreward, without making any verbal response, yet betraying under his dull manner his eagerness to oblige theConsulting Engineer. When he had gone well beyond earshot, Griffithturned upon Blake with a quizzical look. 

"So!" he croaked. "It's a certainty. "

"Knew that soon's I got the first look, " said Blake. 

Griffith's forehead creased with an anxious frown. "You promise not tomix it with him. "

"Don't fash yourself, " reassured Blake. "I've waited too long forthis, to go off at half-cock now. "

"That's talking! You'll wait till you're sure you can settle him--theskunk! Come on, now. We'll start inshore before you get chilled. "

"How about yourself?" chuckled Blake, as he led back along the runway. "Won't take the frost two shakes to reach the centre of yourcircumference, once it gets through that old wolfskin coat. "

"Huh! I can still go you one better, young man. I'll soon be thawingout in Florida, while you'll be trotting back here to boss thecompletion of T. Blake's cantilever--largest suspension spancantilever in the world. "

"God!" whispered Blake, staring incredulously at the titanic structureborn of his brain. "But it's mine--it _is_ mine!. .. I sweat blood overthose plans!"

"Doggone you, Tommy, you're no engineer--you're an inventor, Class A-1!"exulted Griffith. "First this; then the Zariba Dam. After that, the Lord only knows what! Trouble with you, you're a genius. "

"And a whiskey soak!" added Blake, with a sudden upwelling ofbitterness. 

"Hey! what!--after this?" demanded Griffith, his voice sharp withapprehension. He could not see the face of his companion, but themanner in which Blake's head bent forward between his hunchingshoulders was more than enough to confirm his alarm. 

"Come, now, Tommy!" he reproached. "Don't be a fool--just when thingsare coming your way. "

"Think so?" muttered Blake. "What d'you suppose I care for what I'dget out of this or the dam? Good God! You can't see it--yet you hadMollie!"

For a moment the older man was forced to a worried silence. It endedin an outflashing of hope. "I told you what she said about you--almosther last words. You'll win out--she said it!"

Blake halted and turned about to his friend, his face convulsed withdoubt and a despondency that verged on despair. They were still halfway out on the overhang of the extension arm. He pointed down to thecrashing, tumbling ice far beneath his feet. 

"Do you know what I'd do if I had any nerve?" he cried. "I'd step over. .. End it! . .. You could tell her I slipped. There wouldn't be anyneed to tell her about--yesterday. She would remember me as she knewme there in Mozambique. After a time she'd make Jimmy happy--and behappy herself. Trouble is, I'm what she suspected. I haven't thenerve, when it comes to the real showdown. "

"Damnation!" swore Griffith. "Have you gone clean dotty? You're notthe kind to quit, Tom!--to slide out from under because you haven'tthe grit to hang on!"

"That's it. I'm booked for the D. T. Route, " muttered Blake. "Wasn'tborn for a watery end. Whiskey for mine!"

"Rats! You're over the worst of this bump already. You're going backto-morrow and dig in to make good on the dam. "

"The dam! What's it to me now?"

"Fifty thousand dollars, the credit for your bridge, and a place amongthe top-notchers. "

"Much that amounts to--when I've lost her!" retorted Blake. 

He turned about again and plodded heavily shoreward, his chin on hisbreast and his big shoulders bowed forward. 

CHAPTER XXII

CONDEMNED

Though he sank into a taciturn and morose mood from which no effortsof his friends could rouse him, Blake sullenly accepted the continuedtreatment that Griffith thrust upon him. In the morning he muttered aconfirmation of the statement of Lord James that he was looking betterand that the attack must be well over. 

Ashton, forced probably by an irresistible impulse to learn the worst, followed Lord James to the room occupied by the engineers. Blake cutshort his vacillating in the doorway with a curt invitation to come inand sit down. Having satisfied what he considered the requirements ofhospitality, Blake paid no further attention to the Resident Engineer. As nothing was said about the bridge, Ashton soon regained all hisusual assurance, and even went so far as to comment upon Blake'sattack of biliousness. 

When, beside the car step, an hour later, Ashton held out his hand, Blake seemingly failed to perceive it. Ashton's look of reliefindicated that he mistook the other's profound contempt for stupidcarelessness. To one of his nature, the fact that Blake had not atonce denounced him as a thief seemed proof positive that the sick manhad failed to recognize in the bridge structure the embodiment of hisstolen plans. 

He turned from Blake to Lord James. "Ah, my dear earl, this has beensuch a pleasure--such a delight! You cannot imagine how intolerable itis to be cut off from the world in this dreary hole--deprived of allsociety and compelled to associate, if at all, with, these commonbrutes!"

"Really, " murmured Lord James. "For my part, y' know, I rather enjoythe company of intelligent men who have their part in the world'swork. Though one of the drones myself, I value the 'Sons of Martha' attheir full worth. "

"Oh, they have their place. The trouble is to make them keep it. "

"'Pon my word, I scarcely thought you'd say that--so clever anengineer as yourself!"

Ashton glanced up to be certain that both Griffith and Blake hadpassed on into the car. 

"Your lordship hasn't quite caught the point, " he said. "One may havethe brains--the intellect--necessary to create such a bridge as this, without having to lower himself into the herd of common workers. "

"Ah, really, " drawled the Englishman, swinging up the car steps. 

Ashton raised his hat and bowed. "_Au revoir_, Earl. Your visithas been both a delight and an honor. I shall hope soon to have thepleasure of seeing you in town. "

"Yes?" murmured Lord James with a rising inflection. "Good-day. "

He nodded in response to Ashton's final bow, and hastened in to whereBlake and Griffith were making themselves comfortable in the middle ofthe car. The three were the only passengers for the down trip. 

"So he didn't get you to stay over for the winter?" remarked Griffithas the Englishman began to shed his topcoat. 

"Gad, no! He couldn't afford it. Tried to show me how to play pokerlast night. I've his check for two thousand. He insisted upon teachingme the fine points of the game. "

"Crickey!--when you've travelled with T. Blake!" cackled Griffith. "Hey, Tommy? Any one who's watched you play even once ought to be ableto clean out a dub like Lallapaloozer Laf. Say, though, I didn't thinkeven you could keep on your poker face as you have this morning. It'sdollars to doughnuts, he sized it up that you had failed to get next. "

"Told you I wasn't going to show him my cards, " muttered Blake. 

Lord James looked at him inquiringly, but he lapsed into his morosesilence, while Griffith commenced to write his report on the bridge, without volunteering an explanation. Lord James repressed hiscuriosity, and instead of asking questions, quietly prepared for hisfriend one of the last of the grapefruit. 

An hour or so later Blake growled out a monosyllabic assurance that hewas now safely over his attack. Yet all the efforts of Lord James tojolly him into a cheerful mood utterly failed. Throughout the trip hecontinued to brood, and did not rouse out of his sullen taciturnityuntil the train was backing into the depot. 

"Here we are, " remarked Lord James. "Get ready to make your break forcover, old man. What d' you say, Mr. Griffith? Will it be all rightfor him to keep close to his work for a while--to lie low?"

"What's that?" growled Blake. 

"Young Ashton's a bally ass, " explained Lord James. "He bolted downwhole what I said about your attack of bile. Others, however, may notbe so credulous or blind. You'd better keep close till you look a bitless knocked-up. There's no need that what's happened should come toMiss Leslie. "

"Think so, do you?" said Blake. "Well, I don't. "

"What's that?" put in Griffith. 

"There's not going to be any frame-up over this, that's what, "rejoined Blake, reaching for his hat and suitcase. "Soon 's I get ashave I'm going out to tell her. "

"Gad, old man!" protested Lord James. "But you can't do that--it'simpossible! You surely do not realize--"

"I don't, eh?" broke in Blake bitterly. "I'm up against it. I know it, and you know it. You don't think I'm going to do the baby act, do you?I've failed to make good. Think I'm going to lie to her about it? No!--nor you neither!"

His friends exchanged a look of helplessness. They knew that tone onlytoo well. Yet Lord James sought to avert the worst. 

"Might have known you'd be an ass over it, " he commented. "Best I cando, I presume, is to go along and explain to her my view of whatstarted you off. "

"Best nothing. You'll keep out of this. It's none of your funeral. "

"There's more than one opinion as to that. "

"I tell you, this is between her and me. You'll keep out of it, " saidBlake, with a forcefulness that the other could not withstand. "Don'tworry. You'll have your turn later on. "

"Deuce take it!" cried the Englishman. " You can't fancy I'm dwellingon that! You can't think me such a cad as to be waiting for anopportunity derived from an injustice to you!"

"Injustice, _bah!_" gibed Blake. "I'll get what's coming to me. It's of her I'm thinking, not you. She was right. I'm going to tellher so. That's all. "

"But, in view of what she herself did--"

"I'll tell her the facts. That's enough, " said Blake, and he led theway from the car. 

He hastened out of the depot and would have started off afoot, had notLord James hailed a taxicab and taken him and Griffith home. He wentin with them, and when Blake had shaved and dressed, proposed thatthey should go on together as far as the hotel. To this Blake gave asullen acquiescence, and they whirred away to the North Side. Butinstead of stopping at the hotel, their cab sped on out to the LakeShore Drive. 

Lord James coolly explained that he intended to take his friend to thedoor of the Leslies. Blake would have objected, but acquiesced as soonas he understood that Lord James intended to remain in the cab. 

During the day the cold had moderated, and when Blake swung out of thecab he was wrapped about in the chilly embrace of a dripping wet fogfrom off the lake. He shivered as he hurried across and up the stepsand into the stately portico of the Leslie house. 

At the touch of his finger on the electric button, the heavy doorswung open. He was bowed in and divested of hat and raincoat by anoverzealous footman before he could protest. Silent and frowning, hewas ushered to a door that he had not before entered. The footmanannounced him and drew the curtains together behind him. 

Still frowning, Blake stepped forward and stopped short to stare abouthim at the resplendent room of gold and ivory enamel that he hadentered. Only at the second glance did he perceive the graceful figurethat had risen from the window-seat at the far end of the room andstood in a startled attitude, gazing fixedly at him. 

Before he could speak, Genevieve came toward him with impetuousswiftness, her hands outstretched in more than cordial welcome. 

"Tom! Is it really you?" she exclaimed. "I had not looked for you backso soon. "

"It's somewhat sooner than I expected myself, " he replied, with abitter humor that should have forewarned her. 

But she was too relieved and delighted to heed either his tone or hisfailure to clasp her hands, "Yes. You know, I've been so worried. Youreally looked ill Sunday, and I thought Lord James' manner thatevening was rather odd--I mean when I spoke to him about you. "

"Shouldn't wonder, " said Blake in a harsh voice. "Jimmy had been therebefore. He knew. "

"Knew? You mean--?" The girl stepped back a little way and gazed upinto his face, startled and anxious. "Tom, you _have_ been sick--very sick! How could I have been so blind as not to have seen it atonce? You've been suffering terribly!"

Again she held out her hands to him, and again he failed to take them. 

"Don't touch me, " he replied. "I'm not fit. It's true I've suffered. Do you wonder? I've been in hell again--where I belong. "

"Tom! oh, Tom!--no, no!" she whispered, and she averted her face, unable to endure the black despair that she saw in his unflinchingeyes. 

"Jimmy and old Grif, between them, managed to catch me when I wasunder full headway, " he explained. "They stopped me and took me up tothe Michamac Bridge. I'm on my feet again now. Just the same, I wentunder, and if it hadn't been for them, I'd be beastly, roaring drunkthis minute. "

"No, Tom! It's impossible--impossible! I can't believe it!"

"Think I'd lie about a little thing like that?" he asked with theterrible levity of utter despair. 

"But it's--it's so awful!"

"I've known funnier jokes. God! D'you think I've done much laughingover being smashed for good? It's rid you of a drunken degenerate. It's you who ought to laugh. How about me? I've lost _you!_ God!"

He bent over, with his chin on his breast and his big fists clencheddown at his sides. 

She stared at him, dazed, almost stunned by the shock. Only after whatseemed an age of waiting could she find words for the stress of bitterdisappointment and mortified love that drove the blood to her heartand left her white and dizzy. 

"Then--you have--failed. You _are_--weak!" she at last managed to say. 

Simple as were the words, the tone in which they were spoken wasenough for Blake. 

"Yes, " he answered, and he swung about toward the door. 

"Have you no excuses--no defence?" she demanded. 

"I might lay it to that wine at the church--and prove myself stillweaker, " said Blake. 

"The holy communion!" she reproached. 

"I never made fun even of a Chinaman's religion, " he said. "Just thesame, if I don't believe a thing, I don't lie and let on I do. I toldyou that wine meant nothing to me in a religious way. But even if ithad, I don't think it would have made any difference. Drop nitric acidon the altar rail, and it will eat the brass just the same as if itwas in a brass foundry. Put alcohol inside me, and the craving startsup full blast. "

"Then you believe I should excuse--"

"No, " he interrupted with grim firmness. "I might have thought itthen--but not now. I've had two days to think it over. It all comesdown to this: If, knowing how you felt about it, I could not kneelthere beside you and take that taste of wine without going under, I'mjust what you suspected--weak, unfit. "

She clasped her hands on her bosom. "You--admit it?"

"What's the use of lying about it?" he said. "If it hadn't come aboutthat way, you can see now it was bound to happen some other way. "

"I--suppose--yes. Oh! but it's horrible!--horrible! I thought you sostrong!"

"I won't bother you any more, " he muttered. "Good-bye. "

He went out without venturing a glance at her white face. She waited, motionless, looking toward the spot where he had stood. Severalmoments passed before she seemed to realize that he had gone. 

CHAPTER XXIII

A REPRIEVE

Lord James did not call upon Genevieve until late afternoon of thenext day, and then he did not come alone. He had called first uponMrs. Gantry and Dolores, who brought him on in their coupe. 

Genevieve came down to them noticeably pale and with dark shadowsunder her fine eyes, but her manner was, if anything, rather morecomposed than usual. She even had a smile to exchange for the gaygreeting of Dolores. Mrs. Gantry met her with a kiss a full degreemore fervent than was consistent with strict decorum. 

"My dear child!" she exclaimed. "I have hastened over to see you. LordAvondale has told me all about that fellow. "

"Yes?" asked Genevieve, looking at Lord James calmly but with a slightlift of her eyebrows that betrayed her astonishment. 

"Hasn't your father told you?" replied Mrs. Gantry, reposing herselfin the most comfortable seat. "It seems that he has arranged--"

"Beg pardon, " said Lord James. "It was the Coville ConstructionCompany that made the offer. "

"Very true. An arrangement has been made, my dear, that will take thatperson to the bridge and keep him there. "

"Provided he accepts the offer, " added Lord James. 

"How can it be otherwise? The salary is simply stupendous for a man ofhis class and standing. "

"Laffie gets only twelve thousand a year, yet he designed the bridge, "remarked Dolores. "He told me it wasn't even enough for pin-money. "

"I fancy he must contrive to make it go farther since his last trip totown, " said Mrs. Gantry. "The little visit proved rather expensive. His father made another reduction in his allowance. "

"Goodness!" exclaimed Dolores. "Poor dear Laffie boy! If I conclude tomarry him, I shall insist that Papa Ashton is to give me a separateallowance. "

"My word, Miss Dolores!" expostulated Lord James. "You're notencouraging that fellow?"

"Oh, it's as well to have more than one hook on the line. Ask mamma ifit isn't. Besides, Laffie would be a gilt-edged investment--providedhis papa made the right kind of a will. Anyway, I could get UncleHerbert's lawyers to fix up an agreement as to that--a kind of pre-nuptial alimony contract between me and Laffie's papa's millions. "

Mrs. Gantry held up her hands. "Could you have believed it, Genevieve!She was frivolous enough before I went over for you. But now!"

Dolores coolly disregarded her mother, to turn a meaning look on LordJames. "If I have frivolled enough, it's about time you saidsomething. "

The young Englishman put an uneasy hand to his mustache. "Er--I shouldhave preferred a--a rather more favorable time, Miss Dolores. "

"Yes, and have mamma slam him before you put in the buffer, " rejoinedthe girl. "See here, Vievie. It's too bad, but you must have tattledsomething to Uncle Herbert, and he--"

"Tattled!" repeated Genevieve. "I have always been candid with papa, if that is what you mean, Dolores. "

"All right, then, Miss Candid. Though we called it tattling ten yearsago. Anyway, Uncle Herbert wrote about it to mamma. He sent the letterout this noon. Next thing, it'll be all over Chicago--and England. "

"Dolores! I must insist!" admonished Mrs. Gantry. 

"So must I, mamma! If it's wrong to destroy the property of others, it's no less wrong to destroy their reputations. "

Her mother expanded with self-righteous indignation. "Well, I never!--indeed! When the fellow has neither character nor reputation!"

"Dear auntie, " soothed Genevieve, "I know you too well to believe youcould intentionally harm any one. "

"I would do _anything_ to save you from ruining your life!" exclaimedMrs. Gantry, moved almost to tears. 

"I shall not ruin my life, " replied Genevieve, with a quiet firmnessthat brought a profound sigh of relief from her aunt. 

"_A-a-h!_--My dear child! Then you at last realize what sort of aman he is. "

"Vievie knows he _is_ a man--which is more than can be said of some ofthem, " thrust Dolores, with a mocking glance at Lord James. 

"My dear, " urged Mrs. Gantry, "give no heed to that silly chit. I wishto commend your stand against the fatal attraction of mere bruteefficiency. "

"Oh, I say!" put in Lord James. "It's this I must protest against, Miss Leslie--this talk of his brute qualities--when it's only the lackof polish. You should know that. He's a thistle, prickly without, butwithin soft as silk. "

"Do I not know?" exclaimed Genevieve, for the moment unable tomaintain her perfect composure. 

"The metaphor was very touching and most loyal, my dear earl, " saidMrs. Gantry. "Yet you must pardon me if I suggest that your opinion ofhim may be somewhat biased by friendship. "

"But of course mamma's opinion isn't biased, " remarked Dolores. Sheshot an angry glance at her mother, and added--"by friendship. "

"It would relieve me very much if no more were said about Mr. Blake, "said Genevieve. 

"We can't--now, " snapped Dolores, frowning at the footman who hadappeared in the doorway. "Some one must have sighted the righthonorable earl in our coupe. "

Her irony was justified by the actions of the three young matrons whofluttered in on the breeze of the footman's announcement. Theyimmediately fell into raptures over his lordship, who was forced inself-defence to tug and twist at his mustache and toy with hismonocle. At this last Dolores flung herself out of the room in ill-concealed disdain. 

She was not to be found when, all too soon, her mother tore the"charming Earl Avondale" away from his chattering adorers. After theworshipful one had been borne off, the dejected trio did not lingerlong. Their departure was followed by the prompt reappearance ofDolores. 

She came at her cousin with eyes flashing. "Now you're all alone, Vievie! I've been waiting for this. Do you know what I'm going to do?I'm going to give you a piece of my mind. "

"Please, dear!" begged Genevieve. 

"No. I'll not please! You deserve a good beating, and I'm going togive it to you. That poor Mr. Blake! Aren't you 'shamed of yourself?Breaking his big noble heart!"

"Dolores! I must ask you--"

"No, you mustn't! You've got to listen to me, you know you have. Tothink that you, who've always pretended to be so kind and considerate, should be a regular cat!"

"You foolish dear!" murmured Genevieve. "Do you imagine that anythingthat you can say can hurt me, after--after--" She turned away to hideher starting tears. 

"That's it!" jeered her cousin. "Be a snivelly little hypocrite. Pretend to be so sorry--when you're not sorry at all. _Pah!_"

Genevieve recovered her dignity with her composure. "That is quiteenough, my dear. I can overlook what you have already said. You knowabsolutely nothing about love and the bitter grief it brings. "

"You don't say!" retorted Dolores, her nostrils quivering. "Much youknow about me. But you!--the idea of pretending you love him--that youever so much as dreamed of loving him!"

Genevieve shrank back as if she had been struck. "Oh! for any one tosay that to me!"

"It's true--it must be true!" insisted Dolores, half frightened yetstill too surcharged with anger to contain herself. "If it isn't true, how could you break his heart?--the man who saved you from thatterrible savage wilderness!"

"I--I cannot explain to you. It's something that--"

"I know! You needn't tell me. It's mamma. ""She's been knocking him. I'll bet she started knocking him when shefirst cabled to you--at least she would have, had she known anythingabout him. Think I don't know mamma and her methods? If only he'd beenhis lordship--Owh, deah! what a difference, don't y' know! She'd neverhave let you get out of England unmarried!"

"Dolores! this is quite enough!"

"The Countess of Avondale, future Duchess of Ruthby! Think I don't seethrough mamma's little game? And you'd shillyshally around, and throwover the true, noble hero to whom you owe everything--whom you'vepretended you loved--to run after a title, an Englishman, when youcould have that big-hearted American!"

