he place at the head of the list. It will
be signed by men and women whose names stand for Achievement, Fame, and
Disinterestedness."

H. R. held a fountain-pen before him and pursued: "If you sign, I'll
feed all the hungry--_all_! Have you ever seen a starving man? Do you
know what it is to be hungry?"

The Bishop shook his head at the fountain-pen. He had seen starving men,
but he had read about signatures. He could not officially sanction a
plan of which he knew so little. No grown man can say that he did not
know what he was signing.

"Listen!" commanded H. R., sternly. "Do you hear your Master's voice?"

"Your intentions, I make no doubt, are highly praiseworthy. But your
language is so close to blasphemy...."

"All words that invoke God in unrhymed English are so regarded in the
United States. Grace would have it that you would sign in Chinese if by
so doing it fed the hungry. '_But the greatest of these is charity._'
The reporters are waiting for the list. Everybody else will sign if you
head the list."

"Of course." And the Bishop's voice actually betrayed the fact that he
had been forced into self-defense. "Of course. I should be only too glad
to sign if I were certain such an action on my part would actually feed
the hungry--"

"_All_ the hungry," corrected H. R.

"Even a tenth of the hungry of New York," the Bishop insisted. "But, my
dear young man, excellent intentions do not always succeed. Your methods
might not commend themselves to men who have made this work the study of
a lifetime."

"They have not gone about their work intelligently, for there are still
unfed men in New York. I am a practical man, not a theorist. Emotions,
respected sir, are all very well to appeal to at vote-getting times, but
they are poor things to think with. Now I don't suppose I have devoted
more than one hour's thought to this subject, and yet see the
difference. _All_ the hungry!" In H. R.'s voice there was not the
faintest trace of self-glorification nor did his manner show the
slightest vanity. Both were calmly matter-of-fact. The Bishop had to
have an explanation. So he asked:

"And your--er--quite unemotional and sudden interest in
this--er--affair, Mr. Rutgers...."

"You mean, where do I come in?" cut in H. R.

The Bishop almost blushed as he shook his head and explained:

"Rather, your motive in undertaking so difficult...."

"Oh yes. You mean, _why_?"

"Yes," said the Bishop, and looked at H. R. full