to weave visions, he saw the
beckoning hand of Temptation from a high mountain wave invitingly
toward the world below, and the vision was beautiful.

He lifted his eyes from the fire and they rested on an exquisite
miniature of Nan which had been painted just after her marriage. The
artist had caught the pose of her magnificent neck and head in an
inspired moment. He forgot the ten black years of loneliness and
struggle. He was standing before her again in all the pride and
strength of those last days of passionate longing and bitter rebellion.

His heart gave a throb of fierce protest against the fate that had
robbed him of the one thing on earth he had ever really desired. He
tried in vain to separate her from the struggle of character and
principle he was fighting with Bivens. In spite of every effort his
imagination persisted in painting scenes with Nan which must come
inevitably from an intimate business association with her husband. The
very idea of such treachery roused his soul to fury, but always the
picture returned and always Nan's smiling face came to beckon him on
and her voice, soft and full of tenderness, called.

When Bivens entered he found his tall figure bent low in the chair and
a scowl on his face.

The little black eyes sparkled with the certainty of victory. He knew
the poison was at work and its wine had found the soul.

"Now, Jim, down to business!"

Stuart looked up with a start, recovered himself and replied sharply:

"All right--fire away."

Bivens drew a chair close, rubbed his slender hands and began in quiet
tones:

"You can see that I have the cash. What I must have to do the big thing
I've dreamed is a right-hand man whom I can trust with my money, my
body, and my soul. He must be a man with brains, and far-seeing eyes. A
man who will fight to the death and be loyal with every breath, who
will work day and night, a man of iron nerve, iron muscle and a heart
of steel. Come in with me, Jim, for all you're worth, with all your
brain and will and personality, without a single reservation, and I'll
give you a partnership of one-fourth interest in my annual income and
I'll guarantee that it shall never be less than a million a year."

Stuart sprang to his feet and stared at Bivens, gasping!

"You mean this--are you serious?"

A friendly smile lighted the dark face as he slowly replied:

"Certainly I'm serious. And my proposition is a sound one from a
business point of view, oth