Genevieve's lips straightened. "What a patriot!" she rejoined withquiet irony. "You, of course, would never dream of marrying anEnglishman. "

"That's none of your business, " snapped Dolores, not a little takenaback by the counter attack. 

"You spoke about pretence and hypocrisy, " went on Genevieve. "Howabout the way you tease and make sport of Lord Avondale?"

For a moment the younger girl stood quivering, transfixed by the dart. Suddenly she put her hands before her eyes and rushed from the room ina storm of tears. 

Genevieve started up as if to hasten after her, but checked herselfand sank back into her chair. For a long time she sat motionless, inthe blank dreary silence of profound grief, her eyes fixed uponvacancy, dry and lustreless. 

When, a few minutes before their dinner hour, her father hurried intothe room, expectant of his usual affectionate welcome, she did notspring up to greet him. The sound of his brisk step failed topenetrate to her consciousness. He came over to her and put a fondhand on her shoulder. 

"H'm--how's this, my dear?" he asked. "Not asleep? Brown study, eh?"

She looked up at him dully; but at sight of the loving concern in hiseyes, the unendurable hardness of her grief suddenly melted to tears. She flung herself into his arms, to weep and sob with a violence ofwhich he had never imagined his quiet high-bred daughter capable. Bewildered and alarmed by the storm of emotion, he knew not what todo, and so instinctively did what was right. He patted her on the backand murmured inarticulate sounds of love and pity. 

His sympathy and the blessed relief of tears soon restored her quietself-control. She ceased sobbing and drew away from him, mortified ather outburst. 

"There now, " he ventured. "You feel better, don't you?"

"I've been very silly!" she exclaimed, drying her tear-wet cheeks. 

"You're never silly--that is, since you came home this time, " hequalified. 

"Because--because--" She stopped with an odd catch in her voice, andseemed again about to burst into tears. 

"Because _he_ taught you to be sensible, --you'd say. "

"Ye--yes, " she sobbed. "Oh, papa, I can't bear it--I can't! To thinkthat after he'd shown himself so brave and strong--! But for that, Ishould never have--have come to this!"

"H'm, --from the way you talked last night, I took it that the matterwas settled. You said then that you could no longer--h'm--love him. "

"I can't!--I mustn't! Don't you see? He's proved himself weak. How, then, can I keep on loving him? But they--they infer that it is myfault. I believe they think I tempted him. "

"How's that?"

"Because I urged him to take the communion with me. I told you what hehimself said about alcohol. But he did not blame me. He pointed outthat if he was too weak to resist then, he would have yielded to thenext temptation. "

"H'm, --no doubt. Yet I've been considering that point--the fact thatyou did force him against his will. "

"Surely, papa, you cannot say it was my fault, when he himself admitsthat his own weakness--"

"Wait, " broke in her father. "What do you know about the curse ofdrink? It's possible that he might be able to resist the craving ifnot roused by the taste. "

"Yet if he is so weak that a few drops of the holy communion winecould cause him to give way so shamelessly--"

"Holy?--h'm!" commented Mr. Leslie. "Alcohol is a poison. Suppose theChurch used a decoction containing arsenic. Would that make arsenicholy?"

"Oh, papa! But it's so very different!"

"Yes. Alcohol and arsenic are different poisons. But they're similarin at least one respect. The effects of each are cumulative. To onewho has been over-drugged with arsenic a slight amount more may provea fatal dose. So of a person whose will has been undermined and almostparalyzed with alcohol--"

"That's it, papa. Don't you see? If he lacks the will, the strength, the self-control to resist!"

"No, that isn't the point. It's your part in this most unfortunateoccurrence that I'm now considering. "

"My part?"

"You told him that he must not look to you for help or even sympathy. I can understand your position as to that. At the same time, shouldyou not have been as neutral on the other side? Was it quite fair foryou to add to his temptations?"

"Yet the fact of his weakness--"

"I'm not talking about him, my dear. It's what you've done--thequestion whether you do not owe him reparation for your part in his--misfortune. "

"My part?"

"Had you not forced him into what I cannot but consider an unfair testof his strength, he would not have fallen. Griffith tells me that hewas well along toward a solution of the Zariba Dam. Had you not causedthis unfortunate interruption in his work, he might soon have provedhimself a master engineer. That would have strengthened him in hisfight against this hereditary curse. "

"He was to fight it on his own strength. "

"What else would this engineering triumph have been but a proof tohimself of his strength? You have deprived him of that. Griffith tellsme that, hard as he is striving to work out the idea which he wascertain would meet the difficulties of the dam, he now seems unable tomake any progress. "

"So Mr. Griffith and you blame all upon me?"

"You mistake me, my dear. What I wish to make clear to you is that, however hopeless Blake's condition may be, you are responsible for hisfailure upon this occasion. "

"And if so?"

"Premising that in one respect my attitude toward him is unalterable, I wish to say that he has risen very much in my esteem. I have hadconfidential talks with Griffith and Lord Avondale regarding him. Ihave been forced to the conclusion that you were justified inconsidering him, aside from this one great fault, a man essentiallysound and reliable. He has brains, integrity, courage, and endurance. Given sufficient inducement, those qualities would soon enable him toacquire all that he lacks, --manners and culture. "

"Oh, papa, do not speak of it! It was because I saw all that in himthat I felt so certain. If only it were not for the one thing!"

"H'm, " considered Mr. Leslie, scrutinizing her tense face. "Then Igather it's not true what yesterday you said and no doubt believed. You still regard him with the same feelings as before thisoccurrence. "

"No! no! He has destroyed all my faith in him. I--I can pity him. Butanything more than that is--it must be--dead. "

"Can't say I regret it. But--this is another question. You've lost himone chance. I believe you should give him another. "

"Another chance?--you say that?" she asked incredulously. 

"You should cancel this record--this occurrence. Blot it out. Startanew. "

"How can I? It is impossible to forget that he has failed so utterly. "

"Thanks to the poison you put into his mouth. "

"Father! I did not think that you--"

"I was unjust to him. You also have done him a wrong. I am seeking tomake reparation. In part payment, I wish to make clear to you what youshould do to offset your fault. In view of the development of yourcharacter (which, by the way, you claim was brought about by yourAfrican experience), I feel that I should have no need to urge thismatter. You are not a thoughtless child. Think it over. Here'sHodges. "

She went in with him to dinner, perfectly composed in the presence ofthe grave-faced old butler. But after the meal, when her father leftfor his customary cigar in the conservatory, she sought the seclusionof the library, and attempted to fight down the growing doubt of herjustice toward Blake that had been roused by her father's suggestions. 

It was easy for her to maintain the resolute stand she had taken solong as she kept her thoughts fixed on his fall from manhood. Butpresently she began to recall incidents that had occurred during thoseterrible weeks on the savage coast of Mozambique. 

She remembered, most vividly of all, a day on the southern headland--the eventful day before the arrival of the steamer--when he had spokenfreely of the faults of his past life. .. . He had never lied to her orsought to gloze over his weakness. 

And he could have concealed this present failure. She divined thatboth Griffith and Lord James would never have betrayed him. Yet he hadcome direct to her and confessed, knowing that she would condemn him. 

The thought was more than she could withstand. She crossed over to herdesk, and wrote swiftly:--

Dear Friend:

You are to consider that all which has taken place since Sunday is asif it had never happened. 

Come to me to-morrow, at ten. 

Jenny. 

Enclosing the note in an envelope addressed to Blake, she gave it to aservant for immediate delivery. As soon as the man left the room, shewent to the telephone and arranged for a private consultation with oneof the most eminent physicians in the city. 

CHAPTER XXIV

THE WAY OF A WOMAN

Blake was humped over his desk, his fingers deep in his hair, and hisforehead furrowed with the knotted wrinkles of utter weariness andperplexity, as his eyes pored over the complex diagrams and figuresjotted down on the plan before him. 

Griffith came shuffling into the room in his old carpet slippers. Helooked anxiously at the bent form across the desk from him, and said:"See here, Tommy, what's the use of wasting electricity?"

Blake stared up at him, blear-eyed with overstudy and loss of sleep. 

"Told you 'm going to keep going long as the wheels go 'round, " hemumbled. 

"They'd keep going a heap longer if you laid off Sundays, " advisedGriffith. "I'm no fanatic; but no man can keep at it day and night, this way, without breaking. "

"Sooner the better!" growled Blake. "You go tuck yourself into yourcradle. "

Griffith shook his head dubiously and was shuffling out when he hearda knock at the hall door of the living-room. He hastened to respond, and soon returned with a dainty envelope. Blake was again poring overhis plans and figures. The older man tossed the missive upon the desk. 

"Hey, wake up, " he cackled. "Letter from one of your High Society ladyfriends. Flunkey in livery for messenger. "

"Livery?" echoed Blake. "Brown and yellow, eh?--as if his clothes hadmalaria. "

"No. Dark green and black. "

Blake started to his feet, his face contorted with the conflict of hisemotions. "Don't joke!--for God's sake! That's hers!"

Griffith ripped the note from its envelope and held it out. Blakeclutched it from him, and opened up the sheet with trembling fingers, to find the signature. For a moment he stood staring at it as ifunable to believe his own eyes. Then he turned to the heading of thenote and began to read. 

"Well?" queried Griffith, as the other reached the end and again stoodstaring at the signature. 

Instead of replying, Blake dropped into his chair and buried his facein his arms. Griffith hovered over him, gazing worriedly at the bigheaving shoulders. 

"Must say you're mighty talkative, " he at last remarked, and hestarted toward the door. "Good-night. "

"Wait!" panted Blake. "Read it!"

Griffith took the note, which was thrust out to him, and read itthrough twice. 

"Huh, " he commented. "She wasn't so awfully sudden over it. 'Bouttime, I'd say. "

"Shut up!" cried Blake, flinging himself erect in the chair, to beamupon his friend. "You've no license to kick, you old grouch. I'mcoming to bed. But wait till to-morrow afternoon. Maybe the fur won'tfly on old Zariba!"

"Come on, then. I'll get your sulphonal. "

"You will--not! No more dope in mine, Grif. I've got something athousand per cent better. "

"She ought to've come through with it at the start-off, " grumbledGriffith. But he gladly accompanied his friend to the bedroom. 

In the morning Blake awoke from a profound natural sleep, clear-eyedand clear-brained. His first act was to telephone to a florist's tosend their largest crimson amaryllis to Miss Genevieve Leslie. 

Though he forced himself to walk, he reached the Leslie mansion a fullhalf-hour before ten. To kill time, he swung on out the Drive intoLincoln Park. He went a good mile, yet was back again five minutesbefore the hour. Unable to wait a moment longer, he hastened up intothe stately portico and rang. 

As on the previous day, he was at once bowed in and ushered to thebeautiful room of gold and ivory enamel. He entered eagerly, and wasnot a little dashed to find himself alone. His spirits rebounded atthe remembrance that he was early. He stopped in the centre of theroom and stood waiting, tense with expectancy. 

Very soon Genevieve came in at one of the side doorways. He startedtoward her the instant he heard her light step. But her look andbearing checked his eager advance. She was very pale, and her eyelidswere swollen from hours of weeping. 

"Jenny!" he stammered. "What is it? Your note--I thought that--that--"

"You poor boy! you poor boy!" she murmured, her eyes brimming overwith tears of compassion. 

"What is it?" he muttered, and he drew nearer to her. 

She put out her hands and grasped his coat, and looked up at him, herforehead creased with deep lines of grief, and the corners of hersweet mouth drooping piteously. 

"Oh, Tom! Tom!" she sobbed, "I know the worst now! I know how greatlyI wronged you by forcing you into temptation. I have been to one whoknows--one of the great physicians. "

"About me?" asked Blake, greatly surprised. 

"I used no names. He does not know who I am. But I told him the facts, as you have told them to me, dear. He said--Oh, I cannot--I cannotrepeat it!"

She bent forward and pressed her face against his breast, sobbing withan uncontrollable outburst of grief. He raised his arms to draw her tohim, but dropped them heavily. 

"Well?" he asked in a harsh voice. "What of it?"

She drew herself away from him, still quivering, but striving hard tocontrol her emotion. 

"I--I must tell you!" she forced herself to answer. "I have no rightto keep it from you. He said that it is a--a disease; that it is amatter of pathology, not of moral courage. "

"Disease?" repeated Blake. "Well, what if it is? I don't see whatdifference that makes. If I fight it down--all well and good. If Ilose out, I lose out--that's all. "

"But don't you see the difference it makes to me?" she insisted. "Iblamed you--when it wasn't your fault at all. But I did not realize, dear. I've been under a frightful strain ever since we reached home. Just because I do not weep and cry out, every one imagines I'm coldand unfeeling. I've been reproached for treating you cruelly. But yousee now--"

"Of course!" he declared. "Don't you suppose I know? It's your grit. Needn't tell me how you've felt. You're the truest, kindest littlewoman that ever was!"

"Oh, Tom! that's so like you!--and after I _have_ treated you socruelly!"

"You? What on earth put that into your head? Maybe you mean, becauseyou didn't give me the second chance at once when I owned up tofailing. But it was no more than right for you to send me off. Didn'tI deserve it? I had given you cause enough to despise me--to send meoff for good. "

"No, no, not despise you, Tom! You know that never could be, whenthere in that terrible wilderness you proved yourself so true andkind--such a man! And not that alone! I know all now--how you, to saveme--" She paused and looked away, her face scarlet. Yet she went onbravely: "how, in order that I might be compelled to make certain, youendured the frightful heat and smother of that foul forecastle, allthose days to Aden!"

"That wasn't anything, " disclaimed Blake. "I slept on deck everynight. Just a picnic. I knew you were safe--no more danger of thatdamnable fever--and with Jimmy to entertain you. "

"While you had to hide from me all day! James said that it wasfrightful in the forecastle. "

"Much he knows about such places! It wasn't anything to a glass-factory or steelworks. If it had been the stokehole, instead--I didtry stoking, one day, just to pass the time. Stood it two hours. ThoseLascars are born under the equator. I don't see how any white man canstoke in the tropics. "

"You did that?--to pass the time! While we were aft, under doubleawnings, up where we could catch every breath of air! Had I known thatyou did not land at Port Mozambique, I should have--should have--"

"Course you would have!" he replied. "But now you see how well it wasyou didn't know. "

"Perhaps--Yet I'm not so sure--I--I--"

She clasped her hands over her eyes, as all her grief and anguish cameback upon her in full flood. 

"Oh, Tom! what shall we do? My dear, my poor dear! That doctor, withhis cold, hard science! I have learned the meaning of that fearfulverse of the Bible: 'Unto the third and fourth generation. ' You maysucceed; you may win your great fight for self-mastery. But yourchildren--the curse would hang over them. One and all, they too mightsuffer. Though you should hold to your self-mastery, there would stillbe a chance, --epilepsy, insanity, your own form of the curse! Andshould you again fall back into the pit--"

She stopped, overcome. 

He drew back a little way, and stood regarding her with a look ofutter despair. 

"So that is why you sent for me, " he said. "I came here thinking youmight be going to give me another chance. Now you tell me it's a lotworse than even I thought. "

"No, no!" she protested. "I learned what I've told you afterward--after I had sent you the note. You must not think--"

He broke in upon her explanation with a laugh as mirthless as were hishard-set face and despairing eyes. She shrank back from him. 

"Stop it!--stop it!" she cried. "I can't bear it!"

He fell silent, and began aimlessly fumbling through his pockets. Hisgaze was fixed on the wall above and beyond her in a vacant stare. 

"Tom!" she whispered, alarmed at his abstraction. 

He looked down at her as if mildly surprised that she was still in theroom. 

"Excuse me, " he muttered. "I was just wondering what it all amountsto, anyway. A fellow squirms and flounders, or else drifts with thecurrent. Maybe he helps others to keep afloat, and maybe he doesn't. Maybe some one else helps him hold up. But, sooner or later, he goesdown for good. It will all be the same a hundred years from now. "

"No!" she denied. "You know that's not true. You don't believe it. "

He straightened, and raised his half-clenched fist. 

"You're right, Jenny. It's the facts, but not the truth. It's up to aman to pound away for all he's worth; not whine around about what'sgoing to happen to him to-morrow or next year or when he dies. Onlytime I ever was a floater was when I was a kid and didn't know thereal meaning of work. Since then I've lived. I can at least say Ihaven't been a parasite. And I've had the fun of the fight. "

He flung out his hand, and his dulled eyes flashed with the fire ofbattle. 

"Lord!--what if I _have_ lost you! That's no reason for me to quit. You did love me there--and I'll love you always, little woman! You'vegiven me a thousand times more than I deserve. I've got that toremember, to keep me up to the fighting pitch. I'm going to keep onfighting this curse, anyway. Idea of a man lying down, long as he canstagger! Even if the curse downs me in the end, there're lots ofthings I can do before I go under. There're lots of things to be donein the world--big things! Pound away! What if a man _is_ to belaid on the shelf to-morrow? Pound away! Keep doing--that's life! Doyour best--that's living!"

"I know of _one_ who has lived!" whispered Genevieve. "Jenny! Thenit's not true? You'll give me another chance? You still love me?"

"Wait! No, you must not!" she replied, shrinking back again. "Icannot--I will not give way! I must think of the future--not mine, but_theirs!_ I must do what is right. I tell you, there is one supremeduty in a woman's lot--she should choose rightly the man who is to bethe father of her children! It is a crime to bring into the worldchildren who are cursed!"

A flame of color leaped into her face, but she stood with upraisedhead, regarding him with clear and candid eyes that glowed with theecstasy of self-sacrifice. 

Before her look, his gaze softened to deepest tenderness andreverence. When he spoke, his voice was hushed, almost awed. 

"Now I understand, Jenny. It's--it's a holy thing you've done--tellingme! I'll never forget it, night or day, so long as I live. Good-bye!"

He turned to go; but in an instant she was before him with handsoutflung to stop him. 

"Wait! You do not understand. Listen! I did not mean what you think--only--only if you fail! Can you imagine I could be so unjust? If youdo not fail--if you win--Oh, can't you see?"

He stared at her, dazed by the sudden glimmering of hope through theblackness of his despair. 

"But you said that, even if I should win--" he muttered. 

"Yes, yes; he told me there would still be a risk. But I cannotbelieve it. At least it would not be so grave a risk. Oh, if you canbut win, Tom!"

"I'll try, " he answered soberly. 

"You will win--you shall win! I will help you. "

"You?"

"Yes. Don't you understand? That is why I sent for you--to tell youthat. "

"But you said--"

"I don't care what I said. It's all different now. I see what I shoulddo. I have failed far worse than you. There on that savage coast yourequired me to do my share; but always you stood ready to advise andhelp me. Yet after all that--How ungrateful you must think me!"

"No, never!" he cried. "You sha'n't say that. I can't stand it. You'rethe truest, kindest--"

"It's like you to say it!" she broke in. "But look at the facts. Didyou ever set me a task that called for the very utmost of my strength--perhaps more; and then turn coldly away, with the cruel word that Imust win alone or perish?"

"It's not the same case at all, " he remonstrated. "You're not fair toyourself. I'm a man. "

"And I've called myself a woman, " she replied. "After those weeks withyou I thought myself no longer a shallow, unthinking girl. A woman!Now I see, Tom--I know! I have failed in the woman's part. But now Ishall stand by you in your fight. I shall do my part, and you willwin!"

Blake's eyes shone soft and blue, and he again held out his arms toher. But in the same moment the glow faded and his arms fell to hisside. 

"I almost forgot, " he murmured. "You said that I must win by my ownstrength--that you must be sure of my strength. "

"That was before I learned the truth, " she replied. "I no longer askso much. I shall--I must help you, as you helped me. I owe you lifeand more than life. You know that. You cannot think me so ungratefulas not to do all I can. "

"No, " he replied, with sudden resolve. "You are to do as you firstsaid--as we agreed. "

"You mean, not help you? But I must, Tom, now that I realize. "

"All I want is another chance, " he said. "It's more than I deserve. Ican't accept still more. "

"You'll not let me help you? Yet what the doctor said makes it all sodifferent. "

"Not to me, " replied Blake, setting his jaw. "I've started in on thisfight, and I'm going through with it the way I began. It'll be a bighelp to know how you feel now; but, just the same, I'm going to fightit out alone. The doctors may say what they please, --if I haven't willpower enough to win, without being propped up, I'm not fit to marryany woman, much less you!"

"Tom!" she cried. "You _are_ the man I thought you. You _will_ win!"

She held out her hands to him. He took them in his big palms, and bentover to kiss her on the forehead. 

"There!" he said, stepping away. "That's a lot more than I'm entitledto now, Jenny. It's time I left, to go and try to earn it. "

"You won't allow me to help?" she begged. 

"No, " he answered, with a quiet firmness that she knew could not beshaken. 

