t him.

Hunt watched her out. As the door slammed behind her, he remarked dryly,
his eyes searching Larry keenly:

"Our young queen doesn't seem wildly enthusiastic about you or your
programme."

"She certainly is not."

"Don't let that worry you, young fellow. That's a common trait of her
whole tribe; women simply cannot believe in a man!"

There was an emphasis and a cynicism in this last remark which caused
Larry to regard the painter searchingly. "You seem to know what it is.
Don't mean to butt in, Hunt, if there are any trespassing signs up--but
there's a woman in your case?"

"Of course there is--there's always a woman; that's another reason I'm
here," Hunt answered. "She didn't believe in me--didn't believe I could
paint--didn't believe in the things I wanted to do--so I just picked up
my playthings and walked out of her existence."

"Wife?" queried Larry.

"Thank God, no!" exclaimed Hunt emphatically. "No--'I thank
whatever gods there be, I am the captain of my soul!' Oh, she's all
right--altogether too good for me," he added. "Here, try this tobacco."

Larry picked up the pouch flung him and accepted without remark this
being abruptly shunted off the track. But he surmised that this woman
in the background of Hunt's life meant a great deal more to the painter
than Hunt tried to indicate by his attempt to dismiss her casually--and
Larry wondered what kind of woman she was, and what the story had been.

The following day, clean-shaven and in his freshened clothes--they were
smart and well-tailored, though sober indeed compared with Barney's,
and two years behind the style of which Barney's were the extreme
expression--Larry passed Maggie on the stairway with a smile, who
gave him no smile in return, and started forth upon his quest. He was
well-dressed, he had money in his pockets, he had a plan, and the air
of freedom of a new life was sweet in his nostrils. He was going to
succeed!

It was easy enough, with his mind alert for what he wanted, and with the
Duchess's liberal allowance to pay for what he wanted, for Larry to find
in this city of ten thousand institutes teaching business methods,
the particular article which suited his especial needs. He found this
article in an institute whose black-faced headline in its advertisements
was, "We Make You a $50,000 Executive"; and the article which he found,
by payment of a special fee, was an old man who had been the manager of
a big brokerage concern