nhattan Island is a mighty small place;
but I suppose Australia is just as bad."

Thayer interrupted his meditations ruthlessly.

"How is Lorimer, this morning? You've been to the house, I suppose."

"Yes, I've just come from there. Lorimer is convalescent, which means he
is a blamed sight better than he deserves to be. I didn't care to see
him; but they assured me he was sitting up and regaling himself on raw
oysters and chicken broth. He is probably an edifying spectacle by this
time, a mush of maudlin penitence. I've seen him before this in his
next-morning mood. Put not your trust in a moral jellyfish!" And Bobby,
his fists in his pockets, stamped up and down the room to ease his
resentment. "The next move is to be a radical one," he continued, after
a pause. "They are going into the Adirondacks."

Thayer looked up sharply.

"They? Who?"

"Beatrix and Lorimer."

"What for?"

"Safety; taking to the woods, and all that."

"What do you mean, Dane?" Thayer asked sternly. "This is no time for
joking. Do speak out."

"I beg your pardon, Thayer. The fact is, I am utterly reckless, this
morning, and I don't know nor care what I am saying. If you loved
Beatrix as I do--"

"Yes," Thayer returned quietly. "I understand."

"No; you don't. You can't. We've been such chums. What hurts her, hurts
me; and, to my dying day, I shall never forget her as we found her in
the dining-room, last night. She knew then it was all over." Bobby's
voice broke upon the last words; then he pulled himself up sharply.
"This morning, we had a council of war, Mrs. Dane and Beatrix and the
doctor and I. The doctor says that Beatrix isn't well, and that another
such scene would kill her, or worse. I was for shutting Lorimer up in an
inebriate asylum; but Beatrix opposed the idea. She was so excited about
it that the doctor finally took sides with her, and said that she and
Lorimer would better not be separated, at least, not until something
else comes up. Do you grasp the pleasant state of things? Lorimer is to
be left with her till something does come up; when the something does
come, it may kill her. That's what they call an alternative, I suppose."

"But the Adirondacks?" Thayer reminded him. It was unlike Bobby Dane to
go off like this into conversational blind alleys. Thayer, as he
listened and looked at his friend's haggard face, realized suddenly that
Bobby was far less superficial than was generally supposed.

"The doctor order