"At least you cannot keep me from praying for you, " she said. 

"That's true; and it will be a help to know how you feel about itnow, " he admitted. 

"You will come again--soon?"

"No, not until I begin to see my way out on the Zariba Dam. "

"Oh, that will be soon, I'm sure. "

"I hope so. Good-bye!"

He turned and hurried from the room with an abruptness that in othercircumstances she might have thought rude. But she understood. He wasso determined in his purpose that he would not take the slightest riskthat might be incurred by lingering. 

She went to a front window, and watched him down the Drive. His stepwas quick but firm, and his head and shoulders were bent slightlyforward, as if to meet and push through all obstacles. 

CHAPTER XXV

HEAVY ODDS

For a few days Lord James was able to bring Genevieve encouragingreports of a vast improvement in Blake's spirits. But still theengineer-inventor failed to make the headway he had expected towardthe solution of the complex and intricate problem of the dam. Inconsequence, he re-doubled his efforts and worked overtime, permittinghimself less than four hours of sleep a night. His meals he eitherwent without or took at his desk. 

All the urgings of Griffith and Lord James could not induce him tocease driving himself to the very limit of endurance. Day by day hefell off, growing steadily thinner and more haggard and more feverish;yet still he toiled on, figuring and planning, planning and figuring. 

But on the morning of the day set for Genevieve's ball, the weary, haggard worker tossed his pencil into the air, and uttered a shoutthat brought his two friends on a run from Griffith's office. 

"I've got it! I've got it!" he flung at them, as they rushed in. Hethrust a tablet across the table. "There's the proof. Check thosetotals, Grif. "

Lord James leaned over the table to grasp Blake's hand. 

"Gad, old man!" he said. "Just in time for you to go to the ball. "

Griffith paused in his swift checking of Blake's final computations. "Ball? Not on your sweet life! He's going to bed. "

"You promised to go, Tom, " said Lord James. 

"Did I?" replied Blake. "Well, then, of course I'm going. "

"Of course!" jeered Griffith. "It's no use arguing against a mule. Can't help but wish you hadn't reminded him, Mr. Scarbridge. "

"The change will do him good, " argued Lord James. 

"I'm in for it, anyway, " said Blake. "Only thing, I wish I could getsome sleep, in between. Well, here's for a good hot bath and a squaremeal. That'll set me up. "

Griffith shook his head. "I'm not so sure. What you need is twelvehours on your back. "

That he was right the Englishman had to admit himself with no littlecontrition before the ball was half over. 

Blake presented a good figure, and though he talked little and dancedless, yet on the whole he produced a very good impression. As LordJames had once observed, with regard to his visit at Ruthby Castle, Blake's bigness of mind seemed to be instinctively sensed by nearlyall those with whom he came in contact on favorable terms. 

But, from the first, he avoided Genevieve with a persistence so markedas almost to disarm Mrs. Gantry. 

Most of his few dances were with Dolores, who discovered that, notwithstanding his evident weariness, he was astonishingly light onhis feet and by no means a poor waltzer. But after midnight she foundit increasingly difficult to lure him out on the floor whenever shewas seized with the whim to favor him by scratching the name--andfeelings--of some other partner. 

More than once Lord James urged him to go home and turn in. Blake'sreply was that he knew he ought not to have come to the ball, butsince he had come, he proposed to stick it out, --he would not be aquitter. So he stayed on, hour after hour, weary-eyed and taciturn, but by no means ill-humored. Many of the wall-flowers and elderlyguests poured their chatter into his unhearing ear, and thought him amost sympathetic listener. 

Genevieve, however, with each glimpse that she caught of him, perceived how his fatigue was constantly verging toward exhaustion. Atlast, between three and four in the morning, she cut short a dancewith young Ashton and asked Lord James to take her into the libraryfor a few minutes' rest. He was with Dolores, but immediatelyrelinquished her to Ashton, and went off with Genevieve. 

They soon passed out of the chatter and whirl of the crowd into theseclusion of the library. Genevieve led the way to her father'sfavorite table, but avoided the big high-backed armchair. Lord Jamesplaced a smaller chair for her at the other side of the table, facingthe door of the cardroom, and as she sank into it he took the chair atthe corner. 

"Ah!" sighed Genevieve. "It's so restful to get away from them all fora few moments. "

"I wonder you're not still more fatigued. Awful crush, " replied LordJames. "I daresay you haven't had any chance all evening for a nibbleof anything. Directed that something be brought to us here. "

"That was very thoughtful of you. I do need something. I'm depressed--It's about Tom. I brought you in here to ask your opinion. He haslooked so haggard and worn to-night. "

"Overwork, " explained Lord James. "He's been hard at it, day andnight, in that stuffy office. He could stand any amount of work out inthe open. But this being cooped up indoors and grinding all the timeat those bally figures!"

"If only it's nothing worse! I'm so afraid!"

"No. It hasn't come on again; though that may happen any time whenhe's so nearly pegged. Must confess, I blame myself for urging him tocome to-night. But he said he had solved the big problem, and Ithought the change would do him good--relax his mind, you know. Egregious mistake, I fear. I've urged him to go; but he insists uponsticking it out. "

"But you're certain that he--has--done nothing as yet?"

"No, indeed, I assure you! This over-fatigue--I'm not even certainwhether the craving is on him or not. .. . You'll pardon me, MissGenevieve--but do you realize how hard you have made it for him, cutting him off from all help in his desperate struggle?"

"Then he _is_ fighting all alone?" she exclaimed. 

"Yes. He won't allow even me to jolly him up now. He's given me thecold shoulder. Said the inference to be drawn from your conditions wasthat he should have no help whatever. "

"Isn't that brave!--isn't that just like him!" cried the girl, hereyes sparkling and cheeks aglow. "He _will_ win! I feel sure he'llwin!"

Lord James looked down at the table, and asked in rather an odd andhesitating tone: "We must hope it. But--if he does win--what then?"

Blake came slowly into the room through the doorway behind them, hishead downbent as if he were pondering a problem. 

Unaware of the newcomer, Genevieve looked regretfully into thetroubled face of her companion, and answered him with absolute candor. "Dear friend, need I repeat? I am very fond of you, and I esteem youvery highly. Yet if he succeeds, I must say 'no' to you. "

As the young Englishman bent over, without replying, Blake roused fromhis abstraction and perceived that he was not alone in the room. 

"Hello--'scuse me!" he mumbled. Half startled, they turned to look athim. He met them with a rare smile. "So it's you, Jeems--and MissJenny. Didn't mean to cut in on your 'tates-an'-tay, as the Irishmanput it. "

He started to turn back. Genevieve sought to stop him. "Won't you joinus, Tom?"

"Thanks, no. It's Jimmy's sit-out. I just stepped in here to see if Icould find a book on the differential calculus. Been figuring aproblem in my head all evening, and there's a formula I need to get myfinal solution. I know that formula well as I know you, but somehow mymemory seems to've stopped working. "

"Those bally figures! Can't you ever chop off?" remonstrated LordJames. "You're pegged. Come and join us. Miss Genevieve will beinterested to hear about the dam. "

"I'm interested, indeed I am, Tom. Papa says you are working out apiece of wonderful engineering. "

Blake stared. "What does _he_ know about it?"

"I suppose his consulting engineer told him--your friend Mr. Griffith. "

"Grif's not working for him now. "

"Indeed? Then I misunderstood. Anyway, you must come and explain allabout the dam. "

"Well, if you insist, " said Blake. He went around to the big armchair, across from Genevieve, and sat down wearily while explaining: "But thedam is a long way from being built. It's all on paper yet, and I'vehad to rely on the reports sent in by the field engineers. "

A footman came in and set food and wine before Genevieve and LordJames. Blake went on, with quick-mounting enthusiasm, heedless of thecoming and going of the soft-footed, unobtrusive servant. 

"That's the only thing I'm afraid of. Would have liked to've gone overthe ground myself first. But they had two surveys, and the field notescheck fairly well. Barring mistakes in them, I've got the propositionworked out to a T. It's all done except some figuring of details thatany good engineer could do. Just as well, for I'm about all in. Stiffest proposition I ever went up against. "

He sank back into the depths of the big chair, with a sudden givingway of enthusiasm to fatigue. Lord James reached out his plate to him. 

"You _are_ pegged, old man, " he said. "Have a sandwich. "

"No, " replied Blake. "I'm too played out to eat. Just want to rest. "

Genevieve had been scrutinizing his face, and her deepening concernlent a note of sharpness to her reproach: "You're exhausted! Youshould not have come to-night!"

"Couldn't pass up a dance at your house, could I?" he smilinglyrejoined. "Don't you worry about me. It's all right, long's I've gotthat whole damn irrigation system worked out. "

"Ha! ha! old man!" chuckled Lord James. "That expresses it to a T, asyou put it. But wouldn't it be better form to say, 'the wholeirrigation dam system'?"

Blake smiled shamefacedly. "Did I make a break like--such as that?'Scuse me, Miss Jenny. I'm sort of--I'm rather muddled to-night. "

"No wonder, after all you've done, " said Genevieve. She added, with aradiant smile, "But isn't it glorious that you've finished such agreat work! Papa says that you've actually invented a new kind ofdam. "

The silent footman had reappeared with another plate and glass ofwine. He glided around behind Blake, who had leaned forward again withthe right arm upon the edge of the table. Unconscious of the servant, who placed the plate and wine glass near him on his left and quietlyglided from the room, the engineer responded to Genevieve's remarkwith an animation that might have been likened to the last flare of adying candle. 

"No, " he said, "it's not exactly a new kind of dam--not an invention. I did work out once a modification of bridge trusses which some mightcall an invention, --new principle in the application of trusses tobridge structure. Allows for a longer suspension span on cantileverbridges. "

"But this Zariba Dam, " remarked Lord James; "I've yet to learn, myself, just how you worked it out. "

"Well, it wasn't any invention; just a sort of discovery how tocombine a lot of well-known principles of construction to fit theparticular case. You see, it's this way. There was only one availablesite for the dam, and the mid-section of that was bottomless bog; yetprovision had to be made for a sixty-five foot head of water. "

"You take him, Miss Genevieve, " said Lord James. "They have no solidground to build on, and the water above the dam is to be sixty-fivefeet deep. "

"I should think the dam would sink into the bog, " remarked Genevieve. 

"That was one factor in the problem, " said Blake. "Solved it byputting the steel reinforcement of the concrete in the form of mybridge-truss span. The whole central section could hang in midair andnot buckle or drop. That was simple enough, long's I had my trussalready invented. The main difficulty was that deep bog. If youstudied hydrostatics, you'd soon learn that a sixty-five foot head ofwater puts an enormous pressure on the bed of a reservoir. "

Absorbed in his explanation, Blake unconsciously grasped the wineglass in his left hand, as he went on:

"That pressure would be enough to make the water boil down through thebog and clear out under the deepest foundation any of the otherengineers had been able to figure out. Well, I figured and figured, but somehow I couldn't make anything in the books go. At last, when Ihad almost given up--"

"No! you couldn't do that, " put in Lord James. 

Blake smiled at him, and paused to grasp again his broken thread ofthought. In the fatal moment when his wakeful consciousness wasdiverted, and before Lord James could interpose to avert the act, hissubconsciousness automatically caused his left hand to raise the glasswhich it held to his lips. 

Before he was aware of what he was doing, he had taken a sip of thewine. An instant afterward the glass shattered on the floor beside hischair, and he clutched at the edge of the table, his face convulsedand his eyes glaring with the horror of what he had done. 

"Hell!" he gasped. 

Genevieve rose and started back from the table, shocked and frightenedby what she mistook for an outburst of rage or madness. Lord Jamesrose almost as quickly, no less shocked and quite as uncertain as towhat his friend would do. 

[Illustration: His jaw closed fast, --and in the same instant hisoutstretched hand smashed down upon the wine glass]

"Tom!" he called warningly, and he laid his hand on Blake's shoulder. 

Almost beside himself in the paroxysm of fear and craving that hadstricken his face white and half choked him with seeming rage, Blakeshook off the restraining hand, and gasped hoarsely at Genevieve:"Wine!--here--in your house! God! Shoved into my hand! Smell wasn'tenough--must taste it! God! Tough deal!"

"Lord Avondale!" cried Genevieve, and she turned to leave the room, furiously indignant. 

"Gad! old man!" murmured Lord James, staring uncertainly from Blake tothe angry girl, for once in his life utterly disconcerted andbewildered. He was unable to think, and the impulse of his breedingurged him to accompany Genevieve. After a moment's vacillation, hesprang about and hastened with her from the room. 

Blake sat writhing in dumb anguish, his distended eyes fixed upon thedoorway for many moments after they had gone. Then slowly yet asthough drawn by an irresistible force, his gaze sank until it restedupon the half-filled wine glass left by Lord James. He glared at it infearful fascination. Suddenly his hand shot out to clutch at it, --andas suddenly was drawn back. 

There followed a grim and silent struggle, which ended in a secondclutch at the glass. This time the shaking fingers closed on theslender stem. The wine was almost wetting his lips when, with aconvulsive jerk, he flung it out upon the rug beside his chair. 

Shuddering and quivering, Blake sank back in the chair, with his leftarm upraised across his face as if he were expectant of a crushingblow or sought to shut out some horrible sight. His right arm slippedlimply down outside the chair-arm, and the empty glass dropped to thefloor out of his relaxing fingers. 

Yet the lull in the contest was only momentary. As his protecting armsank down again, his bloodshot eyes caught sight of the wine inGenevieve's glass. Instantly he started up rigid in his chair andclutched the edge of the table, as if to spring up and escape. But hecould not tear his gaze away from the crimson wine. 

Again there came the grim and silent struggle, and again the fiercecraving for drink compelled his hand to go out to grasp the glass. Buthis will was not yet totally benumbed. As his fingers crooked toclutch the glass-stem, he made a last desperate effort to withstandthe all but irresistible impulse that was forcing him over the brinkof the pit. Beads of cold sweat started out on his forehead. His facecreased with furrows of unbearable agony. His mouth gaped. The serpenthad him by the throat. 

The struggling man realized that he was on the verge of defeat. He wasalmost overcome. In a flash he perceived the one way to escape. For asingle instant his slack jaw closed fast, --and in the same instant hisoutstretched hand clenched together and upraised and smashed down uponthe wine glass. 

Utterly exhausted, the victor collapsed forward, with head and armsupon the table, in a half swoon that quickly passed into the sleep-stupor of outspent strength. 

CHAPTER XXVI

TURNING THE ODD TRICK

Thus it was Lord James found his friend when he came hurrying backinto the library. He did not rouse Blake to ask questions. One glanceat the shattered glass and Blake's bleeding hand was enough to tellhim what had happened. There could be no doubt that Blake had won. Itwas no less certain, however, that the struggle had cost him the lastounce of his strength. What he now needed was absolute rest. 

With utmost gentleness, Lord James examined the cut hand for fragmentsof glass and bound it up with his own handkerchief. As quietly, hegathered up the broken glass and the dishes, and wiped the blood andwine from the table. Another hour would see the end of the ball. Manyof the guests already had gone, and it was not probable that any ofthose who remained would leave the ballroom or the cardroom to wanderinto the secluded library. Yet he thought it as well to remove thetraces of Blake's struggle. He placed the bandaged hand of hisunconscious friend down on the chair-arm, in the shadow of the edge ofthe table, and went out with the plates and glass, closing the doorbehind him. 

He had been gone only a few minutes when the door of the cardroomswung open before a sharp thrust, and Mr. Leslie stepped into thelibrary, followed by Mrs. Gantry. Mr. Leslie closed the door, and eachtook advantage of the seclusion to blink and yawn and stretchluxuriously. They had just risen from the card table, and were bothcramped and sleepy. Also neither perceived Blake, who was hidden fromthem by the back of the big chair. 

"Ho-ho-hum!" yawned Mr. Leslie, in a last relaxing stretch. "That endsit for this time. " He wagged his head at his sister-in-law, and rubbedhis hands together exultantly. "For once you'll have to admit I_can_ play bridge. "

"For once, " she conceded, as she moved toward the table. "You're stillnothing more than a whist-player, yet had it not been for the honorscore, you'd have beaten us disgracefully. One is fortunate when onehas the honor score in one's favor. "

"H'm! h'm!" he rallied. "I'll admit you women can _score_ honor, butthe question is, do you know what honor is?"

"Most certainly--when the score is in our favor. One would fancy you'dbeen reading Ibsen. Of all the _bad_ taste--" Mrs. Gantry stoppedshort, to raise her lorgnette and stare at the flaccid form of Blake. "Hoity-toity! What have we here?"

"Hey?" queried Mr. Leslie, peering around her shoulder. "Asleep? Whois he?"

Mrs. Gantry turned to him and answered in a lowered voice: "It's thatfellow, Blake. I do believe he's intoxicated. "

"Intoxicated?" exclaimed Mr. Leslie. He went quickly around and bentover Blake. He came back to her on tiptoe and led her away from thetable. 

"You're mistaken, " he whispered. "I'm certain he hasn't touched adrop. "

"Certain?"

"Yes. Some one has spilled wine on the table; but his breath provesthat he hasn't had any. It's merely that he's worn out--fallen asleep. Poor boy!"

"'Poor boy'?" repeated Mrs. Gantry, quizzing her brother-in-lawthrough her lorgnette. 

"H'm. Why not?" he demanded. "I was most unjust to him. I've beencompelled to reverse my judgment of him on every point that wasagainst him. As you know, he refused everything I offered in the wayof money or position. He has proved that his intentions are absolutelyhonorable, --and now he has proved himself a great engineer. By hissolution of the Zariba Dam problem, he has virtually put half amillion, dollars into my pocket. "

"I understood that you turned that project over to some company. "

"The Coville Company--of which I own over ninety-five per cent of thestock. He would quit if he knew it, and I can't afford to lose him. The solution of the dam is a wonderful feat of engineering. That'swhat's the matter with him now. He worked at it to the point ofexhaustion--and then for him to come here, already worn out!"

"I'm sure he was quite welcome to stay away, " put in the lady. 

Mr. Leslie frowned, and went on: "Griffith tells me that he can standany amount of outdoor work, but that office work runs him down fast. But I'll soon fix that. We arranged to put him in charge of theMichamac Bridge. "

"In charge? How will you get rid of Lafayette? You've grumbled sooften about his having a contract to remain there as chief builder, because he drew the bridge plans. "

"Copied them, you should say. "

"Ah, is that the term?"

"For what he did, yes--unless one uses the stronger term. "

"I quite fail to take you. "

"You'll understand--later on. Griffith and I are figuring that Tomwill take the bridge and keep it. "

"He has my heartfelt wish that he will take it soon, and remain inpersonal possession for all time!"

"H'm. I presume Genevieve could come down to visit us occasionally. "

"Herbert! You surely cannot mean--?"

"Griffith has told me something in connection with this bridge thatproves Thomas Blake to be one of the greatest engineers, if not thegreatest, in America. I'd be proud to have him for a son-in-law. "

"Impossible! _impossible!_ It can't be you'll withdraw youropposition!"

"Not only that; I'll back him to win. I like your earl. He's a fineyoung fellow. But, after all, Blake is an _American_. "

"He's a brute! Herbert, it is impossible!"

"They said that dam was impossible. He has mastered it. He's big; he'sgot brains. He'll be a gentleman within six months. He's a genius!"

"_Poof!_ He's a degenerate!"

"You'll see, " rejoined Mr. Leslie. He went back to the table andtapped the sleeper sharply on the shoulder. 

Blake stirred, and mumbled drowsily: "Huh! what--whatcha want?"

"Wake up, " answered Mr. Leslie. "I wish to congratulate you. "

Blake slowly heaved himself up and blinked at his disturber withhaggard, bloodshot eyes. He was still very weary and only half rousedfrom his stupor. 

"Huh!" he muttered. "Must 'uv dropped 'sleep--Dog tired. " His blearedgaze swung around and took in Mrs. Gantry. He started and tried to sitmore erect. "Excuse me! Didn't know there was a lady here. "

"Don't apologize. That's for me to do, " interposed Mr. Leslie, offering his hand. "My--that is, the Coville Company officers tell meyou've worked out a wonderful piece of engineering for them. "

Blake stared hard at the bookcase behind Mrs. Gantry and answeredcurtly, oblivious of the older man's hand. "That remains to be seen. It's only on paper, so far. "

"But I--h'm--it seems they are sufficiently satisfied to wish to putyou in charge of the Michamac Bridge. "

"In charge?"

"Yes. "

"How about Ashton--their contract with him?"

"That's to be settled later. I wish--h'm--I understand that you are tobe sent nominally as Assistant Engineer. "

"I am, eh? Excuse _me_!"

"At double the salary of Ashton, and--"

"Not at ten times the salary as _his_ assistant!"

