it in his usual slow deliberate manner, but
the moment he began to read his whole manner changed. It was as if one
had opened a cage door to take a pet bird in his hand suddenly to find
his fingers in contact with a snake.

He rose from his bench so abruptly that his chair fell over, and he
threw the letter down, eyeing it as if it were alive and dangerous to
the touch. Then after a few seconds he picked up the letter and yielding
to a very unusual passion tore the paper clear across, and threw the two
pieces down on the bench. Then he seemed to be aware of yielding to an
unusual outburst and picking up his chair he sat down.

There were only a few students in the shop. Walter had gone out an hour
before. It was almost seven o'clock and the foreman was just going out
of his little office room at the other end of Bauer's section of
benches.

Bauer sat there until the foreman had gone out and then he picked up the
two pieces of the letter and with a flush of colour on his face as
unusual as his recent outburst of feeling, he slowly read. The
handwriting was very peculiar even for German script and the tearing of
the letter in two made its intelligent perusal doubly difficult.

When he reached the end he hesitated and at last put the two pieces of
the letter into its envelope and the envelope in his pocket and then he
sat staring at the stuff on his bench with a hard look in which scorn
and shame and perplexity were mingled. He sat there until he was all
alone. Then he got up and tried to go on with his work. He was on the
track of another invention,--a spring coil to prevent the jar to a
tungsten lamp. But after picking up a tool and making one or two efforts
to continue his task, he threw his material down on the bench and after
a moment of indecision closed up the locker, put on his coat and went
out.

He and Walter had rooms opposite each other in the same hall. As he went
up to the landing he stopped at Walter's door and finding it open, went
in. Walter was writing to his father. Bauer waited until he was through
and then in his usual direct simple manner said:

"Walter, I want your advice. I'm in a hard place and I don't know just
what I ought to do."

"All right. Fire away," said Walter frankly. The friendship of the two
was now on a perfect basis and Bauer had lost all reserve although he
had never up to this time taken Walter into complete confidence in his
family matters, partly owing to an honest feelin