extraordinary the way you find out things--things you're not supposed to
know at all."

Wandel laughed again, this time on a note of embarrassed disapproval.

"Not extraordinary in this case."

George glanced up.

"You said something about the club not being pleasant for me
to-night----"

"Because," Wandel answered with brutal directness, "Dolly's been there."

George clenched his hands. Wandel looked at them amusedly.

"Very glad you weren't about, Hercules."

"It was that bad?" George asked.

"Why not," Wandel drawled, "say rather worse?"

"Drunk?" George whispered.

"A conservative diagnosis," Wandel answered. "His language sounded quite
foreign, but with effort its sense could be had; and the rooms were
fairly full. You know, just before dinner--the usual crowd."

"Somebody should have shut him up," George cried.

"We did, with difficulty, and not all at once," Wandel protested.
"Dicky's taken him home with the aid of a pair of grinning hyenas. They
did make one think of that."

"It's not to be borne," George muttered. "He ought to be killed."

"By all means, my dear George," Wandel agreed, "but we're back in New
York. I mean, with the armistice murder ceased to be praiseworthy.
They're punishing it in the usual fashion. You quite understand that,
George?"

George tried to laugh.

"Quite. Go ahead."

"He really had some excuse," Wandel went on, "because when he first came
in no one realized how bad he was--and they jumped him with
congratulations and humour, and he went right out of his head--became
stark, raving mad; or drunk, as you choose."

"What did he say?" George asked, softly.

Wandel half closed his eyes.

"Don't expect me to repeat any such crazy, disconnected stuff. It's
enough that he let everybody guess Sylvia had sold him at the very
moment he had fancied he had bought her. I've been thinking it over, and
I'm not sure it isn't just as well he did. Everybody will talk his head
off for a few days and drop it. Otherwise, curious things would have
been noticed and suspected from time to time, and the talk, with fresh
impetus, would have gone on forever. Besides, nobody's looking for much
trouble with the Planters."

George had difficulty with his next question.

"He--he didn't mention me?"

"Why, yes," Wandel answered, gravely, "but rather incoherently."

"Rotten of him!"

"No direct accusations," Wandel hurried on, "just vile temper; and while
it makes it temporarily mo