"But you must know that Griffith's doctor has ordered him to Florida, and with the work rushing on the bridge--He tells me it has reachedthe most critical stage of construction--that suspension span--"

"You seem mighty interested in a project you got rid of, " remarkedBlake, vaguely conscious of the other's repressed eagerness. 

"Yes. I was the first to consider the possibility of bridging thestrait. "

"Your idea, was it?" said Blake, with reluctant admiration. "It was abig one, all right. "

"Nothing as compared to the invention of that bridge, " returned Mr. Leslie. 

"Your young friend Ashton sure is a great one, " countered Blake. 

"The man who planned that bridge is a genius, " stated Mr. Leslie withenthusiasm. "That's one fact. Another is that Laffie Ashton is unfitto supervise the construction of the suspension span. I'll see to itmyself that the matter is so arranged that you--"

"Thanks, no. You'll do nothing of the kind, " broke in Blake. He spokewithout brusqueness yet with stubborn determination. "I don't want anyfavors from you, and you know why. I can appreciate yourcongratulations, long as you seem to want to be friendly. But youneedn't say anything to the company. "

"Very well, very well, sir!" snapped Mr. Leslie, irritated at therebuff. He jerked himself about to Mrs. Gantry. "There's time yet. What do you say to another rubber?"

"You should have spoken before we rose, " replied the lady. "There'llbe others who wish to go. You'll be able to take over some one's hand. I prefer to remain in here for a _tete-a tete_ with Mr. Blake. "

Blake and Mr. Leslie stared at her, alike surprised. The younger manmuttered in far other than a cordial tone: "Thanks. But I'm not fitcompany. Ought to've been abed and asleep hours ago. "

"Yet if you'll pardon me for insisting, I wish to have a little chatwith you, " replied Mrs. Gantry. 

At her expectant glance, Mr. Leslie started for the door of thecardroom. As he went out and closed the door, Mrs. Gantry took thechair on the other side of the table from Blake, and explained in aconfidential tone: "It is about this unfortunate situation. "

Blake stared at her, with a puzzled frown. "Unfortunate what?"

"Unfortunate situation, " she replied, making an effort to moderate hersuperciliousness to mere condescension. "I assure you, I too havelearned that first impressions may err. I cannot now believe that youare torturing my niece purposely. "

Blake roused up on the instant, for the first time wide awake. 

"What!" he demanded. "I--torturing--her?"

"Most unfortunately, that is, at least, the effect of the situation. "

"But I--I don't understand! What is it, anyhow? I'd do anything tosave her the slightest suffering!"

"Ah!" said Mrs. Gantry, and she averted her gaze. 

"Don't you believe me?" he demanded. 

"To be sure--to be sure!" she hastened to respond. "Had I not thoughtyou capable of that, I should not have troubled to speak to you. "

"But what is it? What do you mean?" he asked, with swift-growinguneasiness. 

"I do not say that I blame you for failing to see and understand, " sheevaded. "No doubt you, too, have suffered. "

"Yes, I've--But that's nothing. It's Jenny!" he exclaimed, fast on thebarbed hook. "Good God! if it's true I've made her suffer--But how?Why? I don't understand. "

Mrs. Gantry studied him with a gravity that seemed to include a traceof sympathy. There was an almost imperceptible tremor in her voice. 

"Need I tell you, Mr. Blake, how a girl of her high ideals, her highconception of noblesse oblige, of duty (you saved her life asheroically as--er--as a fireman)--need I point out how grateful shemust always feel toward you, and how easily she might mistake hergratitude for something else?"

"You mean that she--that she--" He could not complete the sentence. 

Mrs. Gantry went on almost blandly. "A girl of her fine and generousnature is apt to mistake so strong a feeling of gratitude for what youno doubt thought it was. "

"Yet that morning--on the cliffs--when the steamer came--"

"Even then. Can you believe that if she really loved you then, shecould doubt it now?"

"You say she--does--doubt it? I thought that--maybe--" The heavy wordsdragged until they failed to pass Blake's tense lips. 

"Doubt it!" repeated Mrs. Gantry. "Has she accepted you?"

"No. I--"

"Has she promised you anything?"

"No. She said that, unless she was sure--"

"What more do you need to realize that she is _not_ sure? Can youfancy for a moment that she would hesitate if she really loved you--ifshe did not intuitively realize that her feeling is no more thangratitude? That is why she is suffering so. She realizes the truth, yet will not admit it even to herself. "

"Blake forced himself to face the worst. "Then what--what do you--?"

"Ah! so you really are generous!" exclaimed Mrs. Gantry, beaming uponhim, with unfeigned suavity. "Need I tell you that she is extremelyfond of Lord Avondale? With him there could be no doubts, nouncertainties. "

"Jimmy is all right, " loyally assented Blake. "Yes, he's all right. Just the same, unless she--" He stopped, unable to speak the word. 

"In accepting him she would attain to--" The tactful dame paused, considered, and altered her remark. "With him she would be happy. "

"I'm not saying 'no' to that, " admitted Blake. "That is, provided--"

"Ah! And you say you love her!" broke in Mrs. Gantry. "What love is itthat would stand between her and happiness--that would compel her tosacrifice her life, out of gratitude to you?"

Blake bent over and asked in a dull murmur: "You are sure it's that?"

"Indeed, yes! How can it be otherwise?--a girl of her breeding; andyou--what you are!"

Blake bent over still lower, and all his fortitude could not repressthe groan that rose to his lips. Mrs. Gantry watched him closely, herface set in its suave smile, but her eyes hard and cold. She went on, without a sign of compunction: "But I now believe you are possessed ofsterling qualities, else I should not have troubled to speak the truthto you. "

She paused to emphasize what was to follow. "There is only one way foryou to save her. She is too generous to save herself. I believe thatyou really love her. You can prove it by--" again she paused--"goingaway. "

Blake bent over on the table and buried his face in his arms. Hissmothered groan would have won him the compassion of a savage. It wasthe cry of a strong man crushed under an unbearable burden. Mrs. Gantry was not a savage. Her eyes sparkled coldly. 

"You will go away. You will prove your love for her, " she said. 

Certain that she had accomplished what she had set out to do, shereturned to the cardroom, and left her victim to his misery anddespair. 

CHAPTER XXVII

A PACKING CASE

Already exhausted by the stress of the fierce fight that he had sohardly won, Blake could no longer sustain such acute grief. Naturemercifully dulled his consciousness. He sank into a stupor thatoutwardly was not unlike heavy slumber. 

Mrs. Gantry had been gone several minutes when the other door swungopen. Dolores skipped in, closely followed by Lafayette Ashton. Theyoung man's face was flushed, and there was a slight uncertainty inhis step; but as he closed the door and followed the girl across theroom, he spoke with rather more distinctness than usual. 

"Here we are, _ma cher_. I knew we'd find a place where you couldshow me how kind you feel toward your fond Fayette. "

"So that's the way you cross the line?" criticised Dolores. "What aget-away for a fast pacer who has gone the pace!"

"Now, Dodie, don't hang back. You know as well as I do--"

"Hush! Don't whisper it aloud!" cautioned the girl, pointingdramatically to Blake. "Betray no secrets. We are not alone!"

Ashton muttered a French curse, and went over to the table. 

"It's that fellow, Blake, " he whispered, over his shoulder. 

"Mr. Blake?" exclaimed Dolores, tiptoeing to the table. "He's gone tosleep. Poor man! I know he must be awfully tired, else he would havewaltzed with me again the last time I scratched your name. "

"What you and Genevieve can see in him gets me!" muttered Ashton, witha shrug. "Look at him now. Needn't tell me he's asleep. He'sintoxicated. That's what's the matter with him. "

Dolores leaned far over the table toward Blake, sniffed, and drewback, with a judicial shake of her head. "Can't detect it. But, then, I couldn't expect to, with you in the room. "

"Now, Dodie!"

She again leaned over the table. "See, " she whispered. "His hand istied up. It's hurt. "

"Told you he's intoxicated, " insisted Ashton. 

The girl moved toward a davenport in the corner farthest from Blake. 

"Come over here, " she ordered. "It's a nuisance to sit it out withyou, when it's one of the last waltzes. At least I won't let youdisturb Mr. Blake. "

"Mr. T. Blake, our heroic cave-man!" replied Ashton, as he followedher across the room. 

"How you love him!" she rallied. "What's the cause of your jealousy?"

"Who says I'm jealous?"

"Of course there's no reason for you to be. He's not interested in me, and you're not in Genevieve--just now. "

"My dear Dodie! You know you've always been the only one. "

"Since the last!" she added. "But if it's not jealousy, what is it?--professional envy? You've been knocking him all the evening. You beganit the day he came. What have you against him, anyway? He has neverwronged you. "

Ashton's eyes narrowed, and one corner of his mouth drew up. 

"Hasn't he, though!" he retorted. "The big brute! I can't imagine howyour mother can allow you and Genevieve to speak to him, when sheknows what he is. And your uncle--the low fellow tried to blackmailhim--accused him of stealing his bridge plans. First thing I know, he'll be saying _I_ did it!"

"Did you?" teased the girl, as she seated herself on the heap ofpillows at the head of the davenport. 

Ashton's flushed face turned a sickly yellow. He fell, rather thanseated himself, in the centre of the davenport. 

"What--what--" he babbled; "you don't mean--No! I didn't!--I tell you, I didn't! They're my plans; I drew them all myself!"

"Why, Laffie! what is the matter with you?" she demanded, halfstartled out of her mockery. "Can it be you've mixed them too freely?Or is it the lobster? You've a regular heavy-seas-the-first-day-outlook. "

He managed to pull himself together and mutter in assent: "Yes, itmust be the lobster. But the sight of that brute is enough to--to--"

"Then perhaps you had better leave the room, " sweetly advised Dolores. "Mr. Blake happens to be one of my friends. "

"No, he isn't, " corrected Ashton. 

"Really!"

"No. I won't have it. You needn't expect me to have anything to dowith you unless you cut him. "

"Oh, Laffie! how could you be so cruel?" she mocked. 

He was so far intoxicated that he mistook her sarcasm for entreaty. Heresponded with maudlin fervor. "Don't weep, Dodiekins! I'll be as easyon you as I can. You see, I must inform you on such things, if you'reto be my _fiancee_. "

She was quick to note his mistake, and sobbed realistically: "_Fi-fiancee!_ Oh! Oh, Laffie! Bu-but you haven't asked me yet!"

He moved along the davenport nearer to her, and attempted to clasp herhand. 

"You're a coy one, Dodiekins!" he replied. "Of course I'm asking you, you know that. You can't think I don't mean it. You know I mean it. "

"Really?"

"Of course! Haven't I been trying to get a chance to tell you, all theevening? Of course I mean it! You're the fair maiden of my choice, Dodiekins, even if you aren't so rich as some. "

"Fair?--but I'm a brunette, " she corrected. "It's Genevieve you'rethinking of. Confess now, it is, isn't it?"

"No, indeed, no!" he protested. "I prefer brunettes--always have!You're a perfect brunette, Dodiekins. I've always liked you more thanGenevieve. You're the perfect brunette type, and you have all that_verve_--you're so _spirituelle_. Just say 'yes' now, and let's haveit over with. To-morrow I'll buy you the biggest solitaire in town. "

"Oh, Laffie!--the biggest? You're too kind! I couldn't think of it!"she mocked. 

"But I mean it, Dodie, every word, indeed I do!" he insisted, ardentlythrusting out an arm to embrace her. 

She slipped clear, and sprang up, to stand just beyond his reach. 

"So great an honor!" she murmured. "How can I deprive all the othergirls of the greatest catch in town?"

"They've tried hard enough to catch me, " he replied. "But I'd ratherhave you than all the blondes put together. I mean it, every word. Idon't mind at all that you're not so rich as Genevieve. I'll haveenough for two, as soon as the old man shuffles off this mortal coil. You'll bring him dead to rights on the will question. He likes youalmost as well as he likes Genevieve. You're second choice with him. "

"Second!--not the third?--nor the fourth? You're sure?"

"No, second; and you can count on it, he'll do the handsome thing byMrs. Lafayette, even if he keeps me on an allowance. So now, say theword, and come and cuddle up. "

"Oh, Laffie!--in here? We might disturb Mr. Blake. "

"Blake!" he muttered, and he looked angrily at the big inert form halfprostrate on the table. "He's intoxicated, I tell you--or if he's not, he ought to be. The insolence of him, hanging around Genevieve! I hopehe _is_ drunk! That would settle it all. We'd be rid of him then. "

"'We'?" queried Dolores. 

He caught her curious glance, and hastened to disclaim: "No, not we--Genevieve--I meant Genevieve, of course!"

Dolores affected a coquettish air. "Oh, Mr. Brice-Ashton! I do believeyou want to get him out of the way. "

"I? No, no!" he protested, with an uneasy, furtive glance at Blake. 

"Don't try to fool me, " she insisted. "I know your scheme. But it's ofno use. If she doesn't take the hero, she'll accept the earl. Ah, me!To think you're still scheming to get Vievie, when all the eveningyou've pretended it was I!"

In the reaction from his fright, he sprang up and advanced on herardently. "It _is_ you, Dodie! you know it is. Own up, now--we'rejust suited to each other. It's a case of soul-mates!"

"Oh, is it, really?" she gushed. He sought to kiss her, but she eludedhim coquettishly. "Wait, please. We must first settle the question. Ifit's a case of soul-mates, who's to be the captain?"

"See here, Dodie, " he admonished; "we've fooled long enough. I'm inearnest. You don't seem to realize this is a serious proposal. "

"Really?" she mocked. "A formal declaration of your most honorableintentions to make me Mrs. L. Brice-Ashton?"

"Of course! You don't take it for a joke, do you?"

She smiled upon him with tantalizing sweetness. "Isn't it? Well, _it_ may not be. But how about yourself?"

"Dolores, " he warned, "unless you wish me to withdraw my--"

"Your solemn suit!" she cut in. "With that and the case you mentioned, the matter is complete. A suit and a case make a suitcase. You have mypermission to pack. "

"Dodie! You can't mean it!"

"Can't I? You may pack yourself off and get a tailor to press yoursuit. He can do it better. Run along now. I'm going to make up to Mr. Blake for that waltz of yours that he wouldn't let me give to him. "

"You flirt!" cried Ashton, flushing crimson. "I believe your heart ismade of petrified wood. "

"Then don't ask me to throw it at you. It might hurt your soft head. "

"Dolores!" he warned her. 

"Yes, " she went on, pretending to misunderstand him. "Wouldn't it beawful?--a chunk of petrified wood plunking into a can of woodpulp!"

"I wish you to remember, Miss Gantry--" he began, "Don't fret, " she impatiently interrupted. "I'll not forget 'MissGantry, ' and I wish you wouldn't so often. 'Dodie, ' 'Dodie, ' 'Dodie, 'all the evening. It's monotonous. "

"Indeed. Am I to infer, Miss Gantry, that you are foolish enough toplay fast and loose with me?"

"You're so fast, how could I loose you?" she punned. 

He muttered a French oath. 

"Naughty! Naughty!" she mocked. "Swearing in French, when you know Idon't speak it! Why not say, 'damn it' right out? That would soundbetter, "

"See here, Dodie, " he warned. "I've stood enough of this. You knowyou're just dying to say 'yes. ' But let me tell you, if you permitthis chance to slip by--"

"Oh, run along, do!" she exclaimed. "I want to think, and it'simpossible with you around. "

"Think?" he retorted. "I know better. What you want is a chance tocoquet with him. "

He looked about at Blake, with a wry twist in his lower lip. 

"One enjoys conversing with a man once in a while, " she replied, andshe turned from him a glance of supreme contempt and loathing thatpierced the thickness of his conceit. Disconcerted and confused, hebeat a flurried retreat, jerking shut the door with a violent slam. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE SHORTEST WAY

The noise of the door jarred Blake from his lethargy. He groaned andsluggishly raised his head. His face was bloodless and haggard, hisbloodshot eyes were dull and bleared. He had the look of a man at theclose of a drunken debauch. 

Dolores hastened to him, exclaiming, "Mr. Blake, you are ill! I shallphone for a doctor!"

"No, " he mumbled apologetically. "Don't bother yourself, Miss Dolores. It's not a doctor I need. I'm only--"

"You _are_ ill! I'll call Genevieve. " She started toward the door. 

"Don't!" he cried. "Not her--for God's sake, not her!" He rose to hisfeet heavily but steadily. "I'm going--away. "

"Going away? Where?" asked Dolores, puzzled and concerned. 

"Alaska--Panama--anywhere! You're the right sort, Miss Dolores. You'llexplain to her why I had to go without stopping to say good-bye. "

"Of course, Mr. Blake--anything I can do. But why are you leaving?"

"Your mother--she told me. "

"Told you what? I do believe you're dreaming. "

Blake quivered. "Wish it _was_ a nightmare!" he groaned. Hesteadied himself with an effort. "No use, though. She told me thetruth about--your cousin. Said her feeling for me is only gratitude. "

"What! Vievie's?--only gratitude? Don't you believe it! Mamma isrooting for Jeems. She may believe it; she probably does. She_wants_ to believe it. She wants a countess in the family. "

"She couldn't do better in that line, nor in any other, " replied Blakewith loyal friendship. "Jimmy is all right; he's the real thing. "

"Yes, twenty-four carats fine!"

"Don't joke, Miss Dolores. I know you don't like him, but it's true, just the same. I knocked around a whole lot with Jimmy, in all sortsof places. I give it to you straight, --he's square, he's white, andhe's what all kinds of people would call a gentleman. "

"But as for being a man?" she scoffed. 

Blake's dull eyes brightened with a fond glow. 

"Man?" he repeated. "D' you think I'd fool around with one of theseswell dudes? No; Jimmy is the real thing, and he's a thoroughbred. "

"Such a cute little mustache!" mocked the girl. 

"It's one of the few things I couldn't cure him of---that and hismonocle. " Forgetful of self, Blake smiled at her regretfully and shookhis head. "It's too bad, Miss Dolores. No use talking when it's toolate; but couldn't you have liked him enough to forget the Englishpart? You and he would sure have made a team. "

"Yes, isn't it too bad? A coronet would fit my head just as well asVievie's. But mamma is so silly. She never thought of that. "

Blake stared in surprise. "You don't mean--?"

"Mamma has been so busy saving Vievie from you, she's not had time toconsider me. "

"Say, " exclaimed Blake, "I've half a notion you do like him. Thatwould account for the way you keep at him with your nagging andteasing. "

"You don't say!"

"Yes. That's the way one of my sisters used to treat me. "

"How smart you are!" cried the girl, and she faced away from himpetulantly, that he might not see her flaming cheeks. "Oh, yes, ofcourse I like him! I'm head over heels in love with him! How could Ihelp but be?"

"Some day you'll know such things aren't joking matters, " he gravelyreproved her. 

She turned to him, unable longer to sustain her pretence. Her voicequavered and broke: "But it's--it's true! I do!"

She bent over with her face in her hands, and her slender form shookwith silent sobs. He came quickly around to her, his eyes soft withcommiseration. "You poor little girl! So you lose out, too!"

She looked up at him with her tearful dark eyes, and clutched eagerlyat the lapel of his coat. 

"Mr. Blake! He has told me how resolute you are. You must not give up!I'm certain Vievie likes you. If only mamma hadn't meddled! She'salways messing things. It's just because she can't realize I'm in longfrocks. If--if only she had seen how much grander it would be to makeherself the mother-in-law of an earl, instead of a mere aunt-in-law!"

Blake's face darkened morosely. "That's the way things are--misdealall around. Your mother is right. You've lost out; I've lost out. What's the use?"

"Surely you're not going to give up?" she demanded. 

"I've never before been called a quitter; but--sooner I get out frombetween her and Jimmy, the better, " he rejoined, and turning on hisheel, he started toward the door by which Ashton had left. 

"But, Mr. Blake, " she urged, "wait. I wish to tell you--"

"No use, " he broke in, without turning or stopping. 

She was about to dart after him, when the door opened, and Ashtonentered, carrying a bottle of champagne and a glass. He noddedfamiliarly to Blake and approached him with an air of easy good-fellowship. 

Blake saw only the glass and the bottle. He glared at them, his faceconvulsed with fierce craving. Then he forced himself to avert hisgaze. But as he started to turn aside, his jaw clenched and his eyesburned with a sudden desperate resolve. He stopped and waited, hisface as hard as a granite mask. Dolores did not see his expression. She was eying Ashton, whom she sought to crush with her scorn. 

"Ho!" she jeered. "So you're going to drown your sorrows in theflowing bowl. You ought to've remembered that absence makes the heartgrow fonder. "

To better show her contempt, she turned her back on him. 

He instantly stepped forward beside Blake and began pouring out aglass of the champagne. He smiled suavely, but his eyes narrowed, andhis full lower lip twisted askew. 

