第6章

But，withoutwarning，arevulsionseizedonthegirl。Ofasudden，sheshrankagain，andturnedherheadaway，andherbodytrembled。

"Ican\'ttakeit，"shestammered。"Ican\'t!Ican\'t!"

Marystoodsilentforamomentfromsheeramazementoverthechange。Whenshespoke，hervoicehadhardenedalittle。Itisnotagreeabletohaveone\'sbeneficenceflouted。

"Didn\'tyoucomehereforhelp？"shedemanded。

"Yes，"wasthefalteringreply，"but——but——Ididn\'tknow——itwasyou!"Thewordscamewitharushofdesperation。

"Then，youhavemetmebefore？"Marysaid，quietly。

"No，no!"Thegirl\'svoiceroseshrill。

Aggiespokehermindwithcommendablefrankness。

"She\'slying。"

And，onceagain，Garsonagreed。Hisyeswasspokeninatoneofcompletecertainty。ThatMary，too，wasoftheiropinionwasshowninhernextwords。

"So，youhavemetmebefore？Where？"

Thegirlunwittinglymadeconfessioninherhaltingwords。

"I——Ican\'ttellyou。"Therewasdespairinhervoice。

"Youmust。"Maryspokewithseverity。Shefeltthatthismysteryheldinitsomethingsinistertoherself。"Youmust，"sherepeatedimperiously。

Thegirlonlycrouchedlower。

"Ican\'t!"shecriedagain。Shewaspantingasifinexhaustion。

"Whycan\'tyou？"Maryinsisted。Shehadnosympathynowforthegirl\'sdistress，merelyagreatsuspiciouscuriosity。

"Because——because——"Thegirlcouldnotgoon。

Mary\'susualshrewdnesscametoheraid，andsheputhernextquestioninadifferentdirection。

"Whatwereyousentupfor？"sheaskedbriskly。"Tellme。"

ItwasGarsonwhobrokethesilencethatfollowed。

"Comeon，now!"heordered。Therewasasavagenoteinhisvoiceunderwhichthegirlvisiblywinced。Marymadeagesturetowardhimthatheshouldnotinterfere。Nevertheless，theman\'scommandhadinitathreatwhichthegirlcouldnotresistandsheanswered，thoughwithareluctancethatmadethewordsseemdraggedfromherbysomeoutsideforce——asindeedtheywere。

"Forstealing。"

"Stealingwhat？"Marysaid。

"Goods。"

"Wherefrom？"

Areplycameinabreathsolowthatitwasbarelyaudible。

"TheEmporium。"

Inaflashofintuition，thewholetruthwasrevealedtothewomanwhostoodlookingdownatthecoweringcreaturebeforeher。

"TheEmporium!"sherepeated。Therewasatragedyinthesingleword。Hervoicegrewcoldwithhate，thehatebornofinnocencelongtortured。"Thenyouaretheonewho——"

Theaccusationwascutshortbythegirl\'sshriek。

"Iamnot!Iamnot，Itellyou。"

Foramoment，Marylostherpoise。Hervoiceroseinaflareofrage。

"Youare!Youare!"

Thecravenspiritofthegirlcouldstrugglenomore。Shecouldonlysitinahuddled，shakingheapofdread。Thewomanbeforeherhadbeendisciplinedbysorrowtosternestself-control。

Thoughrackedbyemotionsmostintolerable，Marysoonmasteredtheirexpressiontosuchanextentthatwhenshespokeagain，asifinself-communion，herwordscamequietly，yetwithovertonesofasupremewo。

"Shedidit!"Then，afteralittle，sheaddressedthegirlwithacertainwonderingbeforethismysteryofhorror。"Whydidyouthrowtheblameonme？"

Thegirlmadeseveraleffortsbeforehermumblingbecameintelligible，andthenherspeechwasgasping，brokenwithfear。

"Ifoundouttheywerewatchingme，andIwasafraidtheywouldcatchme。So，Itookthemandranintothecloak-room，andputtheminalockerthatwasn\'tclosetomine，andsomeinthepocketofacoatthatwashangingthere。GodknowsIdidn\'tknowwhoseitwas。Ijustputthemthere——Iwasfrightened——"

