hands, he turned away and sprung into
the cab, watching the slender form from the window until it disappeared
in the door-way and was lost to sight.

"Love thrust honor and duty aside," he murmured. "I married sweet
Bernardine on the impulse of the moment, and I shall never regret it. I
will have a time with Sally Pendleton and her relatives; but the
interview will be a short one. She has other admirers, and she will soon
console herself. It was my money, instead of myself, that she wanted,
anyhow, so there is no damage done to her heart, thank goodness. I
will----"

The rest of the sentence was never finished. There was a frightful
crash, mingled with the terrific ringing of car-bells, a violent plunge
forward, and Jay Gardiner knew no more.

With a thoughtful face, Bernardine walked quickly into the great
dry-goods store.

She tried to do her husband's bidding---put all thoughts of it from her
for the time being--until she could weep over it calmly, instead of
giving way to the violent, pent-up anguish throbbing in her heart at
that moment.

She had not been accustomed to spending much money during her young
life. The very few dresses she had had done duty for several years, by
being newly made over, sponged, and pressed, and freshened by a ribbon
here, or a bit of lace there. So it did not take long to make the few
purchases she deemed necessary, and even then she felt alarmed in
finding that they footed up to nearly seven dollars, which appeared a
great sum to her.

Six o'clock now struck, and the clerks hustled away the goods en the
counters, and covered those on the shelves with surprising agility, much
to the annoyance of many belated customers who had come in too late "to
just look around and get samples."

To the surprise of the clerks, as they reached the sidewalk from a side
entrance of the building, they saw the beautiful young girl still
standing in front of the store with the parcel in her hand and a look of
bewilderment on her face.

"It is a little after six," murmured Bernardine, glancing up at a clock
in an adjacent store. "He has not yet returned, but he will be here
soon. I do not wonder that the driver of the cab he is in can make but
little headway, the crowds on the street and crossings are so great."

One cab after another whirled by, their occupants in many instances
looking back to catch another glimpse of that perfect face with its
wistful expression which had turned toward them so