for her fading from his face.

For a moment he paused, his hand still on the knob of the door, as if he
hesitated to disturb them. Then, with the appearance of putting whatever
thoughts he might have had from his mind, he strode in.

"Well!" he exclaimed. "This is a surprise. How are you, Gallant? Haven't
seen you since the night we had our little engagement with 'Red Mike,'
who, I have just been told, will recover."

"I'm so glad to hear that," said Consuello.

"And so was I," Gibson said. "No, no, Gallant, stay where you are. I'll
sit here."

John had risen to offer Gibson the chair opposite Consuello. He sought a
way of relieving the embarrassment he for one, felt when Gibson made his
unexpected entrance.

"Miss Carrillo has revealed herself to me as Jean Hope," he explained.
"Until this afternoon I had no idea she played in pictures."

Was it because she too, felt it necessary to make some explanation that
she said:

"You see, I realized that Mr. Gallant would eventually learn about it
and I wanted to surprise him myself."

"I'm proud of my Consuello," Gibson said, patting her hand and speaking
to John. "She is famous--really, truly famous--far more, I'm afraid than
you or I will ever be, Gallant. Still, she deserves it, and we
don't--that is, I don't, at least. She is so famous that I find it
difficult to keep myself from becoming jealous of her."

"Jealous of my good luck?" she asked, smiling.

"No, no; jealous of the admiration that is showered upon you and those
who give it. You can understand why, can't you, Gallant?"

While Gibson seemed absolutely frank and to have put the question only
incidentally, John had a feeling that it was something more than a mere
interrogation. He scanned Gibson's face for a trace of a betrayal of his
purpose in putting the question to him.

"Easily," he replied.

"You are both more than kind to me," Consuello said. "Come, now that we
three are together, let's talk of what you're doing, Reggie. It's far
more interesting. I'll call for a fresh pot of tea."

She pressed a button in the wall and a maid responded.

"There's little more that is new," Gibson said. "The mayor is still
standing pat, although I have reason to believe that he is feeling the
pressure brought on him by those that are supporting me, because he
refuses to remove Chief Sweeney. Most of the men who are his advisers
are dropping away from him. His policy in the face of my attack
apparently dissa