"Andyouletmegotoprisonforthreeyears!"TherewasamenaceinMary\'svoiceunderwhichthegirlcringedagain。

"Iwasscared，"shewhined。"Ididn\'tdaretotell。"

"Buttheycaughtyoulater，"Marywentoninexorably。"Whydidn\'tyoutellthen？"

"Iwasafraid，"cametheanswerfromtheshudderinggirl。"I

toldthemitwasthefirsttimeIhadtakenanythingandtheyletmeoffwithayear。"

Oncemore，thewrathofthevictimflamedhigh。

"You!"Marycried。"Youcriedandlied，andtheyletyouoffwithayear。Iwouldn\'tcry。Itoldthetruth——and——"Hervoicebrokeinatearlesssob。Thecolorhadgoneoutofherface，andshestoodrigid，lookingdownatthegirlwhosecrimehadruinedherlifewithanexpressionofinfiniteloathinginhereyes。Garsonrosefromhischairasiftogotoher，andhisfacepassedswiftlyfromcompassiontoferocityashisgazewentfromthewomanhehadsavedfromtherivertothegirlwhohadbeenthefirstcauseofherseekingagraveinthewaters。Yet，thoughhelongedwitheveryfiberofhimtocomfortthestrickenwoman，hedidnotdareintrudeuponherinthistimeofheranguish，butquietlydroppedbackintohisseatandsatwatchingwitheyesnowtender，nowbaleful，astheyshiftedtheirdirection。

Aggietookadvantageofthepause。Hervoicewasacid。

"Somepeoplearesneaks——justsneaks!"

Somehow，thespeechwaswelcometothegirl，gaveheratouchofcouragesufficientforcowardlyprotestations。Itseemedtorelievethetensiondrawnbytheotherwoman\'storment。Itwasmoreliketheabusethatwasfamiliartoher。Agushoftearscame。

"I\'llneverforgivemyself，never!"shemoaned。

ContemptmountedinMary\'sbreast。

"Oh，yes，youwill，"shesaid，malevolently。"Peopleforgivethemselvesprettyeasily。"Thecontemptcheckedforalittletheravagesofhergrief。"Stopcrying，"shecommandedharshly。

"Nobodyisgoingtohurtyou。"Shethrustthemoneyagaintowardthegirl，andcrowdeditintothehalf-reluctant，half-greedyhand。

"Takeit，andgetout。"Thecontemptinhervoicerangstillsharper，mordant。

EventhepulingcreaturewrithedunderthelashofMary\'stones。

Shesprangup，slinkingbackastep。

"Ican\'ttakeit!"shecried，whimpering。Butshedidnotdropthemoney。

"Takethechancewhileyouhaveit，"Marycounseled，stillwiththecontemptthatpiercedeventhehardenedgirl\'ssenseofselfishness。Shepointedtowardthedoor。"Go!——beforeIchangemymind。"

Thegirlneeded，indeed，nosecondbidding。Withthemoneystillclutchedinherhand，shewentforthswiftly，stumblingalittleinherhaste，fearfullest，atthelastmoment，thewomanshehadsowrongedshouldinfactchangeinmood，takebackthemoney——ay，evengiveherovertothatterriblemanwiththeeyesofhate，toputhertodeathasshedeserved。

Freedfromthemiasmaofthatpresence，Maryremainedmotionlessforalongminute，thensighedfromhertorturedheart。Sheturnedandwentslowlytoherchairatthedesk，andseatedherselflanguidly，weakenedbytheordealthroughwhichshehadpassed。

"AgirlIdidn\'tknow!"shesaid，bewilderedly；"perhapshadneverspokento——whosmashedmylifelikethat!Oh，ifitwasn\'tsoawful，itwouldbe——funny!Itwouldbefunny!"Agustofhystericallaughterburstfromher。"Why，itisfunny!"shecried，wildly。"Itisfunny!"

