lay. His secretary had gone, and he was lying resting
on the lounge. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Has Mr. Ridgway
been pointing out to you the places of interest?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, dear." The last word came hesitantly after the slightest of
pauses. "He says he must be going now."

The head of the greatest trust on earth got to his feet and smiled
benignantly as he shook hands with the departing guest. "I shall hope
to see you very soon and have a talk regarding business, Mr. Ridgway,"
he said.

"Whenever you like, Mr. Harley." To the girl he said merely, "Good
night," and was gone.

The old man put an arm affectionately across his young wife's shoulder.

"Shall we read another psalm, my dear? Or are you tired?"

She repressed the little shiver that ran through her before she
answered wearily. "I am a little tired. If you don't mind I would like
to retire, please."

He saw her as far as the door of her apartments and left her with her
maid after he had kissed the cold cheek she dutifully turned toward him.

CHAPTER 10. HARLEY MAKES A PROPOSITION

Apparently the head of the great trust intended to lose no time in
having that business talk with Ridgway, which he had graciously
promised the latter. Eaton and his chief were busy over some
applications for leases when Smythe came into the room with a letter.

"Messenger-boy brought it; said it was important," he explained.

Ridgway ripped open the envelope, read through the letter swiftly, and
tossed it to Eaton. His eyes had grown hard and narrow.

"Write to Mr. Hobart that I am sorry I haven't time to call on Mr.
Harley at the Consolidated offices, as he suggests. Add that I expect
to be in my offices all morning, and shall be glad to make an
appointment to talk with Mr. Harley here, if he thinks he has any
business with me that needs a personal interview."

Smythe's leathery face had as much expression as a blank wall, but
Eaton gasped. The unparalleled audacity of flinging the billionaire's
overture back in his face left him for the moment speechless. He knew
that Ridgway had tempted Providence a hundred times without coming to
disaster, but surely this was going too far. Any reasonable compromise
with the great trust builder would be cause for felicitation. He had
confidence in his chief to any point in reason, but he could not blind
himself to the fact that the wonderful successes he had gained were
provisional rather than final. He