certain indefinite way tense and hard. Page, as
she had told Landry that morning, had remarked this tenseness, this
rigidity on the part of her sister, of late. But to-day it was more
pronounced than ever. Something surely was the matter with Laura. She
seemed like one who had staked everything upon a hazard and, blind to
all else, was keeping back emotion with all her strength, while she
watched and waited for the issue. Page guessed that her sister's
trouble had to do with Jadwin's complete absorption in business, but
she preferred to hold her peace. By nature the young girl "minded her
own business," and Laura was not a woman who confided her troubles to
anybody. Only once had Page presumed to meddle in her sister's affairs,
and the result had not encouraged a repetition of the intervention.
Since the affair of the silver match box she had kept her distance.

Laura on this occasion declined to drink the tea Page had brought. She
wanted nothing, she said; her head ached a little, she only wished to
lie down and be quiet.

"I've been down to the Board of Trade all the morning," Page remarked.

Laura fixed her with a swift glance; she demanded quickly:

"Did you see Curtis?"

"No--or, yes, once; he came out on the floor. Oh, Laura, it was so
exciting there this morning. Something important happened, I know. I
can't believe it's that way all the time. I'm afraid Mr. Jadwin lost a
great deal of money. I heard some one behind me say so, but I couldn't
understand what was going on. For months I've been trying to get a
clear idea of wheat trading, just because it was Landry's business, but
to-day I couldn't make anything of it at all."

"Did Curtis say he was coming home this evening?"

"No. Don't you understand, I didn't see him to talk to."

"Well, why didn't you, Page?"

"Why, Laura, honey, don't be cross. You don't know how rushed
everything was. I didn't even try to see Landry."

"Did he seem very busy?"

"Who, Landry? I--"

"No, no, no, Curtis."

"Oh, I should say so. Why, Laura, I think, honestly, I think wheat went
down to--oh, way down. They say that means so much to Mr. Jadwin, and
it went down, down, down. It looked that way to me. Don't that mean
that he'll lose a great deal of money? And Landry seemed so brave and
courageous through it all. Oh, I felt for him so; I just wanted to go
right into the Pit with him and stand by his shoulder."

Laura started up with a sharp gesture of impatience and