forbidding, some
ashes from the last fire ever made there still remained in the grate.
He wondered if anyone had ever entered the study since he last sat
there and struggled with temptation and yielded to it.

He went up to his own room, which had been hastily prepared for him,
and looked around him in a forlorn way. He then quickly mounted
another flight of stairs, and found himself at last in the room where
his little daughter used to sleep. The moment he entered this room he
was conscious of a sensation of comfort. The worldliness of all the
rest of the house fell away in this sweet, simply furnished chamber.
He sat down near the little empty bed, pressed his hand over his eyes,
and gave himself up to thought.

Nobody knew how long he sat there. The caretaker and his wife took no
notice. They were busy down in the kitchen. It mattered nothing at all
to them whether Ogilvie were in the house or not. He breathed a
conscious sigh of relief. He was glad to be alone, and the spirit of
his little daughter seemed close to him. He had something hard to go
through, and terrible agony would be his as he accomplished his task.
He knew that he should have to walk through fire, and the fire would
not be brief nor quickly over. Step by step his wounded feet must
tread. By no other road was there redemption. He did not shirk the
inevitable. On the contrary, his mind was made up.

"By no other road can I clasp her hand in the Eternity which lies
beyond this present life," he thought. "I deserve the pain and the
shame, I deserve all. There are times when a man comes face to face
with God. It is fearful when his God is angry with him. My God is
angry--the pains of hell take hold of me."

He walked to the window and looked out. It is doubtful if he saw much.
Suddenly beside the little empty bed he fell on his knees, buried his
face in his hands and a sob rose to his throat.

* * * * *

On the following day, shortly before one o'clock, the directors of the
Lombard Deeps Company assembled in one of the big rooms of the Cannon
Street Hotel. Lord Grayleigh, the Chairman, had not yet arrived. The
rest of the directors sat around a long, green baize table and talked
eagerly one to the other. They formed a notable gathering, including
many of the astutest financiers in the city. As they sat and waited
for Grayleigh to appear, they eagerly discussed the prospects of the
new venture. While they talked thei