e will be a combined roof garden, cafe and theater,
running continuous vaudeville--'"

"This agreement, entered into this twenty-fifth day of April," began
the discordantly hurried voice of Loring. He was dictating to his
stenographer a much more comprehensive agreement than a mere power of
attorney; and as soon, as it was ready Johnny signed it without a
question.

"Get this, Ashley?" he remarked, handing back Loring's pen and reading
gleefully from another paper: "'A subway entrance into the new terminal
station is being negotiated--'"

"All right," said Loring, putting on his hat. "Good-by!"--and he was
gone.

If Loring professed but slight interest in the flamboyant plans for the
new hotel, there were others who were painfully absorbed in the news of
the project. Gresham, for one, read the account with contracted brows
at his late breakfast; and at noon, inspired by a virtuous sense of
duty, he sauntered over to Courtney's club.

"I see you're involved in another hotel proposition," he ventured.

"I hope involved is not the word," returned Courtney with rather a wry
smile.

"Is your company fully organized?" asked Gresham with a trace of more
than polite interest.

"I think not," answered Courtney. "I'm not in a position to state,
however, as the matter is out of my hands. I am taking some stock in
it, of course; but I have nothing to do with the organization of the
company, since I have sold the ground to Mr. Gamble."

"Gamble?" repeated Gresham. "Oh, is that so?"

His tone was so deprecative that Courtney was sharply awakened by it.

"Do you know anything against Gamble?" he quite naturally inquired.

"Not a thing," Gresham hastily assured him. "Anyhow, you have sold him
the property and are fully secured?"

"I've sold it to him under contract," replied Courtney, ready, in view
of his recent experiences, to become panic-stricken at a moment's
notice.

"Of course, if anything happens you can reclaim the property," Gresham
considered. "It forms its own security; but still, any one holding a
private claim against Gamble might try to attach it and give you a
nasty entanglement."

"There doesn't seem to be any danger of that," argued Courtney, looking
worried, nevertheless. "He was able to show me an extremely clean bill
of health. The only drawback I could find in his record was the payment
of some debts which were not rightly his and which he might have
evaded."

"Did he refer you to the Fourth