"Mary!"Garsonexclaimedsharply。Heleapedacrosstheroomtofaceher。"That\'snogood!"hesaidseverely。

Aggie，too，rushedforward。

"Nogoodatall!"shedeclaredloudly。

Theinterferencerecalledthedistressedwomantoherself。Shemadeadesperateeffortforself-command。Littlebylittle，theunmeaninglookdieddown，andpresentlyshesatsilentandmoveless，staringatthetwowithstormyeyesoutofawanface。

"Youwereright，"shesaidatlast，inalifelessvoice。"It\'sdone，andcan\'tbeundone。Iwasafooltoletitaffectmelikethat。IreallythoughtIhadlostallfeelingaboutit，butthesightofthatgirl——theknowledgethatshehaddoneit——broughtitallbacktome。Well，youunderstand，don\'tyou？"

"Weunderstand，"Garsonsaid，grimly。Buttherewasmorethangrimness，infinitelymore，intheexpressionofhisclear，glowingeyes。

Aggiethoughtthatitwasherturntovoiceherself，whichshedidwithoutunduerestraint。

"Perhaps，wedo，butIdunno!I\'lltellyouonething，though。

Ifanydamesentmeupforthreeyearsandthenwantedmoneyfromme，doyouthinkshe\'dgetit？Wakemeupanytimeinthenightandaskme。Notmuch——notalittlebitmuch!I\'dhangontoitlikeanoldwomantoherlasttooth。"AndthatwasAggie\'sfinalsummingupofherimpressionsconcerningthesceneshehadjustwitnessed。

CHAPTERXII。ABRIDEGROOMSPURNED。

AfterAggie\'svigorouscommenttherefollowedalongsilence。

Thatvolatileyoungperson，littletroubledasshewasbysensitiveness，guessedthefactthatjustnowfurtherdiscussionoftheeventwouldbedistastefultoMary，andsoshebetookherselfdiscreetlytoacigaretteandtheillustrationsofapopularmagazinedevotedtothestage。Asfortheman，hisreticencewasreallyfromafearlestinspeakingatallhemightspeaktoofreely，mightbetraythepervasiveviolenceofhisfeeling。So，hesatmotionlessandwordless，hiseyescarefullyavoidingMaryinorderthatshemightnotbedisturbedbytheinvisiblevibrationsthussentfromonetoanother。Maryherselfwasshakentothedepths。Agreatweariness，awearinessthatcriedtheworthlessnessofallthings，hadfallenuponher。Itrestedleadenonhersoul。Itweigheddownherbodyaswell，thoughthatmatteredlittleindeed。Yet，sinceshecouldministertothatreadily，sheroseandwenttoasetteeontheoppositesideoftheroomwhereshearrangedherselfamongthecushionsinaposturemoreluxuriousthanherratherpreciseearlytrainingusuallypermittedhertoassumeinthepresenceofothers。Theresherested，andsoonfeltthetidesofenergyagainflowinginherblood，andthatsamevitality，too，wroughthealingevenforheragonizedsoul，thoughmoreslowly。Theperfecthealthofhergaveherstrengthtorecoverspeedilyfromtheshockshehadsustained。Itwasthishealththatmadethegloryoftheflawlessskin，whitewithalivingwhitethatrevealedthecoursingbloodbeneath，andthecrimsonlipsthatbentinsmilessotender，orsowistful，andthelimpideyesinwhichalwayslurkedfiresthatsometimesburstintoflame，thelustrousmassofundulatinghairthatsparkledinthesunlightlikeanaureoletoherfaceorframeditinheavysplendorswithitsshadows，andthesuppleerectnessofhergracefulcarriage，thelithedignityofhereverymovement。

But，atlast，shestirreduneasilyandsatup。Garsonacceptedthisasasufficientwarrantforspeech。

"Youknow——Aggietoldyou——thatCassidywasupherefromHeadquarters。Hedidn\'tputanametoit，butI\'mon。"Maryregardedhiminquiringly，andhecontinued，puttingthefactwithacertainbrutalbluntnessafterthehabitofhisclass。"I

guessyou\'llhavetoquitseeingyoungGilder。Thebullsarewise。Hisfatherhasmadeaholler。

"Don\'tletthatworryyou，Joe，"shesaidtranquilly。Sheallowedafewsecondsgoby，thenaddedasifquiteindifferent:"IwasmarriedtoDickGilderthismorning。"TherecameasquealofamazementfromAggie，astartofincredulityfromGarson。