"Look here, Blake, " he began, "I know you're on the water-wagon; butyou have it in for me for some reason, and I want to make it up withyou. Take a glass of fizz with me. "

Dolores whirled about and saw him with the glass of sparkling wineoutreached to Blake, who was eying it with a peculiar oblique gaze. 

"Lafayette Ashton!" she cried. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?--aren't you ashamed?"

Ashton shrugged cynically, and urged the wine on Blake. "Come on! Oneglass wouldn't hurt a fly. I've heard of your wonderful success withthe Zariba Dam. I want to congratulate you. "

"Congratulate--that's it!" replied Blake, in a harsh, strained voice. "Best man wins. Loser gets out of the way. All right. I'll take theshort-cut. "

He reached out his bandaged right hand to take the glass. Doloresdarted toward him, crying out shrilly in horrified protest: "Stop!stop! Mr. Blake! Think what you're doing!"

"I know what I'm doing, " he said taking the glass and facing her witha smile that brought tears of pity to her eyes. "Your mother is right. I'm in your cousin's way. I'm going to get out of her way, and I'mgoing to do it in a fashion that'll rid her of me for keeps. Hell isnearer than Alaska. "

"Wait! wait!" she cried, as he raised the glass to his lips. "For hersake, don't. Wait!"

"For her sake!" he rejoined, still with that heart-rending smile. "Here's to her and to him--congratulations!"

He tossed down the wine at a swallow before she could clutch hisupraised arm. 

She turned upon Ashton, in a fury of scorn and anger. "You--youbeast!"

"Why, what's the matter?" he protested, feigning innocence. "What'sthe harm in a glass of fizz?"

"You knew!" she cried, pressing upon him so fiercely that he gaveback. "You knew what it means for him to drink anything--a singledrop! You scoundrel!"

"There, now, Miss Dolores!" soothed Blake, patting her on theshoulder. "What's the use of telling him what he is? He knows it aswell as we do. Anyhow, I didn't have to take the drink. I'm the onlyone to blame. "

"Oh, Mr. Blake! how could you? How could you?" she cried. 

"It was easy enough--doing it for her, " he answered. 

"For her! How can you say it?"

"Well, it's done now. Good-bye. I'm not likely to see you again soon. It's a long trip from hell to heaven, " he explained with grim humor. 

Great as was his fortitude, she caught a glimpse of the anguish behindhis mask. But his tone, as he swung Ashton around, repulsed her. "Comeon, Mephistopheles. You've turned the trick. We've less than threehours before daylight. It's whiskey straight we're after. "

CHAPTER XXIX

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

Not unnaturally Dolores failed to realize at once the utter ruin thatBlake had brought upon himself by overthrowing the pillars of histemple. She was too intent upon her own tragedy. With Blake out of theway, Lord James would of course have no difficulty in winningGenevieve. There was now no hope for her. 

She flung herself down in a chair, with a childlike wail. "Why did hedo it? Oh! why did he do it? Oh, Jimmy! you'll never look at me now!If only I could _hurt_ mamma!"

She bent over, weeping with bitter grief and anger. 

She was still sobbing and crying when, sometime later, Lord Jamesslipped hastily in from the cardroom. He closed the door swiftly andhurried toward the table, his eyes widening with his attempt to seeclearly in the half light of the library. 

"Tom, old man!" he called eagerly. "I'm now free to see you home. We'll slip out the side entrance--" He stopped short, perceiving thatthe big chair was empty, and that the figure in the chair across wasnot a man's. 

"Er--beg pardon!" he stammered. "I--er--expected to find my friendhere. Believe me, I would not have intruded--"

"So you d--don't consider me a friend!" retorted Dolores, vainlystriving to hide her grief under a scornful tone. 

"Miss Gantry!" he exclaimed. "Is it you?"

"It's not Vievie, that's certain. The sooner you run along and mindyour business, the better. "

"Miss Dolores, I--I really can't see why you hold such a dislike tome. I'll go immediately. I hadn't the remotest idea of intruding. You'll believe that? Only, y'know, I left Tom--Mr. Blake--in here. Icame to go home with him. He was quite knocked-up. He should not havecome to-night. "

"You knew it!--you knew it, and left him in here alone!"

"Why, what do you mean, Miss Dolores? You alarm me! I left him asleep--fancied he'd not be disturbed in here--that an hour or so of sleepwould freshen him up for the drive home. "

"So you left him--alone--for mamma and that despicable creature to dotheir worst!"

"Miss Dolores, I--I beg your pardon, but I quite fail to take you. Ifanything has happened to Tom--"

"Regrets! What's the good of them, when it's too late?"

"Too late? Surely you cannot mean that he--?"

"Yes, the worst, the very worst, --and that miserable, detestablecreature knew it when he offered him the wine. I believe he brought itin deliberately to tempt him. "

"Wine? He drank! How long ago? Where is he now? I must try to checkhim. "

"If only you could! But it's too late. He went off with Laffie. "

"Not too late! The craving has been checked once--I've seen it done. "

"But this time it's not the craving. "

"How's that?"

"It's because he was driven desperate. He took it deliberately--intentionally. "

"Impossible! Tom would never--"

"He would! He did! I saw him. But don't you blame him. She's the one. How could he know better, in his condition?--utterly tired out! Shedrove him to it, I tell you. "

"She--Genevieve? I assure you--"

"No, no! mamma, of course! She told him a pack of lies--took away allhis hope. She made him think that Vievie had never really loved him. "

"Impossible!--unless your mother herself believes it. "

"Oh, she believes it--or thinks she does. She's so anxious--soanxious!" The girl sprang up and stamped her foot. "Oh! I wish she andher meddling were in Hades!"

"My dear Miss Dolores!" protested Lord James, tugging nervously at hismustache. 

She whirled upon him in hysterical fury. "Don't you call me that!Don't you dare call me that! I won't have it! I won't! I'm not yourdear! I tell you--"

His look of blank astonishment checked her in the midst. 

"I--I--I didn't mean--" she gasped. "Oh! what must you think of me!"

She turned from him, her face scarlet with shame. But in the sameinstant she remembered Blake, and forgot herself in the disaster tohim. 

"How selfish of me, when he--Poor Mr. Blake! What can be done? We mustdo something--at once!"

"If anything can be done!" said Lord James in a hopeless tone. "Yousay he took it deliberately?"

"Yes. Can't you see? Mamma had stuffed him with a lot of rot aboutgratitude--about Vievie sacrificing herself to him on account ofgratitude. It's easy enough to guess mamma's little game. Oh! it'ssimply terrible! Of course he believed it, and of course he planned atonce to go away--that's the kind of man he is! He planned to go away--run off--so that Vievie couldn't sacrifice herself. "

"My word!"

"And just then Laffie Ashton came back with the wine. I believe he didit a-purpose--that he _wanted_ to get Mr. Blake intoxicated!"

"The unmitigated cad! Yet why should he? It seems impossible that anyman--"

"How should I know? He's vicious enough to do _anything_. But whatdoes that matter? It's Mr. Blake. Can't you see why he took it?He was getting himself out of the way. I didn't understand then whathe said--about the bad place being nearer than Alaska--but now I do. What he was determined to do was to get himself out of Vievie's wayfor good. The quickest that he could do it was to start drinking--goon a spree. "

"Gad!"

"And now you stand here like a dummy, when there's a way to save him. ""Yes, yes! I'll go after him!" He started alertly toward the door. 

She sprang before him, "No! What good would that do? You know he's seton saving Vievie. He'll not listen to you. "

"Gad! That's true. He's hard enough to handle, at best. With thisadded--Yet I cannot but make the effort. I'll phone Mr. Griffith. "

"Griffith? What's the use of wasting time? There's just one person whocan save him, and you know it. "

"No, unless Griffith--"

"Are you absolutely stupid? Can't you see? It's Vievie alone who--"

"Genevieve!"

"Now's the time for her to do something. She must prove her love. Thatalone can stop him. "

"If she does love him. "

"Can you doubt it?"

"She has doubted it. "

"She may think she does. But it's all due to mamma's knocking andsuggesting. Vievie loves him as much as he loves her. Needn't tell me!I know all about it. She made him fail--the time you took him up toMichamac. This time it's all mamma's fault. Vievie has got to savehim!"

"Most assuredly it is hopeless unless she--"

"That's no reason for you to stand here gawking! You've got to go andtell her. She wouldn't listen to me; but you're a man and his friend. You can make her see the injustice of it all. She's to blame as muchas mamma. This never would have happened if it hadn't been for hershillyshallying. "

Lord James paused before replying, his clear gray eyes dark with doubtand indecision. 

"My word!" he murmured. "Could I but feel certain--This secondfailure, in so short a time! There is _her_ future to be considered, as well. "

"Her future as Countess of Avondale!" scoffed the girl. 

"No, I assure you, no!" he insisted. "Can you believe I could be solow?--and at such a time as this! It was of the consequences to her aswell as to him--He has failed again. Can he ever win out, even shouldhe have her aid?"

"You claim to be his friend!"

"For his sake, no less than hers--Consider what it would mean to a manof his nature, unable to check himself in his downward course, yetconscious that it was wrecking her happiness, possibly her life. "

"It won't happen, not if she really loves him. You don't half knowhim. He could do anything--anything!--if she went to him and asked himto do it for her sake. "

"Could I but be sure of that!"

"_Pah!_ You pretend to be his friend. How long would you stand herefiddling and fussing, if you didn't want her yourself?"

"That--it is too much!" he said, his face pale and very quiet. "I hadventured to hope that I might overcome your dislike. Now I see that itis as well that you have refused to regard me other than as you have. "

"Why, what do you mean? I--I don't understand. "

"You have always been candid. Permit me to be the same. The truth isthat I had begun to wish Tom success--not alone because of myfriendship for him. But now I realize that his fight is hopeless. Ishall do my utmost to make your cousin happy. "

Dolores stared at him with dilating eyes. "Jimmy!" she whispered. "Itcan't be you mean that you--that you--?"

"Yes, " he answered. "Pardon me for saying anything about it. I shallnot bother you again. "

"Oh, thank you!" she scoffed. "So now you're going to stay quiet andwait for Vievie to fling herself into your arms when she hears aboutyour rival. "

The young Englishman flushed and as suddenly became white, yet hisvoice was as steady as it was low. "I shall do whatever she wishes, ifshe finds that she does not love him. "

"And that's all?" she jeered. "You'll calmly keep out of it while hecommits hara-kiri, and then you'll step into his shoes. "

"No. I shall go to her at once and ask her to save my friend--if sheloves him. "

"You will?"

"Yes. "

"You will!" cried the girl, her cheeks flushing and her black eyessparkling with delight--"You will! Oh, Jimmy!"

Even as the words left her lips, she became conscious of what she haddone, and her flush brightened into a vivid scarlet blush. She turnedand fled from him, panic-stricken. 

He stood dazed, unable at first to believe what her tone and look hadbetrayed to him. When, after some moments, his doubt gave way tocertainty, his face lighted with what might be termed joyousexasperation. 

"My word!" he murmured. "The little witch! I'll pay her out jolly wellfor it all!"

But his blissfully exultant vexation was no more than a flash thatdeepened the gloom with which he recalled the disaster to his friend. 

"Gad!" he reproached himself. "What am I thinking of--with her andTom--"

He turned quickly to the door of the cardroom. 

CHAPTER XXX

THE END OF DOUBT

When the Englishman entered the card-room, the last of the players tolinger at their table had risen and were taking their leave ofGenevieve. Her father and aunt were disputing over their last game. But at sight of the newcomer, Mrs. Gantry bowed and beckoned to him, instantly forgetful of her argument. 

"You are always in time, Earl, " she remarked. "We are just about toleave. May I ask if you have seen Dolores?"

"Not a moment ago. I daresay she has gone for her wraps. "

"Huh! Ran off from you, eh?" bantered Mr. Leslie. "She's a coltishkitten. Didn't scratch, did she?"

"She misses no opportunity for that, the hoyden!" put in Mrs. Gantry. "Ah, Earl, we are the last. " She rose and went to meet Genevieve, whowas coming to them from the farther door. "My dear girl, Icongratulate you! It has been a grand success!"

"Thank you, Aunt Amice, " replied Genevieve in rather a listless tone. "Must you be going?"

"Lord Avondale has just come in to let me know that it is time. "

"Er--beg pardon, " said Lord James. "I wish to speak with Miss Lesliebefore going. "

"Ah, in that case, " murmured Mrs. Gantry, with a gratified smile, "youare excused, of course! Herbert, you may see me out. "

Mr. Leslie looked from Lord James to his daughter doubtfully. But theEnglishman was fingering a pack of cards with seeming nonchalance, andGenevieve met her father's glance with a quiet smile. He shook hishead, and went out with Mrs. Gantry. 

As they left the room, Lord James faced Genevieve with a suddentensity that compelled her attention. 

"What is it?" she asked, half startled by his manner. "You said youwished to speak with me?"

"If you'll be so kind as to come into the library. It's a most seriousmatter. There'll be less chance of interruptions. "

She permitted him to lead her in to her former seat at the librarytable. He took the big chair across from her. 

"You look so grave, " she said. "Please tell me what it is. "

"Directly. Yet first I ask you to prepare yourself. Something hashappened--most unfortunate!"

She bent toward him, startled out of her fatigue and lassitude. "Youalarm me!"

"I cannot help it, " he replied. "Genevieve, matters have come to anunexpected crisis. There can be no more delay. I must ask you to makeyour decision now. Do you love Tom?"

You have no right to ask that. I did not give you the right. You saidyou would wait. "

"I am not asking for myself, " he insisted. "It is for him. He has theright to know. "

"The right? How?" she asked, with growing agitation. "I do notunderstand. You spoke of some misfortune. Has papa--?"

"Quite the contrary. Yet Tom is in a very bad way, and unless you--"

"Tom ill--ill?" she cried. "And I did not realize it! That I shouldhave been angered--should have left him--because I thought he was in arage--and all the time it was because of his suffering, his illness!It was despicable of me--selfish! Oh, Tom, Tom!"

She covered her face with her hands, and bent over, quivering withsilent grief and penitence. 

"You have answered me, " said Lord James, regarding her with gravesympathy. "You love him. "

She looked up at him, dry-eyed, her face drawn with anxiety. "Where ishe? Why aren't you with him? He has a doctor? He must have the best!"

"That rests with you, Genevieve, " he replied. "There is one personalone who can save him--if she loves him enough to try. "

The truth flashed upon her. She stared at him, her eyes dilating withhorror. "It is _that_ you mean! He has failed--again!"

He sought to ease her despair. "Believe me, it is not yet too late--Permit me to explain. "

"Explain?" she asked. "What is there to explain? He has failed!" Hervoice broke in a sob of uncontrollable grief. "I tried to forget, still hoping he was strong--that he would prove himself strong. How Ihave hoped and prayed--and now!"

She bent over, with her face on the table, in a vain effort to concealand repress her grief. 

Lord James leaned forward, eagerly insistent. "You must listen to me. He has not had fair play. Such a gallant fight as he was making! Ibelieve he would have won, I really believe he would have won, had itnot been for that woman. "

"What woman?" asked Genevieve, half lifting her head. 

"Pardon me, " he replied. "But your aunt--It was most uncalled for, most unfair. It seems she sought him out--to-night, of all times!--when he was pegged--completely knocked-up. You have seen thatyourself. This was after we deserted him. "

"Deserted? Yes, that is the word--deserted!"

"At the moment when he tasted the wine, quite unaware of what he wasdoing. We deserted him at the time when he had utmost need of us. Whatclearer proof of his great strength than that he fought off thetemptation?"

"Yet now you say--?"

"He fought it off then. He proved himself as strong as even you coulddesire. When I hastened in I found him still where I am sitting, butdoubled over, utterly spent--asleep, poor chap. His hand was bleeding. He had shattered your--he had crushed one of the glasses with hisfist. "

"Crushed a glass! But why?"

"To prevent himself from drinking what was in it. Can't you see? Thestruggle must have been frightful; yet he won. Had I but foreseen! Ifancied he would be undisturbed in here--would get a bit of refreshingsleep to pull him up. But your aunt came in. She took her opportunity--convinced him that you did not love him; that your feeling was onlygratitude. "

Genevieve bent over, with renewed despair. "And for that he gave upthe fight!"

"He fought and won when we left him, when we deserted him in his need. It was only after your aunt had convinced him that you did not--"

"He foresaw that he would lose!" she cried. "He foresaw! But I--Icould not believe it possible!"

"But you do not understand. It was not that he really lost. He did notgive way because of weakness. He did it deliberately--"

"Deliberately?" she gasped. Surprise gave place to an outflashing ofscorn. "Deliberately! Oh, that he could do such a thing--deliberately!"

"No, no! I must insist. To cut himself off from you, that was hispurpose. He thought to save you from sacrificing yourself. Howevermistaken he was, you must see how high a motive--how magnanimous washis intention. "

But the girl was on the verge of hysteria, and quite beyond reason. "You may believe it--I don't! I can't! He's weak--utterly weak!"

"Genevieve, no! There's still time to save him. A word from you, ifyou love him. "

"Love him!" she cried, almost beside herself. "How can I love him? Hedid it deliberately! I despise him!"

"You are vexed--angry. Pray calm yourself. I remember what you had tosay about him, there on the steamer, coming up from Aden. You lovedhim then. "

"But now--Oh, how could he? How could he?"

The Englishman failed to understand the real cause of her half-frenzied anger and despair--the thought that Blake had ruined himselfdeliberately. "But don't you see it was not weakness? He proved itwhen he shattered the glass. His hand was cut and bleeding. He hasproved that he can master that craving. I've sought to explain how itwas. It is not yet too late. A word from you would save him, a singleword!"

"No. It is too late. I can't see it as you do. It was weakness--weakness! I cannot believe otherwise. "

"Yet--if you love him?"

"James, it is generous of you--noble!--when you yourself--"

"That's quite out of it now. It's of him I am thinking, and of you. "

"Never of yourself!" she murmured. She looked down for a short moment. When she again raised her eyes, she had regained her usual quietcomposure. She spoke seriously and with a degree of formality: "LordAvondale, when you honored me with your offer, you asked me to waitbefore giving you a final answer. "

He was completely taken unawares. "I--I--To be sure. But I cannotpermit you--Your happiness is my first consideration. "

"It is that disregard of self, that generosity, which enables me tospeak. As I told you, I can now give you no more than the utmost of myesteem and affection. But if you are willing to take that as abeginning, perhaps, later on, I may be able to return your love as youdeserve. "

"But you--I do not know how to say it--In justice to yourself, no lessthan to him, you should make sure. "

"I have never been more sure, " she replied. "You have been mostgenerous and patient. It is not right or considerate for me to longerdelay my decision. "

"Er--very good of you, very!" he murmured, gazing down at hisinterlocked fingers. "Yet--if you would care to wait--to make sure, y'know. "

"But why should I wait? No, James, I am clear in what I am doing. Iknow that I can trust you absolutely. "

Lord James slowly raised his head and met her gaze, too intent uponrepressing the stress of his emotions to perceive the big fur-cladform that stood rigid in the doorway beyond Genevieve. 

"Miss Leslie, " he said, speaking in the same formal and serious tonethat she had used in giving her decision, "I am then to understandthat you accept my proposal--you will marry me?"

"Within the year, if you desire, " she responded, without any sign ofhesitancy. 

"It's very good of you!" he replied. "I shall devote myself to yourhappiness. "

If his voice lacked the joyful ring and his look the ardent delight ofa successful lover, she failed to heed it. He rose and bent over thetable with grave gallantry to kiss the hand that she held out to him. 

"'Gratulations!" said a harsh voice, seemingly almost in their ears. 

They looked up, startled. Blake stood close to them, at the end of thetable, with his soft hat in his half-raised left hand, and his shaggyfur coat hanging limp from his bowed shoulders. He stood with perfectsteadiness. Only in the fixed stare of his bloodshot eyes and thetwitching of the muscles in his gray-white face could they perceivethe mental stress and excitement under which he was laboring. 

"Tom!" stammered the Englishman. "You here!"

"Couldn't get Ashton started, " replied Blake. His voice was hoarse andrasping but not thick. Though he spoke slowly, his enunciation wasdistinct. "His man just carried him out. I've been waiting to slipout, unseen, this way. I ask you to excuse me. Long's I'm here, I'llmake the best of it I can. Congratulations to you! Best man wins!"

While he was speaking, Genevieve had drawn her hand out of theunconscious clasp of Lord James and slowly risen from her chair. Herface was as white as Blake's; her eyes were wide with fear and pityand horror. 

"You!--how could you do it?" she gasped. "When I had given you thesecond chance--to fail again!" The sight of his powerful jaw, clenchedand resolute, stung her into an outburst of angry scorn. "Fail, fail!always fail! yet with that look of strength! To come here with thatlook, after failing again so utterly, miserably--in my house! Youcoward!"

