alute you, Madam of our high-class establishment. When you take your
p-price, you at least look the business in the face. No illusions for
M-Madam Marrineal.... By the w-way, I resign from the house."

"Are you coming, Mr. Edmonds?" said Marrineal. "You'll sign the check
for me, will you, Mr. Banneker?"

Left alone with the disciple of Bacchus and Beelzebub, the editor said:

"Better get home, Severance. Come in to-morrow, will you?"

"No. I'm q-quite in earnest about resigning. No further use for the
damned j-job now."

"I never could see why you had any use for it in the first place. Was it
money?"

"Of course."

"Oh, I see."

"You d-don't see at all. I wanted the m-money for a purpose. The purpose
was a woman. I w-wanted to keep pace with her and her s-set. It was the
set to which I rightly belonged, but I'd dropped out. I thought I
p-preferred drink. I didn't after she got hold of me. I d-don't know why
the d-devil I'm telling you all this."

"I'm sorry, Severance," said Banneker honestly.

The other raised his glass. "Here's to her," he said. He drank. "I wish
her nothing w-worse than she's got. Her name is--"

"Wait a moment, Severance," cut in Banneker sharply. "Don't say anything
that you'll regret. Naming of names--"

"Oh, there's no harm in this, n-now," said Severance wearily. "Hers is
smeared in filth all over our third page. It is Maud Territon. What do
you think of P-Patriotic journalism, anyway, Banneker?"

CHAPTER XV

With the accession to political control of Halloran and the old ring,
the influence of Horace Vanney and those whom he represented, became as
potent as it was secret. "Salutary measures" had been adopted toward the
garment-workers; a "firm hand" on the part of the police had succeeded
in holding down the strike through the fall and winter; but in the early
spring it was revived and spread throughout the city, even to the doors
of the shopping district. In another sense than the geographical it was
nearing the great department stores, for quiet efforts were being made
by some of the strike leaders to organize and unionize the underpaid
salesmen and saleswomen of the shops. Inevitably this drew into active
hostility to the strikers the whole power of the stores with their
immense advertising influence.

Very little news of the strike got into the papers except where some
clash with the police was of too great magnitude to be ignored; then the
trend of the articles w