's success. She need worry
no more over the powerlessness of her women allies to bend the husbands
to their will. Hereafter, she would retain the friendship of those
worthy women, but without any ulterior object beyond their own welfare.
It appealed to her as vastly more fitting that triumph should come from
duping these men, who were her husband's enemies, who would have ruined
him by their schemes, but for her intervention with a woman's wiles
where man's vaunted sagacity had proved itself utterly at fault. The
sincerity of her belief had sufficed in a minute to win the cooeperation
of Uncle Jim, that most determined opponent to woman's intrusion on
business affairs. He had listened to her suggestion at the tea-table, at
first with scornful displeasure over her venturing an opinion of any
sort on business. Then, as he comprehended the purport of her scheme,
his instinct for finesse had caused him to seize on it impetuously, to
act upon it immediately.... Surely, Cicily thought, since Uncle Jim had
been won over, there remained only the working out of details to insure
a glorious victory--her victory for Charles!

She aroused herself from her abstraction with a start of alarm as she
heard Morton crying out defiance.

"I tell you," he was saying heatedly, "those independent people have
contracts with us. All this plotting of yours is just damned
foolishness--I beg your pardon, Mrs. Hamilton." The enraged capitalist
flushed with new annoyance, for he prided himself greatly on the
elegance of his manners, and it horrified him that he should have so far
forgotten himself as to swear in the presence of a lady. "But they've
no place in business anyhow!" he thought to himself consolingly.

"Oh, don't mention it!" Cicily answered, with an air of unconcern. To
herself, she was reflecting amusedly on how much greater than the
offender knew was his discourtesy toward herself, since she it was who
was the author of that "damned foolishness" to which he had so feelingly
referred.

But Delancy had no time to fritter away on niceties of etiquette.

"Oh, no, Morton!" he scoffed. "Johnson of the independents told me that
you never gave them contracts, except for each lot. You see, that's how
we got in on the deal."

"Yes, that's how we got in," Cicily echoed, in a gentle murmur. There
was an infinity of satisfaction in her voice.

"We'll make them break with you," Carrington shouted, roughly.

"Just try it!" taunted Hamilton,