who had last spoken,
glancing at the annunciator button in the wall near Rogers's head, "and
'ave up something 'of, can't you? I should like TO wet me w'istle, as
you say 'ere, and Colonel Lapham seems to find it rather dry work."

Lapham jumped to his feet, and buttoned his overcoat about him. He
remembered with terror the dinner at Corey's where he had disgraced and
betrayed himself, and if he went into this thing at all, he was going
into it sober. "I can't stop," he said, "I must be going."

"But you haven't given us an answer yet, Mr. Lapham," said the first
Englishman with a successful show of dignified surprise.

"The only answer I can give you now is, NO," said Lapham. "If you want
another, you must let me have time to think it over."

"But 'ow much time?" said the other Englishman. "We're pressed for
time ourselves, and we hoped for an answer--'oped for a hanswer," he
corrected himself, "at once. That was our understandin' with Mr.
Rogers."

"I can't let you know till morning, anyway," said Lapham, and he went
out, as his custom often was, without any parting salutation. He
thought Rogers might try to detain him; but Rogers had remained seated
when the others got to their feet, and paid no attention to his
departure.

He walked out into the night air, every pulse throbbing with the strong
temptation. He knew very well those men would wait, and gladly wait,
till the morning, and that the whole affair was in his hands. It made
him groan in spirit to think that it was. If he had hoped that some
chance might take the decision from him, there was no such chance, in
the present or future, that he could see. It was for him alone to
commit this rascality--if it was a rascality--or not.

He walked all the way home, letting one car after another pass him on
the street, now so empty of other passing, and it was almost eleven
o'clock when he reached home. A carriage stood before his house, and
when he let himself in with his key, he heard talking in the
family-room. It came into his head that Irene had got back
unexpectedly, and that the sight of her was somehow going to make it
harder for him; then he thought it might be Corey, come upon some
desperate pretext to see Penelope; but when he opened the door he saw,
with a certain absence of surprise, that it was Rogers. He was
standing with his back to the fireplace, talking to Mrs. Lapham, and he
had been shedding tears; dry tears they seemed, and they h