"That's it, " assented Blake in a dead monotone. "Only pity is youcouldn't see it sooner. But you know me now. Ought to 've known mefrom the first. I didn't get drunk there in Mozambique 'cause I hadn'tthe stuff. You might have known that. But now it's settled. I'veproved myself a brute and a fizzle--been proving it ever since Ashtongot a bottle and showed me into a little room. We've been guzzlingwhiskey in there ever since. His man took him out dead drunk. So farI'm only--"

"Tom!" broke in Lord James. "No more of that! Tell the truth--tell herwhy you did it!"

"Tell her--when she's guessed already. But if you say so, Jimmy--It'sthe first time I ever owned up I'm a quitter. Great joke that, whenall my life I haven't been anything else, --hobo, fizzle, quitter, bum--"

"Gad! Not that drivel! If you can't explain to her, then keep silent. "

"No, I don't keep silent till I've had my say, " rejoined Blakemorosely. "Needn't think I don't know just what I'm saying and whatI'm doing. " His voice harshened and broke with a despair that was allthe more terrible for the deadness of his tone. "God! That's why thewhiskey won't work. I've poured it down like water, but it's no use--it won't work! I can't forget I've lost out!"

Genevieve leaned toward him, half frenzied, her face crimson and hergentle eyes ablaze with scorn. "And you--you!--claiming to be sober--come in here and say that to me!--that you've deliberately sought tointoxicate yourself in my house--in my house! You haven't even thedecency to go away to do it! You must flaunt your shame in my face!"

"I told you I meant to slip out unseen, " he mumbled, for the momentweakening in his determination to vilify himself. "Didn't think you'dgive me the gaff--when it was all for you. "

"For me!" she cried, in a storm of hysteria--"for me! Oh! To destroyall my love for you--my trust in the courage, the strength, theheroism I thought was yours! Oh! And to prove yourself a brute, a merebrute!--here in my own house!--my guest! Oh! oh! I hate you! I hateyou!"

She flung herself, gasping and quivering, into her chair, in adesperate effort to regain self-control. 

Blake bent over her and murmured with profound tenderness: "There, there, little girl! Don't take on so! I ought to 've cleared out rightat first--that's a fact. But I didn't mean to bother you. Justblundered in. But I'm glad to know you've found out the truth. Long'syou know for sure that you hate me, 't won't take you long to feelright toward him. He's all I'm not. Mighty glad you're going to behappy. Good-bye!"

Genevieve had become very still. But she neither looked up at him norspoke when he stopped. He turned steadily about and started toward thedoor of the cardroom. Lord James thrust back the heavy chair andsprang to place himself before his friend. 

"Wait, Tom!" he demanded. "Can't you see? She's overcome. Good God!You can't go off this way! You must wait and tell her the truth--howit happened--why you did it!"

Blake looked at him quietly and spoke in a tone of gentle warning, asone speaks to a young child: "Now, now, Jimmy boy, get out of my way. Don't pester me. Just think how easily I could smash you--and I'm notso far from it. Stand clear, now. "

"No! In justice to yourself--to her!"

"That's all settled. Let me by. "

He stepped to one side, but Lord James again interfered. "No, Tom, nottill you've told her! You shall not go!"

The Englishman stood resolute. Blake shook his head slowly, and spokein a tone of keen regret: "Sorry, Jimmy; but if you _will_ have it!"

His bandaged right fist drove out and struck squarely on the point ofhis friend's jaw. His nerves of sensation were so blunted by theliquor he had drunk that he struck far harder than he intended. LordJames dropped without a groan, and lay stunned. Blake stared down athim, and then slowly swung around to look at Genevieve. 

She had risen and stood with her hands clutching the edge of thetable. Her face was distorted with horror and loathing. 

"You coward!--you murderer!" she gasped. 

"Yes, that's it, " he assented--"brute, drunkard, coward, murderer--allgo together. You're right to hate me! But you can't hate me half asmuch as I hate myself. That's hell all right--to hate yourself. "

Suddenly he flung out his arms toward her and his voice softened topassionate tenderness. "God! but it's worth the price!--to save you, Jenny! I'd do it all over again, a thousand times, to make you happy, little girl!"

She shrank back and flung up her arm in a gesture of bewilderment, which he mistook for fear. 

"Don't be afraid, " he reassured. "I'm going. "

He turned hastily, stooped to feel the heart of the unconscious man, and rose to swing across to the cardroom door. He passed out swiftlyand closed the door behind him, without pausing for a backward glance. 

Genevieve stared after him, dazed and bewildered by her halfrealization of the truth. The door had closed between them--whatseemed to her an age had passed--when the full realization of what hehad done flashed in upon her clouded brain like a ray of glaring whitelight. 

She flung out her arms and cried entreatingly: "Tom! Tom--dearest!"

She tried to dart around the table, but swayed and tottered, barelysaving herself from the fall by sinking into a chair. The heavy, muffled clang of the street door came to her as from a vast distance. The merciful darkness closed over her. 

CHAPTER XXXI

A BRIDGE GAME

The cold snap at Michamac had been broken for nearly a month, and workon the bridge was progressing with unprecedented rapidity. 

Two days after the ball, Ashton had returned to the bridge sobered andchastened. The change in him may have been due to another cut in hisallowance, or to a peppery interview during which Mr. Leslie hadsought to browbeat him into resigning his position. 

Whatever the cause of his change of heart, Ashton had so far provedhimself almost feverishly eager to establish a record. Griffith, badlyshaken by the failure and disappearance of Blake, had beenperemptorily ordered South by his physician. Seizing the opportunity, Ashton, instead of interfering with the work, as McGraw expected, hadastonished the phlegmatic general foreman by pushing operations withutmost zeal and energy. 

More mechanics and laborers had been hired, and the augmented forcedivided into three eight-hour shifts. All day, in sun or fog or snow, and all night, under the bluish glare of the arc-lights, the expertbridgemen toiled away upon the gaunt skeleton of the gigantic bridge, far out and above the abyss of the strait. Not a moment of the twenty-four hours was lost. 

But the Resident Engineer's brief spurt of energy had already notablyrelaxed, when, one sunny day near the end of March, a man not a memberof the train crew nor a regular passenger came in on the afternoontrain. As he emerged from under a coal car, one of the switchmenstared at him blankly, swore a few lurid oaths, and laughed. 

The brake-rider had paid for his ride, though not in money. He limpedas he walked off, and the gray pallor of his unshaven face wasgrotesquely shaded and blotched with coal dust. His shoddy clotheswere torn and mud-stained, his soft hat begrimed and shapeless, hischeap shoes too far gone for repair. Yet for all his shiftlessfootwear and his limp, his stride was long and quick. 

A watchman caught sight of him, and hurried after, to warn him off thegrounds. The hobo disappeared behind a pile of girders. When thewatchman turned the corner, his quarry had disappeared. He shook hishead doubtfully at the bridge-service train, which was backing outalong the track before him with a load of eyebars and girders. Therewas reason to believe that the hobo had boarded it; but if so, it wasunder too speedy headway for the rheumatic watchman to follow. 

His suspicions were well founded. As the train clattered past theunlovely buildings of rough lumber and sheet iron clustered about thebridge terminus, the stranger clambered up between two of the swayingcars and perched himself upon the wheel-like top of the handbrake. Seated thus, with feet dangling and hands thrust carelessly into thepockets of his disreputable coat, he gazed intently about at thebridge, regardless of the bitter sting of the lake wind. 

The train rattled out across the shore span and along the anchor armof the south cantilever. The brake-rider scrutinized the immense websand lofty towers with the look of a father greeting his first-born. The train rolled on out between the towers and beyond, where swarms ofcarpenters and laborers were laying beams and stringers and floorplanking and piling up immense stacks of material to be used fartherout. The finishing gangs were following up the steel workers as fastas they could be pushed. 

Beyond them, out near the end of the extension-arm, the electro-magnetic cranes of the huge main traveller were sorting and shiftingforward a great heap of structural steel. The material thus handledcame within the reach of the smaller traveller, which crouched uponthe top-chords like a skeleton spider, swinging out the steel aswanted to the end of the unfinished suspension span. 

At sight of the great heaps of structural steel and flooring materialand of the ponderous main traveller so far out toward the end of theoverhang, the glow in the sunken eyes of the brake-rider died out, andhis grimy brows gathered in a troubled frown. 

The airbrakes hissed, the cars bumped and clanked, and the train cameto a laborious stop with the outermost cars beneath the lofty latticedframework of the main traveller. At once the electro-magnetic cranesbegan to descend, ready to swing off whole carloads of steel in theirmagic monstrous clutch. 

The brake-rider had slipped down and was walking rapidly outward alongthe narrow plank footway. As he advanced he looked about him with ananxious gaze, but it was at the unfloored substructure of the bridge, not at the awesome spectacle of the swift-flowing, ice-covered streama hundred and fifty feet beneath. Once he paused and stooped over tolook closer at a rivet head. 

He hurried on to where, under the smaller traveller, the uncompletedsouth part of the central, or suspension, span poised dizzily inspace, over-arching the abyss. Many yards of gap still yawned betweenits tip and the tip of the sections that strained out to meet it fromthe end of the north cantilever. 

The sections built on to the southern part of the central span hadbrought the overhang still more dizzily out over the broad strait. Thewonder was that men could be found who were willing to work day afterday in a position of such real peril. Yet since Ashton's change ofattitude, McGraw had experienced no difficulty in securing and holdingenough and to spare of expert bridge-workers, who toiled and sweat attheir task with seemingly never a thought of the abyss that yawnedbeneath them. 

When the brake-rider left the train, the men of the evening shift, just come on, were swarming about the end of the overhang like antsupon the tip of a broken twig, --alert-eyed, quick-handed, cool-brained"Sons of Martha, " who, balanced unconcernedly in mid-air on narrowstringers, clenched fast the rivets in Death's steel harness. Duringthe lulls between the furiously rattling volley-blows of the electricriveting-machines they grumbled about the deterioration of smokingtobacco or speculated on next season's baseball scores. 

With his beefy shoulders braced against the last top-chord post, McGraw stood chewing the end of a fat black cigar while he watched theplacing of a bottom-chord of a new sub-panel. From the ox-likeunconcern of his stolid face and deepset eyes, his interest in theproceedings seemed to be of the most casual nature. But at theslightest gesture of his pudgy hand, cranes swung up and down, menhauled upon guy ropes, riveters moved alertly forward with theirmachines. 

One of the men caught McGraw's eye, and jerked a thumb over hisshoulder. The general foreman looked about and saw the grimy strangerstanding on the plank walk a few yards back. McGraw stared, ruminated, signed to a sub-foreman, and walked stolidly back along a string ofsingle planks to where the stranger stood waiting for him. 

The soft hat of the brake-rider was now pulled down over his eyes, andhis chin was hidden in the upturned collar of his tattered coat. AsMcGraw approached him, he drew back out of the deafening clatter ofthe riveting-machines. McGraw followed, his heavy face of a suddengrown truculent. He came up close to the stranger. 

"You dirty bum!" he threatened. "What you doin' here? Get t' hellouter here, or I'll trow you over!"

The stranger pushed back his hat, and met the other's menacing starewith a grin. His pale blue eyes were twinkling. McGraw's heavy jowlfell slack. 

"Well, McGraw--thought you wouldn't forget me this soon. What's thelatest from Mr. Griffith?"

"Jacksonville--Holy saints! you've sure been lushin' some, Mr. Blake. "

"Looks like it; but as it happens I haven't. Tried to turn loose, butgot switched. Instead of a spree, I've been on a bum--tour of theSunny South. "

"Bum?" repeated McGraw. 

"Yes. Needed a change. Too much indoors work; so I got out. "

"_Uh?_" mumbled McGraw in slow astonishment. "No booze?"

"No. That's the funny part of it. Didn't touch a drop of anything. Iused to be afraid of it when I wasn't on a tear, but now I don't eventhink of it. Seems as if I couldn't get up a thirst if I tried. Can'tmake it out. "

"Sick, " commented McGraw. 

"No. I'm eating like a horse, and getting my strength back, hand overfist. "

"In your head, " qualified McGraw, touching his forehead. 

"Guess that's it. Must be. Never before opened the throttle and cutloose, to come to a dead stop this way. It's as if you got up a fullhead of steam, and then drew the fire. Mighty queer, though, --my headis as clear as crystal. "

"Huh, " grunted McGraw ambiguously. "Come to take your job--assistant?"

Blake's face darkened. "No, just dropped by on my way to Canada. Thought I'd have a look at my--" he paused, and altered his statement--"that I'd see how your old scrap-heap is getting along. "

"Huh. "

"But, long as I'm here, guess I'll take hold for a turn or two, justto keep my hand in. "

"Good! Need an engineer. "

"I might as well earn enough for railroad fare. This brake-beaming andriding the rods isn't as soft a snap as it used to seem when I was akid. "

"Soft? Y'look like a second-hand garbage-can!"

"Thanks. Where's your resident swell?"

"Quarters. Hit up the pace--work--been goin' some. " McGraw swept hisfat arm around in an explanatory gesture. "Laid down a'ready. "

"All right. I'm on the job. But I've got to get some sleep soon. Andsay, just pick out a spry kid to steer me up against the wash-house, will you?"

McGraw signed to the nearest man. "Pete--Mr. Blake, our 'SistantEngineer--t' my room. " He turned to Blake. "Help y'self. Safety razor'n' tub handy. Clothes in locker. You c'n wear 'em over to commissary. Guess you c'n git into 'em. "

He nodded, unaware that he had said anything humorous, and pivotedaround to return to his work. Blake limped briskly away after thepuzzled but silent Pete. At the bunkhouse Pete showed his charge intoMcGraw's room, and went to order hot water for a bath. 

When he returned, Blake, with half the stubble already shorn from hislathered face, handed over a telegraph message addressed to Griffith. 

Eager to be of service to the Consulting Engineer, the man hurried themessage to the telegraph operator. The latter, no less friendly toGriffith, corrected the address to the sick engineer's hotel in Tampa, and wired the despatch "rush. "

The message could hardly have been more laconic:

On the job. Tom. 

When Pete returned for further orders, he met the Assistant Engineerat the door of the commissary, baggily draped in a suit of McGraw'sclothes, which fitted nowhere except across the shoulders. 

Blake dismissed him, and went in to outfit himself with a costume inkeeping with his position. Almost asleep, he then went back to thebunkhouse, stumbling and yawning, and stretched out in McGraw's bed, utterly fagged. 

CHAPTER XXXII

LAFFIE PLAYS--BLAKE TRUMPS

After an evening at poker with one of the new bridge-workers, Ashtonhad retired at midnight. He had not heard of Blake's coming, forMcGraw had presumed that the Assistant Engineer had reported to theoffice before turning in to sleep. 

When he awoke, the sun was half way up the eastern sky. He yawned, glanced at the sun, and rang for his breakfast. It was presentlybrought in to him by his English valet, who, like the chef, was notunused to the city social hours of his employer. Ashton did nottrouble to go into his elegant little dining-room, but ordered themeal served at his bedside. 

Sometime later, Blake, over in the bunkhouse, opened his eyes, yawned, and sprang out into the middle of McGraw's unaesthetic room. He hadslept eighteen hours without a break. He awoke still stiff and sore, but brimming over with energy, and hungry as a shark. He gave himselfa cold rubdown, jumped into his new clothes, and ran to the cookhousefor a hearty meal. 

When he came out again, he headed straight across the tracks for theoffice of the Resident Engineer. He smiled ironically as he noted thegreen and white paint and the trimmings of the verandahs with whichAshton had endeavored to give a bungalow effect to the shack-likestructure. But as he swung up the steps into the front verandah, thegrimness of his look increased and the humor vanished. His heavy treadthrough the weather vestibule announced his entrance into the office. He took no pains to walk softly. 

Ashton, attired in a lounging-robe of scarlet silk, was half recliningin an easy chair. The big desk beside him was littered withengineering journals, reports, and blueprints of bridge plans, toppedwith detail drawings in ink of the long central span. The ResidentEngineer was not studying the plans. He was reading a French novel ofthe variety seldom translated. 

At Blake's entrance, he looked up, his delicate high-arched eyebrowsgathered in a frown of annoyance. Almost in the same moment herecognized the intruder, and started to his feet in open alarm. 

"How!--why!" he stammered. "You here? I thought you--that after--"

"Too bad, eh?" bantered Blake. "But you mustn't blame yourself. Youdid your best. But accidents will happen. "

"Then you're--you're not--Yet you look--"

"Appearances often deceive, " quoted Blake lightly. "You gave me agreat start-off--had me going South. So I went. "

"Going South?"

"Yes. But that's all by-the-bye, as my friend, the Right Honorable theEarl of Avondale, would say. I'm here now for you to enter myacceptance of the standing offer of the Assistant Engineership. "

"You--you agree to take it--under me?" cried Ashton in astonishment. 

"Why not?" asked Blake with well-feigned surprise. 

"Why, of course if--You see, it's--it's rather unexpected, " Ashtonsought to explain as he regained assurance. "Old Griffith wrote meabout the way you had put through the Zariba Dam. After that I neverdreamed you'd accept any position as Assistant. "

"Well, I like to please Grif, " was Blake's easy reply. "He's beenworrying because office work uses me up. Nothing suits me better thanan outdoor job, and I happened to take a fancy to your bridge theother time I came. It's a good deal like those plans of mine that gotmislaid. Of course you can't know that. "

"No, of course not!" assented Ashton, moistening his lower lip. 

"Course not, " repeated Blake. "So I can't blame you if you find ithard to believe that my plans would have been accepted before you drewyours if they hadn't been mislaid. "

"Then you--no longer accuse Mr. Leslie of--having taken them?" Ashtonventured to ask. 

"Couldn't prove it on him, could I? No use _baa-ing_ over spiltmilk. Well, you understand I'm on the job now; I've accepted theoffer. "

"Ye-es, " reluctantly admitted Ashton. "Not that I see the use. There'sno need for another engineer. "

"That's no lie. One engineer is enough, " said Blake dryly. "You sureproved yourself one when you planned this little old cantilever. However, I'm short of cash. I'll hang around and do what I can. May beable to save you bother by carrying orders out to McGraw or checkingover reports for you. "

He picked up the vellum-cloth drawings of the central span and some ofthe blueprints, and began in a matter-of-fact manner to roll them up. 

"Hold on!" sharply interposed Ashton. "What are you about?"

"I'm going to bunk with McGraw. Thought I'd take these over and try toget in touch with the work. "

"No, you sha'n't! I can't allow you to take those. They're theoriginal drawings. They must not be taken out of my office. "

"Original drawings?" repeated Blake in a tone of perfect innocence. "Excuse me. I took them for copies. "

"C-copies!" stuttered Ashton, turning white even to his lips. 

"Yes. Hasn't Grif the originals?" asked Blake in a careless tone thatwas barely touched with surprise. 

Ashton rallied from his fright. "No, you're mistaken, completelymistaken! These are the originals. I drew them myself. I couldn'ttrust to a draughtsman. "

"Sure not, such important work as this span of yours. Grif tells methere's never before been anything built like this suspension span, "agreed Blake, bending over to study the drawings. "But you'll admitsome of these figures are rather slipshod for work on originaldrawings put in to win a competition. "

"But I--I didn't compete. The idea came to me too late for that. Itried my utmost to be in time for the contest. I was working fast toget my plans drawn. That's why I made some errors--which you may havenoticed. "

Blake looked up with an ironical smile. 

Ashton moistened his lips, hesitated, and asked in an uneasy tone:"About--about how long do you expect to stay? I suppose you will stay, won't you?"

"Well, three or four days, maybe. As you probably know, Grif screwedthe company up to offer me a stiff salary--on the strength of thatZariba work, I suppose. I didn't intend to take the offer at all, butmy clothes were--they got rather out of repair on my Southern tour, and I came on up here without stopping at my tailor's. Happened toleave my checkbook, too, and it's a long walk to town. "

"Oh, if it's only that you're strapped, " Ashton hastened to reply;"I'll be pleased to draw you a check--little loan, you know--anythingfrom a hundred to a thousand. No hurry about paying it back. I'mflush. "

"You're too kind!" said Blake dryly. 

"It's nothing--nothing--a mere trifle!" assured Ashton, with a touchof condescension. "You know I'll have scads of money to burn someday. " He opened a drawer of his desk and took out a checkbook. "I knowyou can't be anxious to hang around a dreary hole like this. Suppose Imake it five thousand? You can keep the money as long as you wish. There's just time for you to catch the extra train we're sending downto the junction for more steel. "

"Thanks. But I need a good rest, " said Blake. 

"I'll think it over, and let you know. Maybe I'll decide to loafaround with you a few days and save borrowing. "

"Oh, well, if you can stand this jumping-off place, " replied Ashton, visibly disappointed. 

