is ambitious. He sees himself installed
here, one of us. Mark my words, Grace, he may love the child, but his
real actuating motive is that. He's a Radical, because since he can't
climb up, he'll pull down. But once let him get his foot on the Cardew
ladder, and he'll climb, over her, over all of us."

He sat after that, his head dropped on his chest, his hands resting on
the arms of his chair, in a brooding reverie. Grace waited.

"Better bring her home," he said finally. "Tell her I surrender. I want
her here. Let her bring that fellow here, too, if she has to see him.
But for God's sake, Grace," he added, with a flash of his old fire,
"show her some real men, too."

Suddenly Grace bent over and kissed him. He put up his hand, and patted
her on the shoulder.

"A good woman, Grace," he said, "and a good daughter to me. I'm sorry.
I'll try to do better."

As Grace straightened she heard the door close below, and Howard's
voice. Almost immediately she heard him coming up the staircase, and
going out into the hall she called softly to him.

"Where are you?" he asked, looking up. "Is father there?"

"Yes."

"I want you both to come down to the library, Grace."

She heard him turn and go slowly down the stairs. His voice had been
strained and unnatural. As she turned she found Anthony behind her.

"Something has happened!"

"I rather think so," said old Anthony, slowly.

They went together down the stairs.

In the library Lily was standing, facing the door, a quiet figure,
listening and waiting. Howard had dropped into a chair and was staring
ahead. And beyond the circle of lights was a shadowy figure, vaguely
familiar, tall, thin, and watchful. Willy Cameron.

CHAPTER XXXI

The discovery that Lily had left his house threw Jim Doyle into a
frenzy. The very manner of her going filled him with dark suspicion.
Either she had heard more that morning than he had thought, or--In his
cunning mind for weeks there had been growing a smoldering suspicion
of his wife. She was too quiet, too acquiescent. In the beginning, when
Woslosky had brought the scheme to him, and had promised it financial
support from Europe, he had taken a cruel and savage delight in
outlining it to her, in seeing her cringe and go pale.

He had not feared her then. She had borne with so much, endured,
tolerated, accepted, that he had not realized that she might have a
breaking point.

The plan had appealed to his cynical soul from t