d have said that she had only loved one man--the man whom she
had married; but now. . . . Suddenly she covered her face with her
hands, and, turning, ran into the house and upstairs to her room,
shutting and locking the door behind her.

CHAPTER XXI

THE COMPACT

Down in the drawing-room things were decidedly uncomfortable.

Gladys sat by the tea-table, enjoying her tea no less for the fact that
Jimmy was walking up and down like a wild animal, waiting for Christine
to return.

Secretly Gladys was rather amused at the situation. She considered
that whatever Jimmy suffered now, it served him right. She blamed him
entirely for the estrangement between himself and his wife. She had
never liked him very much, even in the old days, when she had
quarrelled with him for being so selfish; she could not see that he had
greatly improved now, as she watched him rather quizzically.

After a moment:

"You'll wear the carpet out," she said practically,

Jimmy stood still.

"Why doesn't Christine come back?" he demanded. "What's she doing with
that fool Kettering?"

"He isn't a fool," said Gladys calmly. "I call him an exceedingly nice
man."

Jimmy's eyes flashed.

"I suppose you've been encouraging him to come here and dangle after my
wife. I thought I could trust you."

Gladys looked at him unflinchingly.

"I thought I could trust you, too," she said serenely. "And apparently
I was mistaken. You've spoilt Christine's life, and you deserve all
you get."

"How dare you talk to me like that?"

She laughed.

"I dare very well. I'm not afraid of you, Jimmy. I know too much
about you. Christine married you because she loved you; she thought
there was nobody like you in all the world. It's your own fault if she
has changed her mind."

"I'll break every bone in Kettering's confounded body." Jimmy burst
out passionately. "I'll--I'll----" He stopped suddenly and sat down
with a humiliating sense of weakness, leaning his head in his hands.

Gladys's eyes softened as she looked at him.

"You've been ill, haven't you?" she asked.

He did not answer, and after a moment she left the tea-table, got up
and went over to where he sat.

"Buck up, Jimmy, for heaven's sake," she said seriously. She put her
hand on his shoulder kindly enough. "It's not too late. You're
married, after all, and you may as well make the best of it. You may
both live another fifty years."

Jimmy said he was dashed if