He glanced down into the open drawer, and his eyes narrowed with alook of furtive eagerness that did not escape Blake. In a corner ofthe drawer was a squat black bottle and a tumbler. Ashton lifted themout and poured a half-glassful of whiskey that was thick and oily withage. 

"The real stuff!" he said, holding out the tumbler to Blake. "Olderthan your grandmother. Let's wet your welcome to Michamac!"

"Here's how!" replied Blake, with a geniality of tone and manner thatdiverted the other's attention from the glint in his eyes. He took theglass and deliberately twisted his hand backward so that the whiskeypoured out on the bare floor in front of the desk. 

"Look out! You're spilling it!" exclaimed Ashton. 

"No, just pouring it, " explained Blake. "German custom. Next timeyou're in a beer-garden do it, and they'll let you know what itmeans. "

"Means?" echoed Ashton. 

"In this case, it means I never drink when I'm on a job. One of myrules. Told you I had accepted that standing offer, didn't I?"

"Yes. But I didn't know that you--"

"Well, you know now. I'm on this job. "

Ashton shot a covert glance at his square-jawed opponent. 

"Then it's a mistake--the report that you refused to accept anyposition from Mr. Leslie, " he murmured. 

"Mistake? No, " curtly answered Blake. "Needn't try to fool me. Mr. Leslie turned the bridge over to the Coville Company months ago. "

"Fool you?" sneered Ashton. "You're too easy! The Coville Company isonly another name for Papa Leslie. "

"Look here, " warned Blake. "You're apt to learn soon that some liesaren't healthy. "

"It's the truth, " replied Ashton, giving back a little, but insistenton the facts. "It's a way he avoids responsibility. But he ownsninety-nine per cent of the stock. Griffith must have told you that. He knows all about it. "

This obstinate insistence, despite the young fellow's evident fear, convinced Blake. He half raised his clenched fist. 

"And I fell to it!" he muttered. "Let him bunco me into puttingthrough that dam for him! Scheme to make me take his money!"

"You as good as put half a million into his pocket, " jeered Ashton. 

"What do I care about that?" rejoined Blake. 

"It's that fifty thousand bonus. He'll be trying to force it on me. "

Ashton thought he had misunderstood. "Don't fear he'll not pay up. He's good pay when you have it in black and white. There's still timeto catch the train. You'll find your check waiting you at the officesof the company. "

Blake did not reply. One of the dimensional figures on a blueprint ofthe south cantilever had caught his glance, and he had bent over topeer at it. A sudden stillness seemed to have fallen upon him. 

After a perceptible pause, he asked in a tone that was very low andquiet and deliberate: "Would you mind telling me if this blueprint wasmade direct from your originals--from the original drawings used inordering the structural steel?"

"Yes, of course, " answered Ashton. "Why?"

"You are sure?"

"I'm certain. You don't think I'd let any one with a pen fool aroundmy drawings, do you?"

"Lord, no! Might correct your damn errors!" cried Blake, all his stonycalm fluxing to lava before an outflare of volcanic excitement. "Youfool!--Lord! Wasting time! Sit down--scratch off an order. Thatcantilever must be relieved P. D. Q. --every ounce skinned off it!"

"What--what's that?" asked Ashton, staring blankly. He had neverbefore seen Blake agitated. 

"You fool!" shouted Blake. "You've got that outer arm loaded down withmaterial 'way beyond the margin of safety. You damned fool, you madean error here in the figures--over the bottom-chords and posts. They'll hold anything, once the suspension span is completed, but now!Lord! McGraw is a mule--he'll insist on a written order. Weatherreport says wind. And another train loading to run out on theoverhang, when we ought to be hauling steel off!"

"Oh, we ought, ought we?" blustered Ashton, venturing bravado in viewof Blake's agitation. "Who d' you think is running this bridge, youbarrel-house bum? I'll give you to understand I'm the engineer incharge here. You're my Assistant--my Assistant! D'you hear?"

"Yes, yes!" urged Blake. "Only scratch off an order! There's no timeto lose! I'll do the work. For God's sake, hurry! You've a hundred menout there on that deadfall--a million dollars' worth of steel-work!Those bottom-chords may buckle any second!"

From eager pleading, Blake burst out in an angry roar: "Damn you! Getbusy! Write that order!"

Seized with desperate fear of the big form that leaned menacinglytoward him over the desk, Ashton snatched an automatic pistol from thetop drawer, and thrust it out toward Blake. 

"Stand back! Stand back! Keep away!" he cried shrilly. 

Blake hastily stepped back. It was not the first time he had seen apanic-stricken fool with a pistol. The quick retreat instantlyrestored Ashton's assurance. He rebounded from fear to contempt. 

"You big bluff!" he jeered. "Good thing you hopped lively. I'll showyou! Thought I wasn't armed, did you?"

"You doughhead!" rejoined Blake. "Can't you understand? I tell youthat bridge--"

"_Bah!_ You knocker! I see your game. You know now that it's PapaLeslie's job; you want to get in charge--knock out my work--spoil therecord I'm making. That's it! You think you'll get my place, and tryto smooth things up with Genevieve. "

"Shut up!" commanded Blake, raising his fist. 

Ashton hastily sighted the pistol, which he had half lowered. "You--you--don't you threaten me! I'll shoot!" As Blake made no attempt toattack, he went on viciously: "You'd better not! I'll show you! I'mthe boss here--get out of here! You're fired! Get out; keep off mybridge; leave the grounds, or I'll have you kicked off!"

"You fool!" said Blake. He swung around and started off with sterndetermination. But within three strides he faced about again. "Youdotty fool! I had intended to let you down easy. "

He came back toward the desk, grim-faced and very quiet. Ashton waspuzzled and disconcerted by this sudden change of front. The pistolwavered in his trembling hand. 

"Keep away! Don't you touch me! Don't you come near me!" he halfwhimpered. 

Blake advanced to the opposite side of the desk, and spoke in a toneof cool raillery: "You're rattled. Better put up that gun. It might gooff. "

"It will in half a second!" snapped Ashton. 

Blake leaned forward and transfixed him with a stare of cold contempt. 

"You thief!" he said. "Your game is up. You sneak thief!"

Ashton lowered his pistol and cowered as though Blake had struck him. "No, no! I'm not--I'm not! You haven't any proof--you can't prove it!"

"Proof?" growled Blake. "When I've known it ever since I came upbefore--knew it the first look. My bridge from shoe to peak--everygirder, every rivet--and my truss! Not another bridge in the world hasthat truss. You dirty sneak thief!--_Huh!_ you would, would you?"

Ashton had sought to raise and aim the pistol. This time Blake did notstep back. Instead, he flung himself forward, and his hand closed inan iron grip on the wrist of the hand that held the pistol. The weaponfell from the paralyzed fingers. 

Ashton made a frantic clutch with his left hand to regain the pistol, but he was jerked violently forward, up and over the desk. As hefloundered across in a flurry of rustling, tearing maps and papers, heswore in shrill anger. Blake's left hand gripped his throat, His angergave place to terror. He sought to scream, but the fingers tightenedand throttled him. He was dragged across and down upon the floor, choking and gurgling. Blake bent lower. 

"Lie still!" he ordered. "I'm going to let go your throat. If yousquawk, I'll break your neck!"

He removed his grip alike of wrist and throat, and Ashton, gasping andpanting, felt gingerly of his throat with his soft fingers. He couldnot see the dark marks left by Blake's terrible clutch, but he couldfeel the bruises. He glared up, terror-stricken, into the pale hardeyes that blazed down into his own with a light like that of moltensteel. 

"You--you'll not--not murder me!" he panted. 

"I'll break your neck if you don't keep quiet and mind, " menacedBlake. He sprang erect. "Get up to your desk--quick!"

Ashton needed no urging. As lie scrambled around to the chair, Blakepicked up the automatic pistol and tested its mechanism with expertswiftness. 

"Don't! Don't!" implored Ashton, dodging down. 

"_Bah!_ Take that pen--write!" commanded Blake. Ashton clutchedat his pen and an order pad. "Steady, you fool! Now write, _'Bridgein danger. Strip bare. Blake in charge. '_" Ashton scribbled withfrantic swiftness. "Got that? Sign your name in full as ResidentEngineer. "

The moment Ashton obeyed, Blake reached over and snatched up the orderpad and an indelible pencil. In his other hand he thrust out thepistol to press its muzzle against Ashton's temple. 

"Oh!--oh!--don't!" whimpered the coward. 

"You skunk!" growled Blake. "Keep your mouth shut, or I'll smash youlike a rattlesnake. I'm going to save my bridge. Don't get in my way!"He pointed with the pistol toward the rear door of the room. "What'sin there?"

"My--my quarters. "

"Get in there! Stay in! No yawping!" The terse orders ended in a flashof grim humor. "You're sick. Mind you don't get worse. "

Ashton was already slinking into his apartment. 

There was a rumble of freight cars outside. Blake spun about on hisheel and rushed out through the vestibule. 

CHAPTER XXXIII

ABOVE THE ABYSS

A train loaded with steel was backing out to the bridge. Blake randown the track to the engine and swung up into the cab. 

"Stop her!" he shouted. 

The engine-driver was among the men who had been introduced to Blakeon his visit with Griffith. He recognized the engineer at the firstglance. 

"Hello, Mr. Blake!" he sang out. "You here?"

"Brakes!" cut in Blake so incisively that the driver closed histhrottle and applied the airbrakes with emergency swiftness. Anticipating his questions, Blake tersely explained: "Bridge indanger. I'm in charge. Have you a lot of empties handy?"

"How?--bridge?" queried the fireman, peering around at the stranger. 

"Dozen empties--" began the driver. 

"Good!" said Blake. "Clear these cars and--"

"What's this?" demanded the yardmaster, who had run up at the suddenstoppage of the train. "Back on out, Jones. There's the coal toswitch. "

"Damn your coal!" swore Blake. "Get a big string of empties out thebridge, quick as you can!"

"Who the hell are you?" blustered the yardmaster. 

"Engineer in charge, " answered Blake, holding out Ashton's order. "Bridge in danger--error in plans--overloaded--and weather report sayswind! Jones, toot up your whistle--fire-call--anything! I want everyman of every shift out here in two shakes. "

Without waiting for orders from the yardmaster, Jones signed to hisfireman, reversed, and threw open his throttle. The fireman clutchedthe whistle-cord and began jerking out a succession of wild shrieksand toots. As the train started away from the bridge, Blake swung tothe ground to meet the excited men who came running from alldirections. 

He held Ashton's order close under the nose of the yardmaster, andshouted above the din of the engine whistle: "See that? She'll go whenthe wind rises. Hustle out those empties, with every man you have. "

Impelled by the engineer's look, the yardmaster sprang about andsprinted alongside the train, waving signals to his switch crew. Blakeno less swiftly sprang into the midst of the mob of off-shift menstreaming from the bunkhouse. 

"I'm Blake--engineer in charge--from Griffith!" he shouted. "Bridgeoverloaded--will go down when wind rises. We've got to clear her. Shemay go down when the empties back out. Any yellow cur that wants toquit can call for his pay-check. I'm going out. Come on, boys!"

He started along the service-track at a quick jog-trot. The men, without a single exception, followed him in a mass, jostling eachother for the lead. Near the outer end of the approach span they metthe morning shift of carpenters and laborers, who were hurryingshoreward in response to the wild alarm of the engine whistle. Blakewaved them about. 

"Bridge in danger!" he shouted. "Volunteers to clear material. "

Few of the carpenters and none of the chattering Slovaks and Italianscaught anything except the word "danger. " But zeal and fearlessnessare sometimes as contagious as fear. A half-dozen or so drew aside toslink on shoreward. All the others joined the silent eager crowdbehind Blake. Before they had gone a hundred feet every man in thecrowd knew that at any moment the huge cantilever might crash downwith them to certain destruction in the chasm, yet not one turnedback. 

A short distance beyond the cantilever towers they came to theforemost of the on-shift steel workers, who had halted in theirshoreward run when they saw that the outcoming party showed no sign ofhalting. But those in their rear and McGraw, who had been left behindfarthest of all in the race, were still moving forward. 

Blake waved his pad to McGraw and called out to him over the heads ofthe others: "Here's my order! I'm in charge. Take every man you canhandle, and work the main traveller to the towers. Hustle!"

"Your order!" wheezed McGraw stubbornly. 

Blake was already close upon him. He had dealt before with men ofMcGraw's character. He tore off Ashton's order, thrust it into theother's pudgy hand, and paused to scribble an order to hold the trainon the shore span. 

On occasion McGraw could be nimble both in mind and body. The momenthe had read Ashton's order, he wheeled about to rush back the way hehad come, and let out a bull-like bellow: "Hi, youse! clear f'rtrav'ller! Out-shift, follow me!"

The steel workers who had been on shift raced after and past him tothe main traveller. He followed at a surprisingly rapid pace, bellowing his instructions. Blake, holding back in the lead of his farlarger party from the shore, began to issue terse orders to the gangsof carpenters and laborers. They strung along the extension arm, outward from the point where the floor-system was completed. BeforeBlake could pass on ahead, tons of beams and stringers, iron fittingsand kegs of bolts and nails began to rain down into the abyss. 

Having detailed half of the two shore shifts of steel workers to clearthe way for the inrolling of the huge traveller, Blake took the otherhalf out with him to the extreme end of the overhang. As soon as themain traveller began its slow movement shoreward, he ordered thesmaller traveller run back several yards, in readiness to load theheavier pieces of structural steel. 

All his own men being now engaged in the most effectual manner, heturned about to quiet McGraw, who, for once shaken out of hisphlegmatic calm, had been reduced to a state of apoplectic rage by theinability of his men to perform miracles. Blake's cool manner andterse directions almost redoubled the efficiency of the workers. Themain traveller began to creep toward the towers with relativerapidity. 

Blake walked ahead of it, to steady and encourage the gangs thattoiled and sweat in the frosty sweep of the rising wind. He came backagain to the overhang and stood for a few moments gazing across at theoutstretched tip of the north cantilever. 

Suddenly his face lightened. He glanced over his shoulder at the loftytowers behind him, nodded decisively, and hastened back to whereMcGraw, once more his usual stolid taciturn self, was extracting everyounce of working energy out of the men who swarmed about the maintraveller. 

"Goin' some!" he grunted, as Blake tapped his arm. 

"Stop her fifty feet this side towers, " ordered Blake. "How manycentral-span sections have you stacked up out here?"

"All 'cept four north-side 'uns. Last come this mornin'. In yardsyet. "

"How long'll it take us to rig a cable tram from the traveller acrossto the north 'lever?"

"Huh?" demanded McGraw blankly. 

"We'll run the north-side steel across by tram, and push the work fromboth ends. Once the central span's connected, this bridge'll stand upunder any load that can be piled on her. "

"Wind risin'--an' you figurin' on construction work!" commentedMcGraw. 

"If she doesn't go to smash in the next half-hour, we'll be O. K. , "answered Blake coolly. "That train has waited long enough. You look tothe steel. Load the first sections for this end on the outermost car. We can cut it off the train at the towers. "

At McGraw's nod, he scratched off an order and sent a man running withit to the waiting train. Very shortly the three outermost cars camerolling toward him, pushed by the switch crew and a gang of laborers. Their weight was several times offset by the weight of flooringmaterial that had already been hurled from the bridge. 

Blake tested the force of the wind, noted the distance that the maintraveller had moved shoreward, and promptly ordered the work ofdestruction to cease. Some forty or fifty thousand dollars' worth ofmaterial had already gone over into the strait, and he was too much ofan engineer to permit unnecessary waste. 

The electro-magnetic crane of the smaller traveller was alreadyswinging up a number of pieces of structural steel to load on the carsas they rolled out to the extreme end of the service-track. McGrawcame hurrying to take charge of the eager loading gang. Blake went outpast them to the end of the overhang, and perching himself on a pileof steel, began to jot down figures and small diagrams on the back ofhis pad. 

He was still figuring when a cheer from the carloaders caused him tolook up. The cars, which had been stacked with steel to their utmostcapacity, were being connected with the rear of the train by means ofa wire rope. In response to the signals of McGraw, the engine startedslowly shoreward. 

Before the train had moved many yards the slack of the steel rope wastaken up. It tautened and drew up almost to a straight line, so tensethat it sang like a violin string in the sharp wind gusts. Then thesteel-laden cars creaked, started, and rolled shoreward after thetrain, groaning under their burden. The men all along the bridgeraised a wild cheer. 

Blake stepped back beside McGraw. 

"Well, Mac, guess we've turned the trick, " he said. 

"Close, --huh?" replied the general foreman, holding up his hand to thewind. 

"Close enough, " agreed Blake. "She might have gone any minute since wecame out. _Whee!_--if I hadn't headed off that train of steel! Well, amiss is as good as a mile. She'll stand now. Next thing is to connectthe span. "

"Huh?" ejaculated McGraw. "Ain't goin' t' tackle that, Mr. Blake, 'fore reinforcin' bottom-chords?"

"What! Wait for auxiliary bracing to come on from the mills? Not onyour life! Once connected, she'll be unbreakable--all strains andstresses will be so altered as to give a wide margin of safety, spiteof that damned skunk!"

"Huh?" queried McGraw. 

Blake's lips tightened grimly, but he ignored the question. 

"We'll drive the work on twelve-hour shifts, --double pay and best foodthat can be bought. Divide up the force now, and turn in with yourshift--those who most need sleep. "

CHAPTER XXXIV

"THE GUILTY FLEE"

In the midst of the wild flurry of work on the bridge, an engine fromthe junction had puffed into the switching yards with a single coach, the private car of H. V. Leslie. 

Despite the shrill whistle that signalled its approach, no one ran outto meet the special, --no workman appeared in the midst of the shedsand material piles to stare at the unexpected arrival. Irritated atthis inattention, Mr. Leslie swung down from his car, closely followedby Lord James. 

"What can this mean?" he demanded. "Not a man in sight. Entire placeseems deserted. "

"Quite true, " agreed Lord James. "Ah, but out on the bridge--greatcrowd of men working out there. Seems to be fairly swarming with men. "

"So there are--so there are. Yet why so many out there, and none inthe yards?"

"Can't say, I'm sure. I daresay we'll learn at the office. "

"Learn what, Mr. Scarbridge?" asked Dolores, who had popped out intothe car vestibule. Without waiting for an answer or for hisassistance, she sprang down the steps, waving her muff. "Come on, Vievie. Don't wait for mamma. "

"What are you going to do?" demanded Mr. Leslie. 

"Hunt for our heroic hero, of course, " answered the girl. 

"You shall do no such thing, " said her mother, appearing majesticallyin the vestibule. 

Genevieve, pale and calm and resolute, came out past her aunt. 

"We shall go to Mr. Ashton's office, papa, " she said, as Lord Jameshanded her down the steps. "If Mr. Blake is not there, Mr. Ashton willknow where to send for him. "

"Tom's out on the bridge, " stated Lord James. 

"He is? How do you know?" queried Mr. Leslie. 

"It's a hundred to one odds. That wire to Griffith--'On the job, ' y'know. He'll be where the most work is going on. I'll go fetch him. "

"If you will, James, " said Genevieve. "Tell him that papa--not I--Youunderstand. "

"Trust me!" He smiled, glanced appealingly at Dolores, met a frown, and started briskly away out the service-track. 

"Wait, " ordered Dolores. "I'll go, too. I've never been out on anunfinished bridge. "

"You'll not. You'll stay ashore, " interposed her mother. 

"Oh fudge! Trot along, then, Mr. Scarbridge. "

At her call, Lord James had halted and turned about, eagerlyexpectant. As, disappointed, he started on again, she addressed Mr. Leslie: "I'm not going back into that stuffy car, Uncle Herbert. Where's the place you call the office?"

He pointed to Ashton's quarters, and she skipped forward, past theengine, before her mother could interfere. The others followed her, wrapping their furs close about them to shut out the bitterly coldwind. 

Dolores was still in the lead when the party reached the office, butshe paused in the vestibule for her uncle to open the door. When heentered, she stepped in after him, followed by Genevieve and Mrs. Gantry. Darting his glances about the office in keen search, Mr. Leslie crossed the room to stare concernedly at the litter of tornmaps and papers on the floor in front of the desk. He hurried to theinner door and rapped vigorously. There was no immediate response. Herapped again. 

The door opened a few inches, and Ashton's English valet peered in atthe visitors with a timid, startled look. 

"Well?" demanded Mr. Leslie. "What d' you mean, sir, gawking that way?What's the matter here?--all these papers scattered about--everybodyout on the bridge. Who are you, anyway?"

"M-Mr. Ashton's m-man, sir!" stuttered the valet. 

"His man? Where is he?--out on the bridge?"

"N-no, sir; in his rooms, sir. "

"Tell him to come here at once!"

"Y-yes, sir, very good, sir. But I fear he'll be afraid to come out, sir. Mr. Blake--he ordered 'im to stay in, sir. "

"Blake ordered him! Why? Speak out, man! Why?"