"Yes，"Maryrepeatedevenly，"Iwasmarriedtohimthismorning。

Thatwasmyimportantengagement，"sheaddedwithasmiletowardAggie。Forsomeintuitivereason，mysterioustoherself，shedidnotcaretomeettheman\'seyesatthatmoment。

Aggiesaterect，herbabyfacealivewithworldlyglee。

"MyGawd，whatluck!"sheexclaimednoisily。"Why，he\'sakingfish，heis。Gee!ButI\'mgladyoulandedhim!"

"Thankyou，"Marysaidwithasmilethatwastheresultofhersenseofhumorratherthanfromanytenderness。

ItwasthenthatGarsonspoke。Hewasadelicatemaninhissensibilitiesattimes，inspiteofthefactthathefolloweddeviousmethodsinhismannerofgainingalivelihood。So，now，heputaquestionofvitalsignificance。

"Doyoulovehim？"

ThequestioncaughtMaryallunprepared，butsheretainedherself-controlsufficientlytomakeheranswerinavoicethattotheordinaryearwouldhaverevealednoleasttremor。

"No，"shesaid。Sheofferednoexplanation，noexcuse，merelystatedthefactinallitsfinality。

Aggiewasreallyshocked，thoughforareasonaltogethersordid，notonewhitromantic。

"Ain\'theyoung？"shedemandedaggressively。"Ain\'thegood-looking，andloosewithhismoneysomethingscandalous？IfImetupwithafellowasliberalashim，ifhewasthreetimeshisage，Icouldsimplyadorehim!"

ItwasGarsonwhopressedthetopicwithaninexorablecuriositybornofhisunselfishinterestinthewomanconcerned。

"Then，whydidyoumarryhim？"heasked。Thesincerityofhimwasexcuseenoughfortheseemingindelicacyofthequestion。

Besides，hefelthimselfsomehowresponsible。Hehadgivenbacktoherthegiftoflife，whichshehadrejected。Surely，hehadtherighttoknowthetruth。

ItseemedthatMarybelievedherconfidencehisdue，forshetoldhimthefact。

"Ihavebeenworkingandschemingfornearlyayeartodoit，"

shesaid，withahardeningofherfacethatspokeofindomitableresolve。"Now，it\'sdone。"Avindictivegleamshotfromhervioleteyesassheadded:"It\'sonlythebeginning，too。"

Garson，withthekeenperspicacitythathadmadehimasuccessfulcriminalwithoutasingleconvictiontomarhisrecord，hadseizedtheimplicationinherstatement，andnowputitinwords。

"Then，youwon\'tleaveus？We\'regoingonaswewerebefore？"

Thehintofdejectioninhismannerhadvanished。"Andyouwon\'tlivewithhim？"

"Livewithhim？"Maryexclaimedemphatically。"Certainlynot!"

Aggie\'sneatlyroundedjawdroppedinagapeofsurprisethatwasmostunladylike。

"Youaregoingtoliveoninthisjointwithus？"shequestioned，aghast。

"Ofcourse。"Thereplywasgivenwiththeutmostofcertainty。

Aggiepresentedthecruxofthematter。

"Wherewillhubbylive？"

Therewasnolesseningofthebride\'scomposureasshereplied，withalittleshrug。

"Anywherebuthere。"

Aggiesuddenlygiggled。Tohersenseofhumortherewassomethingvastlydivertinginthisnewschemeofgivingblisstoafondhusband。

"Anywherebuthere，"sherepeatedgaily。"Oh，won\'tthatbenice——forhim？Oh，yes!Oh，quiteso!Oh，yes，indeed——quiteso——so!"

