she must have already started for their appointment in the City Hall
Park. He had made up his mind, and yet when he saw her, so confident of
the next step, waiting for him, he very nearly yielded to a sudden
temptation to make her his wife, to be sure of that, whatever else might
have to be altered.

He had known she wouldn't reproach him, but he was deeply grateful to her
for being so unaware that there was any grounds for reproach. She
understood the courage his renunciation had required. That seemed to be
what she cared for most.

At length he said to her:

"Now I must go and get this off my chest with the firm. Go home, and I'll
come as soon as ever I can."

But here she shook her head.

"I couldn't go home," she answered. "It might all come out before you
arrived, and I could not listen to things that"--she avoided naming her
mother--"that will be said about you, Pete. Isn't there somewhere I can
wait while you have your interview?"

There was the outer office of Honaton & Benson. He let her go with him,
and turned her over to the care of David, who found her a corner out of
the way, and left her only once. That was to say to a friend of his in
the cage: "When you go out, cast your eye over Pete's girl. Somewhat of a
peacherino."

In the meantime Wayne went into Benson's office. There wasn't a flicker
of alarm on the senior partner's face on seeing him.

"Hullo, Pete!" he said, "I thought you'd be packing your bags."

"I'm not packing anything," said Wayne. "I've come to tell you I can't go
to China for you. Mr. Benson."

"Oh, come, come," said the other, very paternally, "we can't let you off
like that. This is business, my dear boy. It would cost us money, after
having made all our arrangements, if you changed your mind."

"So I understand."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean just what you think I mean, Mr. Benson."

Wayne would have said that he could never forget the presence under any
circumstances of his future wife, waiting, probably nervously, in the
outer office; but he did. The interest of the next hour drove out
everything else. Honaton was sent for from the exchange, a lawsuit was
threatened, a bribe--he couldn't mistake it--offered. He was told he
might find it difficult to find another position if he left their firm
under such conditions.

"On the contrary," said Peter, firmly, "from what I have heard, I believe
it will improve my standing."

That he came off well in the struggle was