"He--he said the bridge--that it was about to fall, sir. "

"Bridge--about to fall?"

"Yes, sir. So he pulled Mr. Ashton across the desk by 'is neck--manhandled 'im awful, and 'e told 'im--"

"What! What! Tell Ashton I'm here--Mr. Leslie! Tell him to come atonce--at once! D' you hear?"

As the valet vanished, Genevieve darted to her father, her eyes widewith swift-mounting alarm. "Papa! Didn't you hear him? He said thebridge--it's about to fall!"

"He did! He did!" cried Dolores, catching the alarm. "Oh, and Jimmy'sgone out, too!"

"'Jimmy'!" echoed Mrs. Gantry, staring. 

The girl ran to the windows in the end of the room, which afforded afull view of the gigantic bridge. 

"Hurry! Hurry, papa! Do something!" cried Genevieve. "If the bridgefalls--!"

"Nonsense!" argued her father. "There can't be any danger. It's stillstanding--and all those men remaining out on it. If there was anydanger--Must be some mistake of that fool valet. "

"Then why are there no men ashore? Why are they all out there?"questioned Genevieve with intuitive logic. "Oh! it's true--I know it'strue! He's in danger! And James--both! They're out there--it willfall! He'll be killed! Send some one--tell them to come ashore! I'llgo myself!"

She started toward the door. 

"No, no, let me!" cried Dolores, darting ahead of her. 

"Stop!--both of you!" exclaimed Mrs. Gantry. "Are you mad?"

"Stop!" commanded Mr. Leslie. 

Genevieve paused and stood hesitating before the vestibule door. Dolores darted back to the windows. 

A voice across the room called out: "That's--that's right! There's noneed to go. It's all a fake--a pretence!"

Staring about, Mr. Leslie and the ladies saw Ashton beside the innerdoor. He was striving to assume an air of easy assurance, but thedoorknob, which he still grasped, rattled audibly. 

"You!" rasped Mr. Leslie. "What you doing in here--skulking in here?"

Ashton cringed back, all the assurance stricken from his face. 

"You--you believe him!" he stammered. "But it's not fair! You've heardonly his side--his lies about me!"

"Whose lies? Speak out!"

"His--Blake's! The big brute took me by surprise--half murdered me. Hecame here, drunk or crazy, I don't know which. Pretended the bridgewas in danger. "

"Pretended? Isn't it?"

"All rot! Not a bit of it!"

"What!"

"I tell you, it's all a put-up job--a frame-up. The brute thought he'dget in with you again--you and Genevieve. He schemed to discredit me, to get my place. "

"Blake?--he did that?" eagerly queried Mrs. Gantry. 

"Yes!" cried Ashton, and he turned again to Mr. Leslie. "Don't yousee? He guessed that you were coming up. So he sneaked here ahead ofyou--took away my pistol and threatened to murder me if I left myrooms. "

Genevieve looked the glib relator up and down, white with scorn. 

"You lie!" she said. 

"But--but--I--" he stammered, disconcerted. He stepped toward her, half desperate. "It's the truth, I tell you, the solemn truth! I'llswear to it! It was there, right at my desk. You see the maps, tornwhen he dragged me across--by the throat! Look here at my neck--at themarks of his fingers!"

"You're in luck. He had good cause to break your neck, " commented Mr. Leslie. 

"Herbert!" reproved Mrs. Gantry, greatly shocked. 

"Papa! Papa!" urged Genevieve, running to grasp her father's arm. "Youcan't believe him! If Tom said the bridge was in danger--We stand heredoing nothing! Send some one! If the bridge should fall--"

"Fall?" sneered Ashton. "I tell you it's safe, safe as a rock. Lookfor yourselves. It's still standing. "

"Then he has saved it, " snapped Mr. Leslie. "He's saved my bridge--hisbridge! While you, you skulking thief--"

Ashton cringed back as if struck. But Genevieve dragged her fatherabout from him. "Don't mind him, papa! What does that matter now? Sendsome one at once!"

"They're all out on the bridge already, " he replied. "There's no oneto send. Wait! I'll go myself!"

"Oh! Oh! The train has started on shore again--it's coming clear offthe bridge!" cried Dolores. "It stopped part way, near this end. They'll be on it, they'll surely be on it. Yes, yes! There he is!There's Jimmy!"

She flung up a window-sash and leaned far out, waving herhandkerchief. Her mother turned to Genevieve, who stood as if dazed. 

"My dear, " she said, "do you not understand? Lord James is safe--quitesafe!"

"Yes?" replied Genevieve vaguely. 

"And Blake!" exclaimed Mr. Leslie. "He'll of course be coming, too. I'm going to meet him--learn the truth. "

He cast a threatening glance at Ashton, and went out like a shot. 

"Uncle Herbert, take me with you!" called Dolores, flying out afterhim. 

"Blake!--coming here!" gasped Ashton. He ran to place himself beforeGenevieve, who was about to go out. "Wait, wait, Miss Genevieve, please! Save me! He--he said he'd smash me if I talked--he did! Hedid! Don't let him hurt me! He threatened to kill me--it's true--true!"

"Threatened to kill you?" repeated Mrs. Gantry. "Genevieve, call backyour father. If the man really is violent, as Lafayette says--"

"Aunt Amice!" remonstrated Genevieve. "Can you believe this miserablecreature for an instant?"

"But it's true--it _is_ true!" gasped Ashton. 

"Mrs. Gantry, dear, dear Mrs. Gantry, you'll believe me! He will killme! Take me aboard the car! Please, please take me aboard the car andhide me!"

"My dear Genevieve, " said Mrs. Gantry, "the poor boy is reallyterrified. "

"Take him to the car, if you wish, " replied Genevieve. "He can leaveit at the junction. "

"Oh, thank you, thank you, Miss Genevieve!" stammered Ashton. 

But Genevieve went out without looking at him. He followed with Mrs. Gantry, keeping close beside her. 

CHAPTER XXXV

THE FUTURE COUNTESS

As the fugitive and his protectress passed out through the verandahand turned away from the bridge toward the car, they were relieved tosee that Blake was not yet in sight. Genevieve was hastening out thetrack to where her father and Dolores and Lord James stood beside theheavily loaded bridge-service train. 

Before Genevieve could reach the others, Lord James and Dolores cametoward her, and Dolores cried out the joyful news: "It's safe, Vievie!--the bridge is safe now! Mr. Blake will be ashore in a fewminutes. "

"You're sure, James?" asked Genevieve. "Quite safe?--and he--?"

"Yes, yes, give you my word! Perfectly safe now, he said, and he'll becoming soon. Er--Miss Dolores, there's your mother going back to thecar. "

"And Laffi with her!"

"Quite true--quite true. I say now--you've left your muff in theoffice. You'll be chilled--nipping keen wind, this. We'd best goinside while we're waiting. "

"Yes, " agreed the girl. "Come back in, Vievie. "

"No, no, dear. I'll come later. I'll wait here with papa. "

"Ah, if you prefer, " murmured Lord James. "But you, Miss Dolores--really you should not stand out in this wind. "

"Oh, well, if you insist, " she acquiesced, with seeming reluctance. 

"I do, indeed!" he replied, and he hurried her to the office. 

When they entered, he led her to the big drum heating stove in thecorner of the room, and went across to the inner door. He opened it, and called a terse order to Ashton's valet. He then closed the doorand locked it. 

Dolores started to edge toward the outer door. But he was too quickfor her. He hastened across and cut off her retreat. 

"No, no!" he declared. "You sha'n't run away. "

"Run away?" she rejoined, drawing herself up with a strong show ofindignation. 

"It's--it's the very first opportunity I've had--the first time alonewith you all these days, " he answered. "I must insist! I--I beg yourpardon, but I must find out, really I must! It seemed to me that--thatjust now you waved to me, from the window. "

"To you? But how could I tell, so far off, that Mr. Blake was not onthe train?"

"So that was it?" he replied, suddenly dashed. "Very stupid of me--very! Yet--yet--I must say it! Miss Gantry--Dolores, you've insistedon showing me your deepened dislike even since that evening. Butyou're so sincere, so candid--if only you'll tell me my faults, I'lldo anything I possibly can to please you, to win your regard!"

"Ho! so that's it?" she jeered. "Because Vievie threw you over, youthink I'll do as second choice--you think I'm waiting to catch you onthe rebound. "

"You?" he exclaimed. "How could that be? You've always been so frankin showing your dislike for me--how could I think that? But if only Imight convince you how desirous I am to--to overcome your antipathy!"

"Lord Avondale, " she said, "it is probable that you are laboring undera misconception. I am not an heiress; I am not wealthy. We are barelywell-to-do. So, you see--"

"Ah, yes! And you--" he exclaimed, stepping nearer to her--"you, then, shall see that it is yourself alone! If I can but win you! Tell me, now--why is it you dislike me? I'll do anything in my power. ForgetI'm my father's son--that I'm English. I must win you! Tell me how Ican overcome your dislike!"

Dolores drew back, blushing first scarlet then crimson with blissfulconfusion. All her ready wit fled from her and left her quivering withthe sweet agitation of her love. 

"But it's--it's not true, Jimmy!" she whispered. "I don't--I'm notwhat you think me! I'm not sincere or honest--I'm just a liar! I'vebeen pretending all along. It's not true that I ever disliked you!"

"Not true?" he asked incredulously. 

She gave him a glance that answered him far more clearly than words. He started toward her impulsively. 

"Dolores!--it can't be!"

She avoided him, in an attempt to delay the inevitable surrender. 

"Ware danger, your earlship!" she mocked. "I warn you I'm a designingfemale. How do you know it's not the coronet I'm after?"

"Dearest!" he exclaimed, and this time he succeeded in capturing thehand that she flung out to fend him off. 

"Wait--wait!" she protested. "This is most--ah--indecorous. Think howshocked mamma would be. You haven't even declared your intentions. "

"My intentions, " he stated, "are to do--this!" He boldly placed hisarm about her shoulders, and bent down over her back-tilted head. "_My_ dear Miss Gantry, I have the honor of saluting--the futureCountess of Avondale!"

Instead of shrinking--from him, as he half feared, she slipped an armup about his neck. 

With a blissful sigh, she drew back from the kiss, to answer him in atone of tender mockery: "The Right Honorable the Earl of Avondale isinformed that his--ah--salute is received with pleasure. "

"Darling!"

"Wait, " she teased. "You have it all turned 'round. You've yet to tellme the exact moment when. Vievie took second place. "

"My word! How am I to answer that? Really, it's quite impossible totell. You piqued my interest from the very first. "

"But did you still lo--like Vievie when you proposed to her?"

"Er--yes--quite true. That was the day after our arrival from NewYork, y'know. "

"Of course. But I wished to make doubly sure that you were sincerewith her. Oh, Jimmy, to think I've got you, after all! I'm so happy!"

He promptly offered another salute, which was not refused. 

The sound of quick steps in the vestibule startled them. Doloressprang away as Genevieve came hurrying in, too agitated to heed hercousin's blushes. 

"Oh! I'm so glad you're still here!" she panted. "He's coming ashore. I--I told papa to tell him that--but not that I'm here! I must--I wantto--"

"To play puss-in-the-corner with your Tom, " rallied Dolores. "Oh, Vievie! who'd have thought it? You've lost your head! Hide over herebehind the stove. "

Greatly to her surprise, Genevieve instantly ran over and hid herselfin the corner behind the big stove. Dolores and Lord James stared atone another. It was the first time that they had ever seen Genevieveflurried. 

"Why, Vievie!" exclaimed the girl, "I actually believe you'refrightened. "

"No, I'm not. It's only that I must have time to--to think. "

"Ah, " said Lord James, with sympathetic readiness. 

"I shall go out and meet him--detain him a bit. "

"No, no. It's very kind of you, James. But there's no need. If onlyyou and Dolores will wait and speak with him. I--I wish to hear howhis voice sounds--first. "

"Well, of all things!" rallied Dolores. "Can't you imagine how it willsound? He'll be hoarse as a crow, after shouting all his heroic ordersto save the bridge. Ten to one, he'll have a fine cold, too--out therein this wind. Jimmy says it's really nawsty, y'know, with the beastlyzephyrs wafting through the bloomin' steel-work, and the water sodeuced far down below--quite a bit awful, don't y'know!"

"Don't tease, dear, " begged Genevieve. "But you said 'Jimmy'! Oh, haveyou really--?"

Her face appeared around the bulge of the stove, flushed with delight. But the sound of a heavy tread in the verandah caused it to disappearon the instant. 

Blake came in slowly and with anything but an elated look. It wasevident that Mr. Leslie had refrained from rousing his expectations. He stared at Dolores in surprise. 

"You, Miss Dolores?"

"What?" she teased. "You surely did not think it would be Vievie, didyou?"

"Didn't think--"

"Yes--with Jimmy. " She held out her hand to Lord James, who clasped itfondly. 

Blake caught the glance that passed between them. His face darkened. 

"Her?" he muttered. "Didn't think you were the kind to play fast andloose, Jimmy!"

"Tom! You can't believe that of me!" protested the Englishman. "Couldn't explain matters out there among all your men, y' know, butGenevieve insisted upon terminating our engagement the very morningafter. I had said nothing. She had already seen her mistake. "

"Mistake?" queried Blake. 

"You men are so silly, " criticised Dolores, with a mischievous glancetoward the stove. "You ought to 've known she loved you, all the time. Of course you won't believe it till she herself tells you. "

Blake looked about the room. Genevieve was close behind the stove. Heshook his head and muttered despondently: "Till she tells me!"

"Did you ever play puss-in-the-corner?" asked Dolores. 

"You witch!" exclaimed Lord James. To divert her attention, he drewher to him and slipped a ring on her slender finger. "Ha! Caught younapping! It's on--fast!" She gave him an adorable look. "If it's evertaken off, you'll have to do it. "

"That shall be--never!" he replied. Drawing her arm through his, heled her toward the door. "We're on our way, Tom. See you later at thecar, I daresay. Must go now to break the news to 'Mamma. '"

"Won't she be surprised!" exulted Dolores. "It's such a joke that youand Genevieve didn't tell her! She's so sure of her methods--so sure. She'll find there are others who have methods, won't she, LordAvondale?"

"Most charming methods!" agreed Lord James. 

"S'long, Jimmy!" said Blake, gripping the other's carelessly offeredhand. "Here's congratulations and good luck to you! Tell her--tell theothers good-bye for me. I'll not come to the car. Tell 'em I'm too--too busy. "

"Right-o! But we'll look to see you in town before a great while, "replied Lord James, and he hurried Dolores out through the vestibule. 

From the verandah the girl's clear voice sounded through the closeddoors, free and merry, almost mocking. 

CHAPTER XXXVI

THE OUTCOME

Blake stood where the lovers had left him. Their sudden and seeminglyindifferent leave-taking had added its quota of depression to hisalready sinking spirit. When he had come ashore and had beenintercepted by Mr. Leslie he already had begun to feel the reactionfrom the strain and excitement of those interminable minutes and hourson the bridge--the frightful responsibility of keeping all thosehundreds of men out on the gigantic structure, which at any secondmight have crashed down with them to certain destruction. 

Now even the remembrance that he had saved the bridge could notstimulate him. Mr. Leslie's friendly praise, even his more thancordial hand-grip, seemed meaningless. The world had suddenly turneddrab and gray. Her father had stated vaguely that some one was waitingto speak with him in the office. He had hastened in, half hoping tofind _her_--and had found only them. 

He had saved the bridge; he had found strength to do the square thingby Mr. Leslie and even Ashton. And now they were all gone, even Jimmy, and he was alone--alone! _She_ had come with the party. He wascertain that some one had told him that. Yet she had not spoken tohim. She had not even let him see her!

He went heavily across the room to the desk, and dropping into achair, began methodically to gather up and fold the torn and rumpledblueprints upon the floor. But even an almost automatic habit has itslimitations. A drawing slipped, half-folded, from his listlessfingers. He groaned and leaned forward upon the desk, with his faceburied in his arms. 

Genevieve came out from her hiding place very quietly, and stoodgazing at Blake. It was the first time that she had ever seen him giveway to grief or suffering. Always he had stood before her firm andunyielding, even when most certain of defeat. It had never occurred toher that he could be other than hard and defiant over his ownstruggles and sorrows. 

All the mother-love of her woman's nature welled up from her heart ina wave of tenderness and compassion. She went to him and laid her handsoftly on his dishevelled head. 

"Tom!" she soothed. "Tom! You poor boy!"

The touch of her hand had stricken his body rigid with suspense. Butat the sound of her voice he slowly raised his head and fixed his eyesupon her in an incredulous stare. 

"It is I, Tom. Don't you know me?" she half whispered, shrinking backa little way before the wildness of his look. 

"_You_!" he gasped. He rose heavily. "Excuse me. I thought you werewith them--on the car. "

"Did not papa tell you?"

"He said something. I thought I had mistaken him. But you _are_ here. "

"Yes. I--I waited to speak with you--to tell you--"

"You told me that night all that's necessary, " he said, averting hishead to hide the look of pain that he could not repress. 

"I was beside myself!" she replied. "You should have known that, Tom. How else could I have told you--told you--"

"The truth!" he broke in. "Don't think I blame you, Miss Jenny. Don'tblame yourself. "

"No, no, you do not understand!" she insisted. "Wait--what did you andpapa do?"

"Made it up. So that's one thing less to worry you. He did ithandsomely. Cracked me up for saving his bridge. "

"Your bridge, too!"

"What! You know that?"

"Yes, and that you're to be partner with Mr. Griffith--finish yourbridge, and build that great dam you invented, and--and if you wish, be partner in some of papa's business. "

"That's too much. I told him I'd be satisfied with the credit for mybridge truss. "

"Only that? Surely you'll not give up the bridge?"

"Well, 't isn't fair to kick a man when he's down. Ashton will have atough enough time of it, I guess, from what your father said. He's tobe allowed to resign, on condition that he acknowledges that heborrowed my bridge truss. "

"Borrowed?"

"Yes. It seems that his father is one of your father's particularfriends. So that's all settled. "

She looked at him with radiant eyes. "Tom! You're even bigger--moregenerous--than I had thought!"

"Don't!" he muttered, drawing back. "It makes it so much harder. Youdon't realize!"

"Don't I?" she whispered, the color mounting swiftly in her down-bentface. "That night--that fearful night, I--Tell me--has James explainedhow we searched for you?--everywhere, all those days! We telegraphedall over the country. James searched the city, and papa had all hisprivate agents--Where did you go?"

"South. "

"South? Oh, and all this time--But that's past now--all the dreadfulwaiting and anxiety! Could you but know our delight when Mr. Griffithtelegraphed that you were here!"

"What! Then you came because--"

"Yes, yes, to find you. Don't you see? We should have been heresooner, only the telegram was not delivered until after midnight, andI had to persuade Aunt Amice. She refused, until after I said I'd comeanyway. But of course she doesn't know, even now. Oh, Tom! Tom!--tothink you're over that dreadful attack and--"

"Attack?" he inquired. 

"The one that started that night--through my fault--mine!"

"Your fault?" he repeated. "How on earth do you make that out?"

"I should have seen--understood! James had tried to explain; but I wasoverwrought. Not until you were going--But that is all past, dear!I've come to tell you that now you must let me help you. It is notright for you to fight alone--to refuse my aid, when I--when I--loveyou!"

"Jenny! You can't mean it? After that night--after what I did thatnight!"

"Yes, " she whispered. "If you--if you'll forgive me. "

"But--the drinking?"

"You can win! You proved it that night, when you crushed the glass. Ino longer fear, Tom. All my doubt has gone. Even without my help Iknow that you--But I want to do my share, dear. If you're--you'rewilling, we'll be married, and--"

"Jenny!" He stood for a moment, overcome. Then the words burst fromhis deep chest: "Girl! Girl!--God! to think that I have that to tellyou! Yes, it's true--I proved it that night--I won out that night! Doyou hear, Jenny? I broke the curse! I proved it when I left you--wentout into the night--after drinking all that whiskey--went down intothe stockyards, past the worst saloons, all the joints. I went in andstood about, in all the odor--whiskey, beer--one after the other, Iwent in, and came out again, without having touched a drop. All thetime I kept remembering that I had lost you; but--I knew I had foundmyself. "

"Tom!"

"When I had made sure, I went to the freight yards, got into a fruit-car, and went to sleep. When I woke up, I was on the way to NewOrleans. Been hoboing ever since. "

"Oh!"

"Best thing for me. Put kinks into my body, but took 'em all out of mybrain. About the drinking--it wasn't that night alone. I've kepttesting myself every chance--even took a taste to make sure. Now Iknow. It's the simple truth, Jenny. I've won. "

"My _man_!" she cried, and she came to him as he opened his arms. 

THE END