Garson，however，wasstillpatientinhisdeterminationtoapprehendjustwhathadcometopass。

"Doesheunderstandthearrangement？"washisquestion。

"No，notyet，"Maryadmitted，withoutsignofembarrassment。

"Well，"Aggiesaid，withanothergiggle，"whenyoudogetaroundtotellhim，breakittohimgently。"

Garsonwasintentlyconsideringanotherphaseofthesituation，onesuggestedperhapsoutofhisowndeepersentiments。

"Hemustthinkalotofyou!"hesaid，gravely。"Don\'the？"

Forthefirsttime，Marywasmovedtothedisplayofaslightconfusion。Shehesitatedalittlebeforeheranswer，andwhenshespokeitwasinalowerkey，alittlemoreslowly。

"I——Isupposeso。"

Aggiepresentedthetruthmoresubtlythancouldhavebeenexpectedfromher。

"Thinkalotofyou？Ofcoursehedoes!Thinksenoughtomarryyou!Andbelieveme，kid，whenamanthinksenoughofyoutomarryyou，well，that\'ssomethinking!"

Somehow，thecrudeexpressionofthisprofessionaladventuresspenetratedtoMary\'sconscience，thoughitheldinitthetruthtowhichherconscienceborewitness，towhichshehadtriedtoshutherears……Andnowfromthemancamesomethinglikeadraughtofelixirtoherconscience——likethetrumpofdoomtoherschemeofvengeance。

Garsonspokeverysoftly，butwithanintensitythatleftnodoubtastothehonestyofhispurpose。

"I\'dsay，throwupthewholegameandgotohim，ifyoureallycare。"

Therefellatensesilence。ItwasbrokenbyMaryherself。Shespokewithatouchofhaste，asifbattlingagainstsomehindrancewithin。

"Imarriedhimtogetevenwithhisfather，"shesaid。"That\'sallthereistoit……Bytheway，IexpectDickwillbehereinaminuteortwo。Whenhecomes，justremembernotto——enlightenhim。"

Aggiesniffedindignantly。

"Don\'tworryaboutme，notamite。Wheneverit\'sreallywanted，I\'malwaystherewithafulllineofthatladystuff。"

Thereupon，shesprangup，andproceededtogiveherconceptionoftheproperwelcomingofthehappybridegroom。Theperformancewasamusingenoughinitself，butforsomereasonitmovedneitherofthetwoforwhomitwasrenderedtomorethanperfunctoryapproval。Thefacthadnodepressingeffectontheperformer，however，anditwasonlythecomingofthemaidthatputherlivelysalliestoanend。

"Mr。Gilder，"Fannieannounced。

MaryputaquestionwithsomuchofenergythatGarsonbeganfinallytounderstandthedepthofhervindictivefeeling。

"Anyonewithhim？"

"No，MissTurner，"themaidanswered。

"Havehimcomein，"Maryordered。

Garsonfeltthathewouldbebetterawayforthesakeofthenewlymarriedpairatleast，ifnotforhisown。Hemadehastyexcusesandwentoutontheheelsofthemaid。Aggie，however，consultingonlyherownwishesinthematter，hadnothoughtofflight，and，ifthetruthbetold，Marywasgladofthesustainingpresenceofanotherwoman。

Shegotupslowly，andstoodsilent，whileAggieregardedhercuriously。Eventotheinsensitiveobserver，therewassomethingstrangeintheatmosphere……Amomentlaterthebridegroomentered。

Hewasstillclean-cutandwholesome。Somesonsofwealthyfathersarenot，afterfouryearsexperienceofthewhitelightsoftown。Andthelinesofhisfacewerefirmer，betterineveryway。Itseemed，indeed，thatherewassomeoneofaresolutecharacter，nottobewastedonthetrivialandgrossthings。Inaninstant，hehadgonetoher，hadcaughtherinhisarmswith，"Hello，dear!"smotheredinthekissheimplantedonherlips。

Marystrovevainlytofreeherself。

"Don\'t，oh，don\'t!"shegasped。

DickGilderreleasedhiswifefromhisarmsandsmiledthebeatificsmileofthenewly-wed。

"Whynot？"hedemanded，withasmile，asmilecalm，triumphant，masterful。

"Agnes!"……ItwasthesolepretexttowhichMarycouldturnforamomentaryrelief。

Thebridegroomfacedabout，andperceivedAgnes，whostoodcloselywatchingthemeetingbetweenhusbandandwife。Hemadeanexcellentformalbowofthesortthatonelearnsonlyabroad，andspokequietly。

