He did not seem to understand, and she turned away and started off alone.
In a moment he was at her side. He guided her back as they had come, and
neither spoke until they had reached the stairway. Then he said, in a low
tone that the carpenters could not hear:--

"You don't mean that--that you can't do it?"

She shook her head and hurried to the office.

CHAPTER XVI

Bannon stood looking after her until she disappeared in the shadow of an
arc lamp, and after that he continued a long time staring into the blot of
darkness where the office was. At last the window became faintly luminous,
as some one lighted the wall lamp; then, as if it were a signal he had
been waiting for, Bannon turned away.

An hour before, when he had seen the last bolt of the belt gallery drawn
taut, he had become aware that he was quite exhausted. The fact was so
obvious that he had not tried to evade it, but had admitted to himself, in
so many words, that he was at the end of his rope. But when he turned from
gazing at the dimly lighted window, it was not toward his boarding-house,
where he knew he ought to be, but back into the elevator, that his feet
led him.

For once, his presence accomplished nothing. He went about without
thinking where; he passed men without seeing who they were or what they
were doing. When he walked through the belt gallery, he saw the foreman of
the big gang of men at work there was handling them clumsily, so that they
interfered with each other, but it did not occur to him to give the orders
that would set things right. Then, as if his wire-drawn muscles had not
done work enough, he climbed laboriously to the very top of the marine
tower.

He was leaning against a window-casing; not looking out, for he saw
nothing, but with his face turned to the fleet of barges lying in the
river; when some one spoke to him.

"I guess you're thinking about that Christmas dinner, ain't you, Mr.
Bannon?"

"What's that?" he demanded, wheeling about. Then rallying his scattered
faculties, he recognized one of the carpenters. "Oh, yes," he said,
laughing tardily. "Yes, the postponed Christmas dinner. You think I'm in
for it, do you? You know it's no go unless this house is full of wheat
clear to the roof."

"I know it," said the man. "But I guess we're going to stick you for it.
Don't you think we are?"

"I guess that's right."

"I come up here," said the carpenter, well pleased at the chance for a
talk with the boss, "