which he could not arrive at, behind the hard, grim face and measured
words. He could not even guess as to what the man's hopes or intentions
were. Eventually, although with some reluctance, he took up his hat.

"Well, Sir Wingrave," he said, "if there is really nothing I can do
for you, I will go. If you should change your mind, you have only to
telephone. You can command me at any time. I am only anxious to be of
service to you."

"You have already been of service to me," Wingrave answered quietly.
"You have spoken the truth! You have helped me to realize my position
more exactly. Will you give your father my compliments and thanks, and
say that I am entirely satisfied with the firm's conduct of affairs
during my--absence?"

Rocke nodded.

"Certainly," he said. "That will please the governor! I must be off now.
I hope you'll soon be feeling quite yourself again, Sir Wingrave! It
must seem a bit odd at first, I suppose, but it will wear off all right.
What you want, after all, is society. Much better let me arrange that
little dinner for tonight!"

Wingrave shook his head.

"Later on, perhaps," he answered. "Good morning!"

A STUDENT OF CHARACTER

Left alone, Wingrave walked for several minutes up and down the room,
his hands behind him, his head bent. He walked, not restlessly, but
with measured footsteps. His mind was fixed steadfastly upon the one
immediate problem of his own future. His interview with Rocke had
unsettled--to a certain extent unnerved--him. Was this freedom for which
he had longed so passionately, this return into civilized life, to mean
simply the exchange of an iron-barred cell for a palace whose outer
gates were as hopelessly locked, even though the key was of gold!
Freedom! Was it after all an illusion? Was his to be the hog's paradise
of empty delights; were the other worlds indeed forbidden? He moved
abruptly to the window and threw it open. Below was Piccadilly,
brilliant with May sunshine, surging with life. Motors and carriages,
omnibuses and hansoms, were all jostled together in a block; the
pavements were thronged with a motley and ever-hurrying crowd. It seemed
to him, accustomed to the callous and hopeless appearance of a less
happy tribe, that the faces of these people were all aflame with the
joy of the springtime. The perfume from the great clusters of yellow
daffodils and violets floated up from the flower sellers' baskets
below; the fresh, warm air seemed to bring h