"Ibegyourpardon，MissLynch，but"——asmileofperfecthappinessshoneonhisface——"youcouldhardlyexpectmetoseeanyonebutMaryunderthecircumstances。Couldyou？"

Aggiestrovetorisetothisemergency，andagaintookonherbestmanner，speakingrathercoldly。

"Underwhatcircumstances？"sheinquired。

Theyoungmanexclaimedjoyously。

"Why，weweremarriedthismorning。"

Aggieacceptedthenewswithfittingexcitement。

"Goodnessgracious!Howperfectlylovely!"

Thebridegroomregardedherwithafacethatwasluminousofdelight。

"Youbet，it\'slovely!"hedeclaredwithentireconviction。HeturnedtoMary，hisfaceglowingwithsatisfaction。

"Mary，"hesaid，"Ihavethehoneymoontripallfixed。TheMauretaniasailsatfiveinthemorning，sowewill——"

Acoldvoicestrucksuddenlythroughthisrhapsodizing。Itwasthatofthebride。

"Whereisyourfather？"sheasked，withoutanytraceofemotion。

Thebridegroomstoppedshort，andadeepblushspreaditselfoverhisboyishface。Histonewasfilledfulltooverflowingwithcompunctionasheanswered。

"Oh，Lord!IhadforgottenallaboutDad。"HebeamedonMarywithasmilehalf-ashamed，half-happy。"I\'mawfullysorry，"hesaidearnestly。"I\'lltellyouwhatwe\'lldo。We\'llsendDadawirelessfromtheship，thenwritehimfromParis。"

ButtheconfidenttonebroughtnoresponseofagreementfromMary。Onthecontrary，hervoicewas，ifanything，evencolderassherepliedtohissuggestion。Shespokewithanemphasisthatbrookednoevasion。

"Whatwasyourpromise？ItoldyouthatIwouldn\'tgowithyouuntilyouhadbroughtyourfathertome，andhehadwishedushappiness。"Dickplacedhishandsgentlyonhiswife\'sshouldersandregardedherwithatouchofindignationinhisgaze。

"Mary，"hesaidreproachfully，"youarenotgoingtoholdmetothatpromise？"

Theanswerwasgivenwithadecisivenessthatadmittedofnoquestion，andtherewasahardnessinherfacethatemphasizedthewords。

"Iamgoingtoholdyoutothatpromise，Dick。"

Forafewseconds，theyoungmanstaredatherwithtroubledeyes。Thenhemovedimpatiently，anddroppedhishandsfromhershoulders。Buthisusualcheerysmilecameagain，andheshruggedresignedly。

"Allright，Mrs。Gilder，"hesaid，gaily。Thesoundofthenameprovokedhimtonewpleasure。"Soundsfine，doesn\'tit？"hedemanded，withanuxoriousair。

"Yes，"Marysaid，buttherewasnoenthusiasminhertone。

Thehusbandwentonspeakingwithnoapparentheedofhiswife\'sindifference。

"Youpackupwhatthingsyouneed，girlie，"hedirected。"Justafew——becausetheysellclothesinParis。Andtheyaresomeclass，believeme!Andmeantime，I\'llrundowntoDad\'soffice，andhavehimbackhereinhalfanhour。Youwillbeallready，won\'tyou？"

Maryansweredquickly，withalittlecatchingofherbreath，butstillcoldly。

"Yes，yes，I\'llbeready。Goandbringyourfather。"

"YoubetIwill，"Dickcriedheartily。Hewouldhavetakenherinhisarmsagain，butsheevadedthecaress。"What\'sthematter？"hedemanded，plainlyatalosstounderstandthisrepulse。

"Nothing!"wastheambiguousanswer。

"Justone!"Dickpleaded。

"No，"thebridereplied，andtherewasdeterminationinthemonosyllable。

ItwasevidentthatDickperceivedthefutilityofargument。

"Foramarriedwomanyoucertainlyareshy，"hereplied，withaslyglancetowardAggie，whobeamedbacksympathy。"You\'llexcuseme，won\'tyou，MissLynch，……Good-by，Mrs。Gilder。"Hemadeaformalbowtohiswife。Ashehurriedtothedoor，heexpressedagainhisadmirationforthename。"Mrs。Gilder!

Doesn\'tthatsoundimmense？"Andwiththathewasgone。

Therewassilenceinthedrawing-roomuntilthetwowomenheardtheclosingoftheouterdooroftheapartment。Then，atlast，Aggierelievedherpent-upemotionsinahugesighthatwasnearagroan。

"OhGawd!"shegasped。"Thepoorsimp!"

CHAPTERXIII。THEADVENTOFGRIGGS。

Lateron，Garson，learningfromthemaidthatDickGilderhadleft，returned，justasMarywasglancingovertherelease，withwhichGeneralHastingswastobecompensated，alongwiththereturnofhisletters，forhispaymentoftenthousanddollarstoMissAgnesLynch。

"Hello，Joe，"Marysaidgraciouslyastheforgerentered。ThenshespokecrisplytoAgnes。"Andnowyoumustgetready。YouaretobeatHarris\'sofficewiththisdocumentatfouro\'clock，andrememberthatyouaretoletthelawyermanageeverything。"

Aggietwistedherdoll-likefaceintoagrimace。

"ItgetsmyangorathatI\'llhavetomissPaGilder\'sbeingledlikealambtotheslaughter-house。"AndthatwasthenearestthelittleadventuressevercametomakingaBiblicalquotation。

"Anyhow，"sheprotested，"Idon\'tseetheuseofallthismonkeybusinesshere。AllIwantisthecoin。"Butshehurriedobediently，nevertheless，togetreadyforthestart。

GarsonregardedMaryquizzically。

"It\'sluckyforherthatshemetyou，"hesaid。"She\'sgotnomorebrainsthanagnat。"

"Andbrainsaremightyusefulthings，eveninourbusiness，"Maryrepliedseriously；"particularlyinourbusiness。"

"Ishouldsaytheywere，"Garsonagreed。"Youhaveprovedthat。"

Aggiecameback，puttingonhergloves，andcockinghersmallheadveryprimlyundertheenormoushatthatwasgarnishedwithcostliestplumes。Itwasthusthatsheconsoledherselfinameasureforthebusinessoftheoccasion——inlieuofcrackedicefromTiffany\'satonehundredandfiftyacarat。Marygaveovertherelease，andAggie，stillgrumbling，depositeditinherhandbag。

"Itseemstomewe\'regoingthroughalotofredtape，"shesaidspitefully。

Mary，fromherchairatthedesk，regardedthemalcontentwithasmile，buthertonewascrispassheanswered。

"Listen，Agnes。Thelasttimeyoutriedtomakeamangiveuppartofhismoneyitresultedinyourgoingtoprisonfortwoyears。"

Aggiesniffed，asifsuchanoutcomewerethemerestbagatelle。

"Butthatwaywassoexciting，"sheurged，notatallconvinced。

"Andthiswayissosafe，"Maryrejoined，sharply。"Besides，mydear，youwouldnotgetthemoney。Mywaywill。Yourwaywasblackmail；mineisnot。Understand？"

"Oh，sure，"Aggiereplied，grimly，onherwaytothedoor。"It\'sclearasPittsburgh。"Withthatsarcasmdirectedagainstlegalsubtleties，shetrippeddaintilyout，anentirelyravishingvision，ifsomewhatgarishastoraiment，andsoonintheglancesofadmirationthateverymancastonherguileless-seemingbeauty，sheforgotthatshehadeverbeenannoyed。

Garson\'scommentasshedepartedwasutteredwithhisaccustomedbluntness。

"Solidivory!"

"She\'sadarling，anyway!"Marydeclared，smiling。"Youreallydon\'thalf-appreciateher，Joe!"

"Anyhow，Iappreciatethathat，"wasthereply，withadrychuckle。

"Mr。Griggs，"Fannieannounced。Therewasasmileonthefaceofthemaid，whichwasexplainedaminutelaterwhen，inaccordancewithhermistress\'sorder，thevisitorwasshownintothedrawing-room，forhispresencewasofanelegancesoextraordinaryastoattractattentionanywhere——andmirthaswellfromribaldobservers。

Meantime，GarsonhadexplainedtoMary。

"It\'sEnglishEddie——youmethimonce。Iwonderwhathewants？

Probablygotatrickforme。Weoftenusedtoworktogether。"

"Nothingwithoutmyconsent，"Marywarned。

"Oh，no，no，surenot!"Garsonagreed。

FurtherdiscussionwascutshortbytheappearanceofEnglishEddiehimself，atall，handsomemanintheearlythirties，whopausedjustwithinthedoorway，anddeliveredtoMaryabowthatwastheperfectionofelegance。MarymadenoefforttorestrainthesmilecausedbythecostumeofMr。Griggs。Yet，therewasnoviolationofthecanonsofgoodtaste，exceptintheaggregate。

Fromspatstohat，fromwalkingcoattogloves，everythingwasperfectofitskind。Only，therewasanover-elaboration，sothattheensemblewasflamboyant。Andtheman\'smannerspreciselyharmonizedwithhisclothes，wherebythewholeeffectwasemphasizedandrenderedbizarre。Garsontookoneamazedlook，andthenrockedwithlaughter。

Griggsregardedhisformerassociatereproachfullyforamoment，andthengrinnedinfranksympathy。

"Really，Mr。Griggs，youquiteovercomeme，"Marysaid，half-apologetically。

Thevisitorcastaself-satisfiedglanceoverhisgarb。

"Ithinkit\'sratherneat，myself。"Hehadsomereputationintheunder-worldforhismannerofdressing，andheregardedthislatestachievementashismasterpiece。

"Suresomeduds!"Garsonadmitted，checkinghismerriment。

"Fromyourcostume，"Marysuggested，"onemightjudgethatthisispurelyasocialcall。Isit？"

"Well，notexactly，"Griggsansweredwithasmile。

"SoIfancied，"hishostessreplied。"So，sitdown，please，andtellusallaboutit。"

Whileshewasspeaking，Garsonwenttothevariousdoors，andmadesurethatallwereshut，thenhetookaseatinachairnearthatwhichGriggsoccupiedbythedesk，sothatthethreewereclosetogether，andcouldspeaksoftly。

EnglishEddiewastednotimeingettingtothepoint。

"Now，lookhere，"hesaid，rapidly。"I\'vegotthegreatestgameintheworld……Twoyearsago，asetofGothictapestries，worththreehundredthousanddollarsandasetofFragonardpanels，worthnearlyasmuchmore，werepluckedfromachateauinFranceandsmuggledintothiscountry。"

"Ihaveneverheardofthat，"Marysaid，withsomeinterest。

"No，"Griggsreplied。"Younaturallywouldn\'t，forthesimplereasonthatit\'sbeenkeptonthedeadquiet。"

"Arethemthingsreallyworththatmuch？"Garsonexclaimed。

"Sometimesmore，"Maryanswered。"MorganhasasetofGothictapestriesworthhalfamilliondollars。"

Garsonutteredanejaculationofdisgust。

"Hepayshalfamilliondollarsforasetofrugs!"Therewasanoteoffiercestbitternesscomeintohisvoiceashesarcasticallyconcluded:"Andtheywonderatcrime!"

Griggswentonwithhisaccount。

"Aboutamonthago，thethingsIwastellingyouofwerehunginthelibraryofamillionaireinthiscity。"Hehitchedhischairalittleclosertothedesk，andleanedforward，loweringhisvoicealmosttoawhisperashestatedhisplan。

"Let\'sgoafterthem。Theyweresmuggled，mindyou，andnomatterwhathappens，hecan\'tsqueal。Whatdoyousay？"

GarsonshotapiercingglanceatMary。

"It\'suptoher，"hesaid。GriggsregardedMaryeagerly，asshesatwitheyesdowncast。Then，afteralittleintervalhadelapsedinsilence，hespokeinterrogatively:

"Well？"

Maryshookherheaddecisively。"It\'soutofourline，"shedeclared。